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Attorney General

Ex-WilmerHale Partner OK’d for No. 2 at DOJ, Despite Past Porn Clients

Posted Mar 13, 2009 10:22 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

The Senate has confirmed former WilmerHale partner David Ogden to be deputy attorney general, despite some controversy over his past representation of clients such as Playboy and a company that distributes adult mail-order products.

During his confirmation hearing, Ogden noted that he “vigorously defended” the constitutionality of child pornography statutes when he worked as assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil division, the Wall Street Journal reports. “I am strongly committed to fighting child pornography and protecting children from abuse,” he said.

But the Family Research Council had objected to Ogden’s work for what it termed “a long line of porn companies,” the story says.

Most of Ogden's First Amendment work took place two decades ago, reports The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. At WilmerHale, Ogden’s clients were more likely to be major companies such as Shell Oil Co.

The vote for Ogden was 65 to 28.

The Senate has also confirmed Thomas Perrelli, the former managing partner of Jenner & Block’s Washington, D.C., office, as associate attorney general, reports The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times, in a separate story.

Comments

1.

J.D.
Mar 13, 2009 12:49 PM CST

AND, another DoJ Obama appointee—Tony West—was “American Taliban” terrorist John Walker Lindh’s defense lawyer.

Porn and terrorists. The most important things to liberal lawyers. And now the Obama administration.

Tony Wast also raised $65 million for the Obama campaign—I wonder if that had ANYTHING with him getting the job…. Too bad the media’s not reporting it. But I guess lib politicians get a pass. Not that the media’s biased or anything…

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2009/03/13/media-forgets-obamas-nominee-justice-dept-was-terrorists-lawyer

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2.

Steve M
Mar 13, 2009 1:59 PM CST

Porn is legal.  It is run by companies.  Companies are creatures of law and need lawyers.  Lawyers having clients that are companies engaged in legal pursuits is not news.  It is pandering.  Leave the puritan, neo-conservative-pleasing reporting in the sewer where Limbaugh and Hannity can roll around in it for the amusement of their cretinous followers.

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3.

Paul the Magyar
Mar 17, 2009 8:04 PM CST

I question whether some of the commentators here are, in fact, licensed attorneys.  Some comments blithely disregard the Rules of Professional Conduct as well as the rule of law.  In my state, we have this Rule of Professional Conduct: RULE 1.2. SCOPE OF REPRESENTATION . . .  “(b) A lawyer’s representation of a client, including representation by appointment, does not constitute an endorsement of the client’s political, economic, social or moral views or activities.”

I do sympathize with “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh.  At the time he was charged, with the climate as it was, it would have been impossible for him to get a fair hearing.
 
According to reports, Lindh entered a plea of guilty to the two charges, neither of which had anything to do with the tragedies of 911 or the death of any Americans.  Lindh’s allocution went as follows: “I plead guilty”, he said. “I provided my services as a soldier to the Taliban last year from about August to December. In the course of doing so, I carried a rifle and two grenades. I did so knowingly and willingly knowing that it was illegal.” On October 4, 2002, Judge T.S. Ellis, III formally imposed the sentence: 20 years without parole.

Of course, the Taliban was not at war with the United States and was, at one time, supported by the United States.

But important distinctions must be ignored if we are to accept bluster, ignorance, grand-standing, and indiscriminate partisan diarrhea.

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