Democrashield.com

In late August I wrote about George Terwilliger, who was on the White House’s shortlist to replace Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General.

Currently, rumor has it that former Solicitor General Ted Olson is the current front-runner for the position.

Who, exactly, is Ted Olson?

From the DOJ website:

Theodore B. Olson was the 42nd Solicitor General of the United States. He was nominated by President Bush on February 14, 2001, confirmed by the United States Senate, and took the oath of office on June 11, 2001.

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Mr. Olson served President Reagan as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel from 1981 to 1984.

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Before rejoining the Justice Department in 2001, he successfully represented candidates George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in the Supreme Court Bush v. Gore cases involving the 2000 presidential election.

[Emphasis added]

More information from People for the American Way:

Olson came to Washington in 1981 to work in President Reagan’s Justice Department and later represented the former president during the Iran-Contra scandal.

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He has served on the boards of various right-wing foundations and think tanks, including the Washington Legal Foundation, a public interest law firm with an ultra-conservative and free-market emphasis, and the Independent Women’s Forum. Olson also was the head of the Washington D.C. chapter of the right-wing Federalist Society.

Olson, a former law partner of one-time Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, assisted Paula Jones’ legal team in her sexual harassment suit against President Clinton. Olson also represented Whitewater figure David Hale during Senate hearings investigating the Clintons’ role in the Arkansas land deal. Olson wrote scathing articles about the Clinton Administration and Janet Reno, and was involved in the “Arkansas Project” an effort by the American Spectator magazine to use private investigators to uncover damaging information regarding the Clintons.

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Olson is known for his right-wing views on affirmative action and other civil rights issues. During his legal career he unsuccessfully defended both the Virginia Military Institute’s decision to exclude women despite its state funding and the Colorado initiative that would have barred cities and towns from passing gay rights statutes. He won the case that overturned affirmative action admission policies for the University of Texas Law School.

[Emphasis added]

Much like Terwilliger, Olson’s career is a monument to far-right causes and a testament to his unfitness to serve as Attorney General. He is an extremely partisan Republican who has championed ultra-conservative causes, fighting against gay rights and affirmative action while devoting himself (unsuccessfully) to taking down President Clinton.

Much like Gonzales, Olson would have no independence from the Bush White House–he is a longtime loyalist, having served in the Reagan/Bush and Bush/Cheney administrations. Olson defended Reagan during Iran-Contra and, more disturbingly, served on Bush’s legal team during the 2000 Florida recount debacle.

(And, needless to say, his conservative views have netted him a fair amount of right-wing welfare from fringe organizations like the Federalist Society.)

Ted Olson’s history of radical conservatism, his long-standing ties to the Bush family and his unwavering loyalty to George W. Bush show that he is an unfit nominee for Attorney General. This country should not–and will not–tolerate another Attorney General who plays politics with the Department of Justice, who forsakes upholding the constitution in favor of protecting the President at all costs.

Already, Senators Reid, Leahy and Schumer have voiced opposition to Olson, vowing to defeat his nomination–rightly so, because America needs an independent, unbiased, legal-minded Attorney General who will make enforcing the law their top priority.

If President Bush continues his long history of nominating incompetent, unfit loyalists for top positions, then Congress will have no choice but to defeat the nominee–because America deserves better than that.

UPDATE: Olson announced back in March that he is supporting Rudy Giuliani’s Presidential campaign.  From CNN:

Ted Olson, a former U.S. solicitor general, will back former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s White House bid.

Olson, the solicitor general from 2001-2004, will chair the New York Republican’s Justice Advisory Committee, Giuliani’s campaign announced in a statement Thursday.

So, a potential nominee for Attorney General is serving on an advisory committee for a current Republican Presidential candidate.  This does not bode well, especially considering Olson’s prominent role in the 2000 election fiasco.

More to come…