HIGH-LEVEL DOJ NOMINEE WAS VP OF GROUP THAT OPPOSED ALITO’S NOMINATION

[Bigun]

HIGH-LEVEL DOJ NOMINEE WAS VP OF GROUP THAT OPPOSED ALITO’S NOMINATION

The Trump administration has nominated Jessie Liu to be Associate Attorney General. This is the number three position at the Justice Department, behind the Attorney General (William Barr) and the Deputy Attorney General (Jeffrey Rosen).

On paper, Liu seems well-qualified for the job. Currently, she’s the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. She has held important positions at Main Justice and the Treasury Department.

But there is at least one worrying aspect to Liu’s impressive resume. In 2005 and 2006, she served as Vice President of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL).

There’s nothing wrong with that, except for the fact that on January 9, 2006, NAWL sent a letter to “Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee” saying that Samuel Alito, whose nomination to the Supreme Court was pending, “is not qualified to serve on the Court from the perspective of laws and decisions regarding women’s rights or that have a special impact on women.”...

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/03/high-level-doj-nominee-was-vp-of-group-that-opposed-alitos-nomination.php?fbclid=IwAR3RAk2kSsuewD2ChOS1knLLElmnTOsqTtCQa-1SnmmcKOW_hjmxHk9ttsM

[Bigun]

William Barr's doings?  If so, we are totally screwed!

@skeeter @Smokin Joe @Sanguine @austingirl @roamer_1

[libertybele]

William Barr's doings?  If so, we are totally screwed!

@skeeter @Smokin Joe @Sanguine @austingirl @roamer_1

Yes with Barr, we're pretty much screwed.  Who keep advising Trump on these people?

[skeeter]

William Barr's doings?  If so, we are totally screwed!

@skeeter @Smokin Joe @Sanguine @austingirl @roamer_1

Worrisome, but I’d like to see some of her personal work before hitting the panic button.

[Bigun]

Worrisome, but I’d like to see some of her personal work before hitting the panic button.

Agreed!  Just thought it worth noting @skeeter.

She seems pretty solid based on background:

"Liu was born in Kingsville, Texas.[5] She received her Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Harvard University in 1995, with a major in literature, and completed her J.D. degree at Yale Law School in 1998.[5] She clerked for Carolyn Dineen King of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 1998–99.[3]

Liu worked as an associate at Jenner & Block in 1999–2002, as a partner at the same firm in 2009–2016, and as a partner at Morrison & Foerster in 2016–17.[6]

She served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia from 2002 to 2006.[5] Liu worked at the United States Department of Justice during the administration of President George W. Bush from 2006 to 2009. Her roles included deputy chief of staff in the National Security Division, counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division.[7]

Liu worked for the transition team of President-elect Donald Trump, and in 2017 became deputy general counsel at the United States Department of the Treasury.[7] In June 2017, President Trump nominated Liu to become the next United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, which is the country's largest U.S. Attorney's office, with more than 300 prosecutors.[7] Liu was confirmed by the Senate by voice vote in September 2017.[2][8]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_K._Liu

[austingirl]

I'd like to see Trump nominate people who never worked in DC. Everyone bears watching at the DOJ.

[Sanguine]

Worrisome, but I’d like to see some of her personal work before hitting the panic button.

Agreed.  Thanks, @Bigun.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

This is dishearening as, other than Clarence Thomas, none have been stronger on Consitutional conservatism on the Court than Alito.

Digging into this a bit more, it appears that during her short stint with NAWL, Liu did not serve on the committee who produced that opposition to Alito.  It remains unclear whether her leadership role in NAWL gave her an opportunity to voice objection to the organization's objections to Alito.

One of the association’s committees in 2006 evaluated Samuel Alito Jr.’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court and rated him “not qualified from a women’s rights perspective.” Alito, the committee said in a statement then, “has shown a disinclination to protect or advance women’s rights.” The committee said one of its primary concerns was “Alito’s stance on women’s reproductive rights” and that Alito would be replacing Sandra Day O’Connor, “who has been a decisive vote in a number of cases involving the rights of women and laws that have special impact on women.” The evaluation committee, selected by the president of the lawyers’ group, included law professors, appellate lawyers and litigators. A Justice Department spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon that Liu was not on the committee that evaluated Alito and she did not have any role in the evaluation.

https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2019/03/06/jessie-lius-women-lawyers-group-opposed-alito-and-5-other-things-to-know/

She left the organization's leadership role the same year of the Alito objection, so it could even be she did not like it. 

I do hope she talks about her role in all of this, though.

[Bigun]

This is dishearening as, other than Clarence Thomas, none have been stronger on Consitutional conservatism on the Court than Alito.

Digging into this a bit more, it appears that during her short stint with NAWL, Liu did not serve on the committee who produced that opposition to Alito.  It remains unclear whether her leadership role in NAWL gave her an opportunity to voice objection to the organization's objections to Alito.

One of the association’s committees in 2006 evaluated Samuel Alito Jr.’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court and rated him “not qualified from a women’s rights perspective.” Alito, the committee said in a statement then, “has shown a disinclination to protect or advance women’s rights.” The committee said one of its primary concerns was “Alito’s stance on women’s reproductive rights” and that Alito would be replacing Sandra Day O’Connor, “who has been a decisive vote in a number of cases involving the rights of women and laws that have special impact on women.” The evaluation committee, selected by the president of the lawyers’ group, included law professors, appellate lawyers and litigators. A Justice Department spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon that Liu was not on the committee that evaluated Alito and she did not have any role in the evaluation.

https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/2019/03/06/jessie-lius-women-lawyers-group-opposed-alito-and-5-other-things-to-know/

She left the organization's leadership role the same year of the Alito objection, so it could even be she did not like it. 

I do hope she talks about her role in all of this, though.

She's going to be asked about it I'm sure @IsailedawayfromFR and I hope that she was a dissenting voice in the organization but lost out the liberals and had to send the letter anyway.