On Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will consider the nomination of Harold Koh to be the State Department Legal Adviser. Koh’s March 23 appointment has sent the far right into conniptions, supposedly because of Koh’s academic views on the legal issue of transnational justice, and various reports indicate his nomination might be filibustered.
But Koh also has a number of high profile conservative allies, including Reagan OLC-chief, and George W. Bush Solicitor General Ted Olson, and Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr. Indeed, it’s been suggested by some that opposition to Koh is part of a forward-looking campaign to keep Koh off the Supreme Court than a sincere concern for U.S. sovereignty. Perhaps more on that later.
Now that the hearing’s been scheduled, Yale University will begin the search for a new Dean.
