On March 4, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination of Dawn Johnsen to head the Office of Legal Counsel; after failing to be approved for the post last year, she was renominated by the president in January. Her nomination now sits before the entire U.S. Senate.
In the minds of many, on both sides of the aisle, she is considered controversial. Our only interest is her anti-Catholic bigotry.
In 1988, Johnsen worked on a brief, United States Catholic Conference v. Abortion Rights Mobilization, that sought to strip the Catholic Church of its tax-exempt status.
Although there are legitimate reasons to oppose Johnsen, Bill Donohue wrote a letter to every member of the Senate voicing our concern. The letter contained just one question: “Are you aware that Dawn Johnsen, who will soon be voted upon by the full Senate, sought to strip the Roman Catholic Church of its tax-exempt status in 1988?”
As we went to press this issue was not yet resolved.
