By Kathleen Gilbert
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 3, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Senate Judiciary Committee last week approved President Obama’s pick for deputy attorney general, David Ogden, despite a deluge of protest from Christian and pro-family advocates who object to Ogden’s extensive history defending child pornography and hardcore pornography giants.
Sen. Arlen Specter, the committee’s top Republican, reportedly said on National Public Radio that he had never seen so much opposition from voters against a nominee. According to Specter 11,000 phone calls, letters and other contacts have poured in to the committee protesting the Ogden pick.
Nonetheless, Specter joined 13 other Democrats who voted in favor of Ogden last week. The remaining 5 Republicans voted against the nomination. The full Senate vote for final ratification, not yet scheduled, could happen within days.
Pro-life and pro-family groups, however, are continuing to battle against the nomination. CitizenLink, the action arm of Focus on the Family, is calling on family advocates to urge their senators to vote against Ogden’s ratification (To participate in CitizenLink’s Action Alert, go to: https://capwiz.com/fof/callalert/index.tt?alertid=12586331)
Over the years Ogden has consistently defended hardcore pornography media, on one occasion having won a battle on behalf of several media groups for looser child-pornography protections in federal law. The 55-year-old lawyer also infamously argued against Internet pornography filters in public libraries, and in favor of taxpayer-funded Braille versions of Playboy magazine.
In addition to his pornography background, in his private practice Ogden has urged courts to abolish virtually all legal protection for the unborn, and to treat traditional definitions of marriage as a social prejudice.
The pro-family organization Fidelis has chronicled in detail the extent of Ogden’s controversial professional background. (For the Fidelis dossier on David Ogden, go to: https://www.scribd.com/full/11607068?access_key=key-18yr2u50t8o0sz54rbrl)
Committee Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch said that while he usually defers to such nominees, he was troubled by Ogden’s representation of the pornography industry and other controversial clients, according to the Legal Times.
“Mr. Ogden has consistently taken very liberal positions over a long period of time on issues that are very important to me,” Hatch said. “The pattern here is so consistent and the record is so long that it does give me pause.”
See previous LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Obama Close to Selecting Child Porn Lawyer Ogden
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09021312.html
Obama Picks Porn Lawyer for #2 at Justice
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09020401.html