We Support Harold Hongju Koh
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Category:
Common Interest - Politics
Description:
Harold Hongju Koh, President Obama's nominee for legal adviser to the State Department, is being falsely and viciously attacked.

See Slate's summary here: http://www.slate.com/id/2215142/pagenum/all/

We should not allow an extreme minority to define one of the brightest legal minds of our generation. Harold is dedicated to upholding the U.S. Constitution and defending the interests of the United States. He has been a tireless and compassionate advocate for human rights under law, and was at... (read more)
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Name:
We Support Harold Hongju Koh
Category:
Common Interest - Politics
Description:
Harold Hongju Koh, President Obama's nominee for legal adviser to the State Department, is being falsely and viciously attacked.

See Slate's summary here: http://www.slate.com/id/2215142/pagenum/all/

We should not allow an extreme minority to define one of the brightest legal minds of our generation. Harold is dedicated to upholding the U.S. Constitution and defending the interests of the United States. He has been a tireless and compassionate advocate for human rights under law, and was at... (read more)
Privacy Type:
Open: All content is public.

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News:
Harold was confirmed by the Senate today, June 25, by a vote of 62-35. He asked that we post the following message:

"My dear friends:

Earlier today, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm my nomination as Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State. Starting tomorrow, I will assume that position, and begin a public service leave from my Yale professorship. I cannot tell you how much your countless acts of friendship and support have meant to me and my family during this confirmation process. So many of you went far above and beyond the call to stand up for me. We will never forget it. Nor could I feel more lucky or grateful.

One former Legal Adviser once described his job as "speaking law to power." I pledge to repay your friendship by doing my very best to serve our country in facing its global challenges.

With more thanks than I could ever express,
Harold"
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All of your support and hard work has paid off! The cloture motion, to close debate on Harold's nomination, passed the Senate today (June 24) with a vote of 65-31 - five more than required. This was the major hurdle Harold needed to clear, and we think that the remaining vote on the nomination itself now amounts to a formality.

The 65 votes for cloture included several of the Senators we've been calling - including Republicans Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio).

This clears the way for a confirmation vote (probably tomorrow), which only requires 51 votes. No problem is anticipated for that.

Great work, everyone - thanks for all your support. While there's no way to precisely measure the impact that all of your phone calls and emails had, they were clearly a factor in making clear the level of support that Harold enjoys from around the country.

We all know that Harold will be the strongest possible advocate for human rights and the U.S. Constitution - thanks for helping to put him in place.
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Latest update 6/23: Senator Lugar has issued a statement strongly supporting Harold's nomination. Please keep calling other Senators, below.

Lugar Statement: http://lugar.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=314922

“. . . Dean Koh is unquestionably qualified to assume the post for which he is nominated. He has had a distinguished career as a teacher and advocate, and he is regarded widely as one of our nation’s most accomplished experts on the theory and practice of international law. He also has served ably in our government as a Justice Department lawyer during the Reagan Administration and as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor from 1998 to 2001.

"The Committee has received innumerable letters of support for the nominee attesting to his character, his love of country, and his respect for the law. He enjoys support from the lawyers with whom he has worked, as well as those – including former Solicitor General Kenneth Starr – whom he has litigated against. . . .

"Given Dean Koh’s record of service and accomplishment, his personal character, his understanding of his role as Legal Adviser, and his commitment to work closely with Congress, I support his nomination and believe he is well deserving of confirmation by the Senate.”

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Today, June 22, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a petition for cloture on Harold's nomination, and both floor votes (cloture and confirmation) will take place in the Senate this coming Wednesday (June 24). The motion for cloture needs 60 votes to pass; the motion for confirmation needs 50 votes to pass.

However, you should know that an anti-Koh robo-calling campaign has already begun - Senate staffers have reported receiving a new batch of anti-Koh calls today.

There is a chance that Sens. Byrd and Kennedy will be unable to vote for health reasons. So Harold needs at least 3 Republican votes for cloture. We need everyone to vote, as the travel bill that did not achieve cloture Monday (today) had only 53 voting in favor.

The decisive votes will most likely come from the Republican Senators listed below. Please both call and email as many of these Senators as you can before wednesday - This is the **final push** for getting this nomination through.

You can adapt the following script:

"I am calling to urge the Senator to cast yes votes supporting cloture and confirmation for the nomination of Dean Harold Hongju Koh as Legal Adviser to the State Department. Both votes will be coming up later this week. Dean Koh is eminently well qualified, and he has been endorsed by both Theodore Olsen and Kenneth Starr. His nomination has been pending for more than three months, and his nomination deserves cloture and confirmation as soon as possible."

Here are the swing vote Senators:



1. Mel Martinez (Fla)
(202) 224-3041
email: https://martinez.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorMartinez

2. Susan Collins (Me)
(202) 224-2523
Email: http://collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCollins.EmailIssue

3. Olympia Snowe (Me)
(202) 224-5344
Email: http://snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorSnowe.Email

4. George Voinovich (Ohio)
(202) 224-3353
Email: http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm

5. Orrin Hatch (Utah)
202) 224-5251
http://hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Offices.Contact

6. Bob Bennett (Utah)
(202) 224-5444
Email: http://bennett.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email

7. Lamar Alexander (Tenn)
(202) 224-4944
http://alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

8. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska)
(202) 224-6665
http://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactMe.EMailLisa

9. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas)
(202) 224-5922
Email: http://hutchison.senate.gov/contact.cfm

10. Mike Enzi (Wyoming)
(202) 224-3424
http://enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInformation.EmailSenatorEnzi

11. Mike Crapo (Idaho)
(202) 224-6142
Email: http://crapo.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

12. Thad Cochran (Miss)
(202) 224-5054
Email: http://cochran.senate.gov/email.html

13. Mike Johanns (Nebraska)
(202) 224-4224
http://johanns.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorJohanns

Here are the Democratic senators that did not show up to vote today, preventing cloture on today's travel bill. Please call and email to encourage them to show up for the Koh votes on Wednesday:

Begich (AK)
(202) 224-3004
email: http://begich.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm


Byrd (WV)
(202) 224-3954
Email: http://byrd.senate.gov/contacts/

Kennedy (MA)
(202) 224-4543
Web Form: http://kennedy.senate.gov/senator/contact.cfm

Specter (PA)
(202) 224-4254
http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm

Tester (MT)
(202) 224-2644
Email: http://tester.senate.gov/Contact/index.cfm

Wyden (OR)
(202) 224-5244
Email: http://wyden.senate.gov/contact/

If your home state Senators are Democrats, please call and urge them to make sure to vote for cloture and for the nomination on Wednesday.
You can find their information here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Thanks, everyone!! We're almost there!

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As of May 19, Senators Cornyn (TX) and Vitter (LA) have put "holds" on Harold's nomination. These are procedural devices to delay the nomination from getting a vote. Cornyn and Vitter can end their holds any time they like.



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We now believe that Harold ultimately has the votes to overcome a filibuster and be confirmed by the Senate, and apparently Senator Harry Reid now agrees. Great work contacting Reid!

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm


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On May 12, by bipartisan vote, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Harold's nomination to be Legal Adviser to the State Department.

The vote was 12-5. Voting in favor of the nomination were all 11 Democrats on the committee, and also ranking Republican Richard Lugar. Of the remaining six Republicans, Senator Risch was absent, and the other five voted against.


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There is a significant lobbying campaign against Harold underway in Washington. See

http://actdcmetro.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/newly-formed-sovereignty-caucus-on-capitol-hill-urges-review-of-harold-koh’s-nomination-for-legal-advisor/

http://spectator.org/blog/2009/05/05/conservative-leaders-come-out

Here is Senator DeMint's statement expressing his concerns about Harold's nomination: http://demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=JimsJournal.Detail&Blog_ID=0cb3e9bb-b701-5278-9f4f-5372942d13df

Here are Harold's answers to Senator DeMint's written questions: http://demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=JimsJournal.Detail&Blog_ID=0cb3e9bb-b701-5278-9f4f-5372942d13df

Harold's hearing in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee occurred on Tuesday, April 28, 2009.

A video of the hearing is available at http://www.senate.gov/fplayers/CommPlayer/commFlashPlayer.cfm?fn=foreign042809p&st=435.

Here are some articles and blog posts on the hearing:

http://intlawgrrls.blogspot.com/2009/04/in-his-own-words.html
http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/29008
http://washingtonindependent.com/40916/harold-koh-confirms-that-hes-not-against-mothers-day-and-wouldnt-impose-sharia-law
http://intlawgrrls.blogspot.com/2009/04/kohs-confirmation-hearing-value-of.html

Here are the written answers that Dean Koh submitted in response to Senator Lugar's questions: http://lugar.senate.gov/sfrc/pdf/KohQFR.pdf

Here is a link to opening statements from Senators Kerry and Lugar: http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2009/hrg090428p.html

The only written transcript we have found of the hearing requires a subscription; please post to the facebook group a non-copyrighted link to th hearing transcript if you have one.

The subscription-only transcript is available here: http://www.fnsg.com/transcript.htm?id=20090428t2028&nquery=&query=koh&from=&SLID=1f7929ebc0ac092f57b96266b38191d1

A recent anti-Koh effort by the "Traditional Values Coalition" (see http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=3598 and http://washingtonindependent.com/38069/conservative-coalition-takes-aim-at-obama-legal-nominee) has generated hundreds of anti-Koh letters to Senators.


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To keep up with selected news articles about Harold's nomination process as they appear, see http://www.law.yale.edu/news/9446.htm .

Here is a statement from former Solicitor General Theodore Olson supporting Harold as "a man of great integrity":
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/gop-legal-heavy-ted-olson-dismisses-right-wing-assault-on-obama-nominee/

Here's a strong endorsement from former Solicitor General Kenneth Starr: http://www.law.yale.edu/documents/pdf/News_&_Events/KenStarrHarold_Koh_001.pdf

Here is a statement from a group of Yale Conservative Law Students calling Harold "eminently qualified to serve":
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/04/yale_law_school_conservatives.php

This page has a link to a FOX News video in which Koh is falsely accused of seeking to impose Sharia law in the United States:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/01/fox-news-obama-trying-to_n_181858.html

Gordon Duguid, Acting Deputy Spokesman, U.S. State Department told Fox News on March 31, 2009:

“Dean Koh is universally respected for his legal scholarship, and previously served as an Assistant Secretary of State – and was praised for his work by Republicans and Democrats alike. President Obama and Secretary Clinton strongly believe he’s the right person for the job.”

For more accurate information about Harold, see:

http://www.stlbeacon.org/in_the_news/for_a_civil_consideration_of_harold_hongju_koh

http://www.acsblog.org/international-law-and-the-constitution-harold-koh-and-conservative-misinformation.html

http://opiniojuris.org/2009/04/07/state-department-legal-adviser-nominee-harold-hongju-koh-holds-mainstream-legal-views/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brandt-goldstein/confirm-harold-koh-as-sta_b_181111.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-j-brown/the-smear-campaign-agains_b_182354.html

http://opiniojuris.org/2009/03/31/pro-koh/

http://www.chander.com/2009/04/dean-harold-koh-on-sharia.html

http://balkin.blogspot.com/2009/04/defending-dean-koh.html

http://intlawgrrls.blogspot.com/2009/04/fact-v-fallacy-in-confirmation-process.html

An April 1 New York Times article describes the false accusations here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/politics/02koh.html?_r=1&ref=politics


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Contacting the Senators above is the most important thing you can do to help. If you'd like to do more, here are some simple ways:

1. After you join this group - "We Support Harold Hongju Koh", please encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same. You can hit the "share" button below Harold's photo on this page. l

2. Please call or email members of the U.S. Senate, and urge your senators to support Harold's prompt confirmation as Legal Adviser to the State Department. You can find your senators' contact information at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

3. When you see false assertions on blogs or anywhere else, please challenge them through comments, letters to the editor, or your own blog posting.

4. Please comment in the Wall sections below with testimonies about Harold (appropriate for public distribution). We can print these and send to the confirmation hearing.

5. If you are a law professor, please sign this open letter from legal academics in support of Harold's nomination: http://www.law.seattleu.edu/faculty/dean_koh_nomination.xml

Thanks!!