Grassley: Engel Well-Equipped to Lead Office of Legal Counsel

 

Today, the Senate will vote to confirm Steven Engel to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel. The Office of Legal Counsel – or the OLC – functions as legal advisor to the President and Executive Branch agencies, providing advice on complex questions of constitutional and statutory interpretation. The OLC essentially serves as the general counsel to the Executive Branch. Mr. Engel is well equipped to lead that office.

 

Mr. Engel received his undergraduate degree from Harvard, his Masters in Philosophy from Cambridge University, and his law degree from Yale Law School.

Following his graduation, Mr. Engel clerked for Judge Kozinski on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court. 

 

Mr. Engel joined the law firm of Kirkland and Ellis after clerking for Justice Kennedy. Mr. Engel’s practice focused upon appellate and commercial litigation matters.

 

In 2006, Mr. Engel joined the OLC as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General and was later promoted to Deputy Assistant Attorney General. There he provided legal advice to the Attorney General, the White House Counsel, and other Executive Branch clients on a variety of legal matters.

In 2009, Mr. Engel joined the law firm of Dechert as a partner in the white collar and securities litigation group, and later as a member of the complex commercial litigation group.

 

Mr. Engel’s nomination has broad support across the legal community. The Senate Judiciary Committee received a number of letters in support of his nomination. One such letter is signed by former Attorneys General Mukasey and Gonzales, as well as former Deputy Attorneys General Filip, Morford, and McNulty. Other letters of support were received from his co-clerks on the Supreme Court, a group of Mr. Engel’s former colleagues and Yale Law school classmates, and Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith.

 

Mr. Engel also received an endorsement from the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association of the City of New York, which is the largest police union in New York City. 

 

Another letter from former senior government officials and legal officers of the Executive Branch, including Kenneth Wainstein and Michael Hayden, noted their “enthusiastic support” for Mr. Engel’s nomination. They wrote: “We are confident that as head of OLC, Steve will render legal opinions with the highest level of professional integrity and according to his best understanding of what the law and Constitution require.”

 

Mr. Engel and I met this summer and discussed the importance of Congressional oversight, and the essential role played by Members of this body, and the House of Representatives. He assured me that he agrees each Member, whether or not a Chairman of a committee, is a Constitutional officer entitled to the respect and best efforts of the Executive Branch to respond to his or her requests for information. And further, he committed to review the May 1, 2017, OLC opinion on this issue and consider whether a more complete analysis of the issue is necessary.

 

The head of OLC is a highly important role at the Department of Justice. And it’s a role of which its importance is felt throughout the federal government. Mr. Engel is well qualified to take on such a role. I urge my colleagues to support Mr. Engel’s nomination and confirm him to this important position.