James Cole as the No. 2 in the Department of Justice seems to be the one gaining the most attention of the six recess appointees President Obama installed earlier this week. Daniel Foster over at NRO has some of Cole’s CV:

• Appointed as the Independent Consultant for American International Group, Inc., to exam its transactions and oversee the revision of its corporate compliance and financial disclosure policies
• Appointed Special Counsel to the House Ethics Committee for its investigation of Speaker Newt Gingrich
• Counseled Arthur Andersen in its efforts to revamp its document management and compliance procedures after the Enron related events were uncovered
• Represented the Chief Risk Officer of Enron
• Served as lead defense counsel in United States v. Edwin Edwards (former Governor of Louisiana)
• Represented individuals and companies in the health care field concerning disputes concerning billing fraud and abuse and FDA regulatory issues
• Represented individuals and entities in campaign finance investigation.

Jennifer Rubin, now of the Washington Post adds more, including the fact that Cole represented a Saudi prince in a case brought by some of the 9/11 survivors.

I understand that lawyers represent a variety of people, but you’ve really got to go out of your way to rack up a rogues gallery like this one.

It seems the main objection has been that Cole is of the opinion that the 9/11 attacks specifically, and the war on terror generally, are really  law enforcement actions, not acts of war to be dealt with militarily. That’s stupid and odious – and the current policy position of the attorney general.

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