Jim McElhatton reports:
President Obama has named two lawyers and a former federal judge to an independent privacy board recommended by the 9/11 Commission that has sat dormant for years under he and President George W. Bush.
The nominations Thursday fill out the five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, where vacancies have left the panel unable to meet for years.
The Washington Times reported on the vacancies in August. At the time, the White House declined to say why the board had languished so long even as critics openly called on Mr. Obama to fill the seats.
The appointments Tuesday were David Medine, a partner at the WilmerHale law firm specializing in privacy and data security; Rachel Brand, chief counsel for regulatory litigation at the Chamber of Commerce; and Patricia Wald, who served for 20 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C.
“I am confident that these outstanding individuals will greatly serve the American people in their new roles and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come,” Mr. Obama said.
The president previously nominated James Dempsey, vice president of public policy at the Center for Democracy and Technology, and Elisebeth Collins Cook, a lawyer who worked for the Justice Department in the Bush Administration.
Read more on The Washington Times.
Okay, well, I wish he’d named someone from EFF, EPIC, or the ACLU – or former Senator Russ Feingold – as this panel sounds a bit too business/govt-friendly for my taste, but time will tell. In the meantime, best of luck to the new panel and get busy – our privacy is under siege.