Key Senate Republicans today called on Attorney General Eric Holder to testify before Congress about the decisions that the Justice Department made about a man who allegedly tried to ignite explosives in his underpants on a Dec. 25 Detroit-bound airplane flight.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and four top Republican committee members wrote in a letter to Holder that the decision to have FBI agents interrogate Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and read the Nigerian his Miranda rights was “hasty.” They added that it appears that there was “little, if any, coordination” between the DOJ and national security officials.

“It is critical that the American people have a full and timely understanding of the policy and legal rationale upon which this ill-advised decision was made,” Sens. McConnell, Jeff Sessions, (R-Ala.), Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) wrote. Sessions is the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee; Bond is the top Republican on the Intelligence panel; Collins is the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security panel; and McCain is the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee.

DOJ spokesman Matthew Miller defended the decision, saying in a statement last week that the DOJ consulted national security officials before Abdulmutallab was charged in federal court and not taken into military custody. It is  not clear exactly when in the decision-making process the DOJ consulted the national security officials on Abdulmutallab.

FBI Director Robert Mueller testified last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the events surrounding the alleged attempted bombing were “fast-moving� and authorities had “no time� to get other investigators in place. But Mueller said decisions were made “appropriately,� including the decision to read Abdulmutallab his Miranda rights.

The letter is the latest in a series of efforts by members of Congress to address the Abdulmutallab case.

Sessions previously wrote a letter to Holder last week demanding to know who made the decision to treat Abdulmutallab as a civilian. Earlier this week, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and ranking member Collins asked Holder to remove Abdulmutallab from federal custody and treat him as a military prisoner.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation yesterday that would compel the DOJ to confer with the Director of National Intelligence and the secretary of Defense before deciding if a suspected terrorist should be tried treated as a civilian.

The top ranking Republican of the House Judiciary Committee introduced legislation today that would compel the Justice Department to confer with the Director of National Intelligence and the secretary of Defense before deciding if a suspected terrorist should be tried treated as a civilian.

Lamar Smith (gov)

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) criticized the Obama administration’s decision to allow FBI agents to interrogate Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and read the Nigerian his Miranda rights when he was captured after he allegedly tried to ignite explosives in his underpants on a Dec. 25 Detroit-bound airplane flight.

“Giving terrorists constitutional rights ignores the seriousness of the threat from al-Qaeda — these are acts of war, not isolated incidents of crime,” Smith said in a statement. “All terrorists should be interrogated by intelligence experts to obtain crucial information about future attacks. Anything less risks the safety and security of the American people.â€�

DOJ spokesman Matthew Miller defended the decisions, saying in a statement last week that the DOJ consulted national security officials before Abdulmutallab was charged in federal court. But it is still unclear exactly when in the decision-making process the DOJ consulted the nationaly security officials on Abdulmutallab.

Yesterday, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and the panel’s ranking Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, asked Attorney General Eric Holder to remove Abdulmutallab from federal custody to military detention.

Smith’s bill is co-sponsored by 17 Republicans: John Boehner, Ohio; John Carter, Texas; Buck McKeon, California; Peter King, New York; Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida; Jim Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin; Howard Coble, North Carolina; Elton Gallegly, California; Daniel Lungren, California; Trent Franks, Arizona; Louie Gohmert, Texas; Jim Jordan, Ohio; Jason Chaffetz, Utah; Tom Rooney, Florida; Roy Blunt ,Missouri; Hal Rogers, Kentucky; and Don Manzullo, Illinois.

The chairman and ranking Republican the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee asked Attorney General Eric Holder today to remove the alleged Christmas Day airplane bomber from federal custody and treat him as a military prisoner.

Joe Lieberman (Gov)

Susan Collins (Gov)

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who allegedly tried to ignite explosives in his underpants on a Dec. 25 Detroit-bound flight, is being held by federal authorities as a civilian. Panel Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), the committee’s ranking member Susan Collins (R-Maine) and other conservative senators say the opportunity to gain valuable intelligence now may be lost, since Abdulmutallab is being treated as a criminal suspect with rights against self-incrimination.

“Though the president has said repeatedly that we are at war, it does not appear to us that the president’s words are reflected in the actions of some in the Executive Branch, including some at the Department of Justice, responsible for fighting that war,” Lieberman and Collins said in a joint letter to Holder and John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism. “The unilateral decision by the Department of Justice to treat Abdulmutallab — a belligerent fighting for and trained by an al-Qaeda franchised organization — as a criminal rather than a [unprivileged enemy belligerent] and to forgo information that may have been extremely helpful to winning this war demonstrates that very point.”

Here is the full letter.

Last week, Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) demanded to know who decided to let FBI agents read Abdulmutallab his Miranda rights and treat him as a civilian. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters on Thursday he believes Holder was responsible for the decision.

DOJ spokesman Matthew Miller defended the Obama administration’s handling of Abdulmutallab. “Those who now argue that a different action should have been taken in this case were notably silent when dozens of terrorist were successfully prosecuted in federal court by the previous administration,â€� Miller said in the statement, citing the prosecutions of al-Qaeda operatives Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui. Read Miller’s full statement here.

For the confirmation prospects for President Barack Obama’s recently re-nominated pick to lead the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), recent developments have brought one bit of good news and one bit of potentially bad news.

Earlier this month, long-stalled OLC nominee Dawn Johnsen received the backing of Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), who previously said he opposed her candidacy to head the elite DOJ office that assesses the constitutionality and legality of government actions.

Specter’s newly declared support theoretically put Johnsen at the 60 votes that would Democrats need to invoke cloture and proceed to a Senate floor vote on her nomination. And we emphasize the “theoretical” part, because the whip count is complicated.

Dawn Johnsen during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in February 2009 (Getty Images)

Getting to 60 depended on ailing Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) being present in the chamber and having Democrats who haven’t declared their position on cloture, such as Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska,who opposes Johnsen, siding with their party on the procedural vote. One Republican — Sen. Richard Lugar of Johnsen’s home state of Indiana — has said he supports her nomination and a spokesman for the senator told Main Justice he “believesâ€� the Indiana Republican would vote for cloture.

But the Senate victory by Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts this week was another pothole in Johnsen’s long and winding confirmation road. Once Sen.-elect Brown is seated, Democrats will have only 59 votes in the Senate, including those of independents who caucus with the Democrats. Republicans will have 41.

The Judiciary Committee had endorsed her nomination March 19, 2009, on a party-line vote of 11-7. Although Democrats had 60 votes during most of the 10 months that Johnsen was a nominee last year, opposition to Johnsen from Specter, Nelson and several Republicans made it difficult for Democratic leaders to schedule a floor vote on the nomination. Conservative senators have voiced concerns about Johnsen’s attacks on the George W. Bush administration’s national security policies and her past work for an abortion rights group.

The Senate was forced to return the nominee to the White House on Dec. 24, after the majority leadership was unable to secure enough support to hold her over to the next session of Congress. But Obama re-nominated her this week.

With Lugar and Nelson voting for cloture and Byrd in good health, the Democrats would have their 60 votes. Without the senators, Democratic leaders might be able to lean on moderate Maine Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, who both remain undecided on cloture and confirmation.

Democrats seem unlikely to win any new Republican support on Johnsen. And Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, is urging panel Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to hold another hearing on Johnsen.

Sessions said in a letter to Leahy that there are “many unanswered questions� about her.

With health care still on the front burner and continued uncertainty about Johnsen’s prospects for confirmation, Johnsen could spend more months traveling a rocky road toward confirmation.

Don’t hold your breath but…

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is urging his fellow senators to support his effort to change Senate rules to essentially eliminate the filibuster, The Huffington Post reported today. A rule change must pass the Senate by a two-thirds vote.

Liberal activists are putting more pressure on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) this week to move on President Obama’s Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel nominee.

Dawn Johnsen (Indiana University)

Dawn Johnsen, an Indiana University law professor, was nominated Feb. 11 and reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee March 19 along party lines. Several Senate Republicans and Democratic Sens. Arlen Specter (Pa.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.) have criticized Johnsen because of her vocal opposition to the Bush administration’s national security policies and her past work for the group formerly known as the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.

In a letter to Reid yesterday, leaders of almost 40 left-leaning organizations said the hold-up on Johnsen is “extraordinary and unacceptable.” The groups included the Human Rights Campaign, National Council of La Raza, People for the American Way and Alliance for Justice.

“Professor Johnsen has the experience, the integrity, and the intellect to head this critical office,” they wrote in the letter. “She should be confirmed without further delay. We understand the press of legislative business before the Senate. But further delay is untenable.”

Though Democrats have a 60 vote-majority, Reid may not have enough votes to end a Republican filibuster on Johnsen.

Specter and Sen. Mark Pryor (Ark.) have not said how they will vote on the procedural motion to end debate, known as cloture.

If Specter and Pryor balk at voting with his party on the procedural vote, Democrats only have 58 votes. But Reid might be able to lean on Maine Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, who have not said how they would vote on cloture.

Dawn Johnsen (Indiana University)

Attorney General Eric Holder today said he expected the long-stalled nominee to head the department’s Office of Legal Counsel to be confirmed.

President Barack Obama nominated Dawn Johnsen in February. She was reported out of the Judiciary committee in March. But Senate Republicans have pinned down her nomination, citing her vocal criticism of the Bush administration’s national security policies and her past work for the group formerly known as the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. She is also a strong bargaining chip for a Republican party striving to gain leverage in Congress.

In a discussion with reporters at the Department of Justice, Holder said Johnsen had been in limbo for “far too long.”

“I expect that Dawn Johnsen will be confirmed,” Holder said. “Her nomination has been pending, from my own parochial interest, for far too long. I’d like to have her here on the fifth floor with me and running the Office of Legal Counsel.”

Recently, women’s advocacy groups pressured Maine’s GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe to support Johnsen. For months, Collins and Snowe have refused to state their position her nomination.

Without their votes, Democrats still have a 60-vote majority. Last month, Former Democratic Party chairman Paul Kirk Jr. was sworn in as Massachusetts’ junior senator, replacing his longtime friend, the late Edward Kennedy.

But it’s still not clear that Johnsen has the enough votes to end a Republican filibuster.

Sens. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) have not said how they will vote on the procedural motion to end debate, known as cloture. However, Specter has not ruled out supporting Johnsen on the cloture vote. Indeed, lawmakers who face tight elections at home often split their votes on controversial issues, voting with their party on the procedural motion but against their party on a final vote. Specter and Pryor might choose that route.

Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.) is the only Republican publicly to support of Johnsen.  Click here to read our previous report about how Johnsen gets to 60 votes needed for cloture.

Holder also urged the Senate to act on other DOJ nominations.

“We have other nominees who are still pending, a number of United States Attorneys whose nominations are pending, all of whom I think need to be confirmed as quickly as possible so that we can have a complete team in place in order to do the work the American people expect us to do,” Holder said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a 16 U.S. Attorney nominees. The Senate has confirmed 14 of those nominees. The panel has yet to vote on 10  nominees.

Dawn Johnsen (Indiana University)

Women’s advocacy groups are pressuring Maine’s GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe to support Dawn Johnsen’s long-stalled nomination to head the Justice Department’s Office Legal Counsel.

The Indiana University law professor “deserves a confirmation vote,” Kate Brogan of the Family Planning Association of Maine told reporters on a conference call Tuesday. For months, Collins and Snowe have refused to say where they stand on the Johnsen nomination. Objections from Senate Republicans mean Democrats need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

Collins and Snowe are moderate Republicans in an increasingly conservative party. At home, they are popular. Collins was re-elected in 2008 with 62% percent of the vote and Snowe won re-election in 2006 with 74% of the vote. But on Capitol Hill, they stand nearly alone in the Senate Republican Conference as strong supporters of abortion-rights. The Maine Republicans have a 100-percent rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Back when NARAL was known as the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, Johnsen worked as a lawyer for the abortions-rights group. That’s one reason Senate Republicans have objected to her. She was also a vocal critic of the Bush administration’s Office of Legal Counsel, which authorized the use of waterboarding on terrorism suspects, which both President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have called torture. Johnsen was nominated on Feb. 11, and the Senate Judiciary Committee forwarded her name to the full Senate in March.

And still, she awaits a confirmation vote.

Sarah Standiford, Executive Director of the Maine Women’s Lobby, said the OLC “play[s] a key role in protecting our constitutional rights,” including the right to privacy. She added that Johnsen’s nomination is “particularity important” because of Johnsen’s record of supporting privacy rights.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)

State Rep. Cynthia Dill (D-Maine) told reporters Johnsen “is a constitutional expert” who “has the experience” needed to do the job. She touted Johnsen’s “sound and independent legal advice.” Added Dill: ”Dawn Johnsen has a reputation of being fiercely independent and does not let partisan politics get in the way of defending the Constitution.”

Also Tuesday, a coalition of liberal-leaning activist and civil rights groups sent this letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to protest lack of action on the nominations of Johnsen and Tom Perez, tapped by Obama to lead the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. The groups said they were “particularly troubled,” by the long delay on Johnsen.

Johnsen has come under criticism from Republicans for her outspokenness and her writings. The nominee has expressed skepticism over the legality of a Bush-era memo that carved out an exemption for faith-based groups seeking government contracts. She has written that the broad reading of presidential authority in the Bush administration was “outlandish,â€� and its constitutional arguments were “shockingly flawed.”

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) efforts to get 60 votes to move forward on Johnsen have been hampered in part by the long illness and recent death of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who succumbed earlier this month to brain cancer. Kennedy’s replacement has not been named. Also, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who is 91 years old, has been absent from the Senate due to illness.

But with Collins and Snowe on board, Reid would have the votes to get Johnsen over the procedural hurdle and confirmed, according to Senate aides.

Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel nominee Dawn Johnsen does not have a job in Washington yet. But her family is already settling into life in the nation’s capital, her former colleagues told Main Justice this week.

Dawn Johnsen (Indiana University)

Johnsen started renting a house in Maryland for her family earlier this summer. Her kids — boys ages 10 and 12 — are attending the local public school. Her husband, John M. Hamilton, is the president of D.C.-based City First Enterprises, which develops affordable housing in Washington.

“I think Dawn is proceeding…with confidence,” one former colleague told Main Justice.

Johnsen and Hamilton declined to be interviewed for this report.

Life for Johnsen, however, is not going according to plan. The Indiana University law professor will be traveling between Washington and Bloomington on a regular basis this fall to teach “Sexuality, Reproduction and the Lawâ€� at IU’s Maurer School of Law as she waits for the Senate to move on her nomination.

It has been more than five months since the Senate Judiciary Committee reported her nomination to the full Senate on a party-line vote. But objections from Republicans have kept the nomination from moving forward. Democrats need 60 votes to overcome a GOP filibuster – a task made harder by Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) death this week and the frail condition of ailing Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.).

It isn’t clear who’s blocking her nomination. But leading Senate Republicans including Judiciary Committee members John Cornyn (Texas) and Jon Kyl (Ariz.) have criticized Johnsen for her support of abortion rights and her strong disapproval of the Bush administration legal memos used to justify torture against suspected terrorists.

Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) has sent mixed signals. The former ranking member of the Senate Judiciary panel didn’t vote on her nomination in committee. Specter later switched parties and faces an uphill battle for re-election next year. He has said he opposes Johnsen’s confirmation. But he hasn’t said how he will vote on the all-important procedural motion to end debate, known as cloture. Click here to read our previous report about how Johnsen gets to 60 votes needed for cloture.

Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.) is the only Republican publicly to support of Johnsen. Democrats are hopeful they still may persuade Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, moderate Republicans who remain undecided.

But even Democrats aren’t all behind Johnsen. Sen. Mark Pryor (Ark.) hasn’t said how he will vote. Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.) is against her confirmation, though he has said he will vote with Democrats on cloture.

Sonia Sotomayor won Senate confirmation this afternoon to the Supreme Court by a vote of 68 to 31.

Only nine Republicans voted in favor of her confirmation. They were:

-Sen. Mel Martinez (Fla.)

-Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.)

-Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine)

-Sen. Susan Collins (Maine)

-Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.)

-Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.)

-Sen. Christopher Bond (Mo.)

-Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.)

-Sen. George Voinovich (Ohio)

Here’s the Senate roll call vote:

The Senate passed legislation late last night that would protect people who are attacked because of their sexual orientation, gender or disability.

The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act provides the most significant changes to federal hate crimes law since the approval of a 1968 bill that covered crimes carried out on the basis of religion, race, color or national origin. The legislation last night was added to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Bill. The hate crimes amendment passed by a voice vote after a 63-28 vote on cloture.

Harry Reid (Gov)

“The Senate made a strong statement this evening that hate crimes have no place in America,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a statement. “I am pleased to see the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act added as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill.”

Most Republicans were against the hate crimes legislation, saying state laws already cover hate crimes and it could criminalize religious opposition to homosexuality. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said on the Senate floor Wednesday that he was “deeply, deeply disappointed� by Reid for introducing the legislation as an amendment to the defense bill.

Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Richard Lugar (Ind.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Olympia Snowe (Maine) and George Voinovich (Ohio) were the only Republicans to vote in favor of cloture. There were no Democrats that voted against cloture.

Backers of the hate crimes legislation have tried to attach it to the annual defense authorization bill since 1999, but it was always taken out before a final vote on the defense legislation. Attorney General Eric Holder called on Congress last month to pass hate crimes legislation.