Bush Taps DOJ Insider for Office of Legal Policy

The Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy could soon have a permanent chief.

Last week, President George W. Bush nominated Elisebeth Cook, a former deputy in that office, to be the next assistant attorney general in that office. Last week, she also was elevated to acting chief.

With Cook's nomination, Attorney General Michael Mukasey almost has his entire leadership team in place, except for some who are still awaiting Senate confirmation.

The OLP coordinates policies across the department and the federal government and, along with the Office of Legislative Affairs, helps promote policies in Congress. OLP also works with the attorney general in advising the president on nominations for Article III judgeships and steering those candidates through the confirmation process in Congress.

A DOJ spokesman says Cook has worked within OLP since 2005, advising senior aides and developing and coordinating department and administration policies on a wide range of issues.

A Harvard Law School and University of Chicago graduate, Cook previously worked as a litigator at Cooper & Kirk and has clerked for Senior Circuit Judge Laurence Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Judge Lee Rosenthal of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

She is a member of The Federalist Society and according to records donated $1,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign during the 2004 primary in Virginia and also gave $500 to Gov. George Allen's coffers in 2006. She also has donated money to the D.C.-based Women Empowered Against Violence nonprofit group that aids women and girls victimized by their partners.