Obama's Deputy Attorney General nominee used to represent Playboy

Washington, Feb.5 (ANI): President Barack Obama's pick for deputy attorney general, David Ogden, used to represent Playboy, and in one case, he successfully paved the way for blind people to enjoy the magazine at the Library of Congress.

According to Fox News, questions are now being asked whether it would be proper to name a strident defender of Playboy and other purveyors of nudity as the number two at the nation's top law enforcement agency.

"There's essentially a question of propriety," said Brian Burch, president of the religious conservative group, Fidelis -- which released a critical report on Ogden's past representation.

Burch co-signed a letter this week to committee members raising flags about Ogden, up for deputy attorney general, and other nominees.

At a time when Congress is engrossed in a debate over stimulus, Fidelis argues Ogden was engaged in the wrong kind.

One of Ogden's triumphs came in 1986, when he argued against the Library of Congress' decision to stop publishing Braille editions of Playboy magazine. He won, on behalf of the American Council for the Blind, Playboy and other plaintiffs.

Afterward he was quoted as saying he hopes the decision doesn't create a burden but "that's the price of violating people's First Amendment rights."

Ogden also represented Playboy two decades ago in pushing for the federal court to stop then-Attorney General Edwin Meese from releasing a "black list" of distributors of allegedly pornographic content. He won that as well.

Ogden frequently represented clients, not all of them nudie-magazines, who challenged what they saw as censorship and unconstitutional restrictions.

Burch said Ogden's legal work does not disqualify him for the job of deputy attorney general. But he still said the Senate should vote against him.

The National District Attorneys Association, however, says Ogden has an "institutional perspective" of the agency and is an impressive candidate.(ANI)