President Obama's nomination of federal prosecutor John Carlin to run the Justice Department's National Security Division has occasioned "strenuous" objections from law enforcement officials on institutional separations of power.
Former [law enforcement] officials said they are concerned that Carlin, who has been acting in the position since March, doesn't speak as an independent voice for the department, but rather is aligning his positions first with the White House, and particularly with [homeland security and counterterrorism adviser] Lisa Monaco, thus undermining [Attorney General] Eric Holder's authority. Two individuals drew comparisons to John Yoo, the controversial Justice Department attorney in the George W. Bush administration, who was known to have his own relationships with White House officials and was seen as operating outside channels meant to guard against political influence...
