Government

'Indonesian Torture Case' Not Exactly The Phrase You Want To See Attached To Biden Official

Criticism had grown louder of the pick, but this proved too much to overcome.

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(Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

Alex Oh looked to be locked into a long-term run as the SEC Enforcement chief, but instead will be sticking around Paul Weiss. The co-chair of the firm’s Anti-Corruption & FCPA Practice Group resigned from the government post she was named to last week after Judge Royce Lamberth “reprimanded her and others defending oil giant ExxonMobil in a class action lawsuit brought by Indonesian villagers,” as Politico put it.

The reprimand came in response to a motion filed by plaintiffs’ counsel over a variety of allegedly dilatory deposition tactics.

“In light of the time and attention it will take from me, I have reached the conclusion that I cannot address this development without it becoming an unwelcome distraction to the important work of the division,” Oh said in a resignation letter.

Whether the Judge Lamberth order really changed Oh’s mind or merely served as the last straw isn’t exactly clear. The individual order is not flattering, but could be argued. On the other hand, headlines characterizing the underlying matter as “Indonesian torture case” aren’t particularly helpful for someone trying to seamlessly transition into an administration built on the back of already skeptical progressive voters.

To be fair, progressive opposition to Oh’s selection for the Enforcement job existed before the public focused on this case, where Indonesian villagers are suing ExxonMobil for hiring a private army that allegedly committed murders and other acts of torture to guard natural gas facilities in the country. Groups had already questioned Oh’s selection based on her long history of defending the class of client that she’d be expected to take to task in the new role.

It seems like we’re talking about revolving doors a lot today, but it’s worth keeping top of mind that the long-term career path of these posts is a return to the private sector and consequently a return to currying favor with people you’ve spent several years prosecuting. That’s not an easy impulse to firewall when it’s worth millions. And even for those that can successfully overcome that — and I personally think more of those people exist than some people think — the appearance of impropriety can be enough to avoid putting the government in that position.

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On the other hand, Gary Gensler went from Goldman Sachs to a darling of left-leaning groups after a solid tenure as a regulator under Obama. Sometimes people can surprise you. But the Exxon case appears to have ultimately been too much to overcome for Oh.

Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, said Wednesday that “Gary Gensler and the SEC dodged a bullet in avoiding having a seemingly overzealous defender of ExxonMobil’s interests over Indonesian villagers entrusted with the powerful SEC Enforcement Division.”

It all goes back to a theme we’ve been talking about for a while here: the right to counsel doesn’t necessarily mean the right to have you as counsel, and when a lawyer isn’t acting as a court-appointed attorney, the lawyer is making a choice in every matter and has to live with the consequences of that choice. The ACLU didn’t defend Nazis because “everyone deserves a lawyer,” they did it to further a higher principle and the organization is more than comfortable defending that point without resorting to an undeserved romanticization of the “role of a lawyer.”

And, sometimes, getting wrapped up with the phrase “Indonesian torture case” is going to be a stumbling block to government work. That’s just the way it goes.

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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