[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 209 (Tuesday, December 19, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S6040]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



               Nomination of Christopher Charles Fonzone

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm 
Chirstopher Charles Fonzone to serve as Assistant Attorney General for 
the Office of Legal Counsel, OLC.
  After graduating from Cornell University and Harvard Law School, Mr. 
Fonzone clerked for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson on the U.S. Court of 
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and later Justice Stephen Breyer on the 
U.S. Supreme Court. Subsequently, Mr. Fonzone held a number of roles in 
the Obama administration: attorney on the appellate staff in the Civil 
Division at the Justice Department, special counsel in the Office of 
the General Counsel at the Department of Defense, attorney-adviser in 
OLC, special assistant and associate counsel in the White House 
Counsel's Office and Deputy National Security Council--NSC--Legal 
Adviser, and deputy assistant and counsel in the White House Counsel's 
Office and NSC Legal Adviser.
  After working in private practice at Sidley Austin for several years, 
Mr. Fonzone returned to public service as the general counsel for the 
Office of the Director of National Intelligence, ODNI. In this role, 
Mr. Fonzone provides advice and counsel to the Director of National 
Intelligence and other senior ODNI leaders on a range of legal issues 
facing the Agency, including intelligence law, employment matters, 
administrative matters, and budgetary and fiscal issues.
  Mr. Fonzone's demonstrated track record advising the U.S. Government 
and clients on a range of complex legal issues will serve him well when 
he is confirmed to lead OLC.
  I urge my colleagues to support Mr. Fonzone's nomination.