Office of Counsel

The Office of Counsel to the President of the United States&mdash;also known as the Counsel to the President, White House Office Counsel and White House Counsel&mdash;"advises the President on all legal issues concerning the President and the White House." The White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President. 

The Office of Counsel has existed since 1941, as each President has set up in the White House what President Dwight D. Eisenhower's "counsel Gerald Morgan called the 'Just-Us Department': an office on his immediate staff that could give him advice directly -- and independently of the institutional resources of his cabinet." 

George W. Bush administration
On January 9, 2007, it was announced that President George W. Bush was to appoint veteran Washington lawyer Fred F. Fielding as White House Counsel. 

President Bush's first White House Counsel was Alberto R. Gonzales (2001-2005), who is now U.S. Attorney General. He was succeeded in February 2005 by Harriet E. Miers, at one time under consideration as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Miers resigned January 5, 2007. 

Expanded White House legal office
"The White House has expanded its legal team to handle the fights it is having with the new Democratic Congress," Deb Reichmann wrote June 8, 2007, for the Associated Press.

"Since becoming President Bush's new lawyer in February [2007], Fred Fielding has created five new positions in the White House counsel's office, expanding the staff to 22 lawyers, the White House said ... Fielding also has filled a handful of empty desks in his office.

"Fielding is strengthening the staff to deal with an avalanche of requests the White House is getting from lawmakers investigating the flap over the firings of U.S. attorneys, missing e-mails, prewar intelligence and other matters," Reichmann wrote.

"'The White House is laying in its stone wall,' said John Flannery, a former federal prosecutor and a Democratic activist. 'They are preparing to deflect the subpoenas for Rove and Miers from the beaches of Capitol Hill to the heights of the Supreme Court if necessary.'"

On June 8, 2007, the following were named by President George W. Bush to serve in the Office of Counsel: J. Michael Farren was named to serve as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President. Ferran replaces William K. Kelley.

William Burck and Emmet Flood were each named to serve as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Special Counsel to the President. Scott Coffina, Amy F. Dunathan, Francis Q. Hoang, Al Lambert, Michael Purpura, and Kate Todd were each named to serve as an Associate Counsel to the President.

On June 18, 2007, it was announced that Stephen D. Potts, Chairman of the Ethics Resource Center, will join the Office of Counsel in July 2007 as an Associate Counsel to the President.

About the new members
It should be noted that, of the ten new members of the Office of Counsel named by President Bush on June 8, 2007, three come directly from the offices of Fred Fielding's former law firm Wiley Rein & Fielding, LLP, namely Amy F. Dunathan, Al Lambert, and Kate Todd. A fourth, Scott Coffina, who recently served as a Partner at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads in Philadelphia, is "a friend" with Fielding and a former associate at Wiley Rein & Fielding.

Stephen D. Potts, Chairman of the Ethics Resource Center since 2004, was also previously connected with Fielding, whom Potts has "known for many years". Fielding served as ERC's Vice Chair before his appointment as White House Counsel in January 2007.

Two come from the offices of Williams & Connolly, LLP, which represents "highly visible criminal cases throughout the country", namely Emmet Flood and Francis Q. Hoang.

Another, Michael Purpura, recently served as Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice as "a top aide" to Deputy AG Paul J. McNulty, who "resigned amid the controversy over the firing of U.S. Attorneys."

Of the ten, three have direct ties to current members of the Supreme Court: William Burck served as a Law Clerk to Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and Emmet Flood served as a Law Clerk to Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. Also, Kate Todd's husband is a Law Clerk to Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr..

Additionally, Farren was previously connected with the Republican National Committee, having served as White House liaison from 1981 to 1983.

Deputy Assistants
There have been two Deputy Assistants to the President who concurrently served as Deputy Counsel to the President: Timothy E. Flanigan (2001-2003) and David G. Leitch (2003- ).

J. Michael Farren was named on June 8, 2007, to serve as both Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President. Ferran replaces William K. Kelley, "who will return to his teaching job at Notre Dame at the end of [June 2007]" and "has been caught up in the U.S. attorney controversy."

Other Assistants
Additionally, there have been a number of Special Assistants to the President, Associate Counsels to the President, and Executive Assistants to the Counsel of the President. They are often simply referred to as "White House lawyers" and "Bush administration lawyers".


 * H. Chris Bartolomucci (2002-2004)
 * Bradford A. Berenson (2001-2003)
 * Rachel Brand (2002- )
 * Jennifer Brosnahan (2003- ; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Reginald J. Brown (2004)
 * William Burck (2007- ; Deputy Assistant to the President and Special Counsel to the President)
 * James W. Caroll (2004)
 * Robert W. Cobb (2001-2002)
 * Scott Coffina (2007- ; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Philip A. Cooney
 * Grant Dixton (2004- ; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Charles Duggan (2004- )
 * Amy F. Dunathan (2007- ; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Paul R. Eckert (2006- )
 * Courtney Simmons Elwood (2002)
 * Nanette R. Everson (2003- )
 * Leslie Fahrenkopf (2004; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Emmet Flood (2007- ; Deputy Assistant to the President and Special Counsel to the President)
 * Noel J. Francisco (2002-2004)
 * Dabney Friedrich (2004- ; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Brett Gerry (Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Francis Q. Hoang (2007- ; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Brett M. Kavanaugh (2002-2004)
 * William K. Kelley (Deputy Counsel to the President)
 * Richard Klingler (2006- ; Senior Associate Counsel)
 * Al Lambert (2007- ; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Emily A. Lawrimore (2006- )
 * Melinda Loftin (2001)
 * Thomas A. Manheim (2004)
 * Edward McNally, Sr. (2004) (Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Jennifer Newstead (2002-2004)
 * Christopher G. Oprison (2006- )
 * Richard Painter (2006- ; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Stephen D. Potts (2007- ; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Benjamin A. Powell (2002- ; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Michael Purpura (2007- ; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Naomi Rao (Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Michael Scudder Jr. (2007- ; Associate Counsel)
 * Kate Todd (2007- ; Associate Counsel to the President)
 * Jason Torchinsky (2005)
 * Ted Ullyot (2003-2004)
 * Helgi C. Walker (2001-2003)
 * Raul F. Yanes (2004-2006)

Former Members of the Office

 * John B. Bellinger, III, Senior Associate Counsel to the President and Legal Adviser to the National Security Council (2001-2005)
 * Lloyd N. Cutler, White House Counsel under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton
 * Lanny Davis, Special White House Counsel under President Bill Clinton
 * John W. Dean, White House Counsel under President Richard Nixon
 * C. Boyden Gray, White House Counsel under President George H.W. Bush
 * Jeffrey R. Holmstead, Associate Counsel to the President under President George H.W. Bush
 * Beth Nolan, former Counsel to the President and Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel under President Bill Clinton
 * Robert J. Portman, Associate Counsel to the President and Director of the White House office of Legislative Affairs under President George H.W. Bush
 * Stephen G. Rademaker, Associate Counsel to the President under President George H.W. Bush
 * John G. Roberts, Jr., Associate Counsel under President Ronald Reagan

Related SourceWatch articles

 * 9/11 Commission
 * Bush's White House Staff
 * David S. Addington
 * executive privilege
 * James E. Sharp (Bush's personal outside counsel for Valerie Plame case)
 * Office of Special Counsel
 * Paul D. Clement
 * presidential signing statements
 * Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
 * The case for impeachment of President George W. Bush
 * Theodore B. Olson
 * U.S. Department of Justice

General Information

 * White House Counsel in the Wikipedia.
 * White House 2001 Project, James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.

White House Office staff lists

 * George W. Bush: Administration of the Government. Office of Counsel (EOP, The White House Office), The American President, 2003 (last updated January 18, 2005).
 * Dan Froomkin, 2003 White House Office Staff List - Alphabetical, Washington Post (accurate as of June 20, 2003).
 * Dan Froomkin, 2004 White House Office Staff List - Alphabetical and By Title, Washington Post (accurate as of June 12, 2004).
 * "The Bush Administration," Encyclopedia at History.com, October 2004.
 * Dan Froomkin, 2005 White House Office Staff List - By Salary, Washington Post (accurate as of July 1, 2005).

External articles

 * Ronald D. Rotunda, "White House Counsel and the Attorney Client Privilege," The Federalist Society, 2001.
 * "The Decision Makers: Justice Department," National Journal (GovExec.com), August 30, 2005.
 * Michael A. Fletcher, "White House Counsel Miers Chosen for Court," Washington Post, October 4, 2005.
 * Robin Mullins Boyd, "The truth About Qualifications," OpinionEditorials.com, October 17, 2005.
 * Marcia Coyle, "Alito's 'Murder Board' a Mix of the Legal Elite. Ted Olson, Harriet Miers on rehearsal staff," The National Law Journal (Law.com), January 30, 2006.
 * Rob McManamy, "White House counsel Painter to speak today," The University of Chicago Chronicle, May 11, 2006.
 * Jane Hamsher, "Murray Waas to Join Daily Kos Panel," Firedoglake Blog, May 17, 2006.
 * Mike Allen, "Into the Fray. After years of pulling away from Mideast diplomacy, the White House is forced, reluctantly, to undergo sudden immersion," TIME Magazine, July 23, 2006.
 * Ron Brynaert, "Time: Presidential adviser wants Bush to 'beef up' White House Counsel's office fearing possible Dem-controlled House probes," The Raw Story, July 23, 2006.
 * Greg Grandin, "Former Bush Administration Lawyer Still Flacking for Torture," AlterNet, September 21, 2006. re John C. Yoo
 * Julie Hirschfeld Davis, "Bush is bracing for new scrutiny. White House hiring lawyers in expectation of Democratic probe," Baltimore Sun, December 26, 2006; posted by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) (from Chicago Tribune), December 27, 2006.
 * Peter Baker and R. Jeffrey Smith, "Miers Steps Down As White House Gears Up for Battle," Washington Post, January 5, 2007.
 * "Veteran Washington Lawyer Named Counsel," Associated Press (Forbes), January 9, 2007.
 * David Lat, "Musical Chairs: Fred Fielding Beefs Up the White House Counsel's Office," AboveTheLaw.com, February 14, 2007.
 * Alexis Simendinger, "WH Counsel Expands Legal Team," The Gate/National Journal, June 8, 2007.
 * Peter Lattman, "White House Staffs Up Its 'Great Little Law Firm'," Law Blog/Wall Street Journal, June 8, 2007.
 * Deb Reichmann, "White House Expands Its Legal Team," Associated Press (FederalNewsRadio.com), June 8, 2007.
 * Marq, "Why Is George Bush Lawyering Up If Everything Is Above Board?" Specious Reasoning, June 8, 2007.
 * Peter Baker, "Besieged White House Reinforces Counsel's Office," Washington Post, June 9, 2007.
 * Maura Reynolds, "White House counsel adds staff to handle inquiries. The office hires nine attorneys in the face of a growing number of congressional investigations," Los Angeles Times, June 9, 2007.
 * Ron Hutcheson, "Bush beefs up corps of lawyers. Moves to confront Congress' probes," McClatchy Newspapers (News Observer), June 9, 2007.
 * Frank Rich, "When Will Afredo Get Whacked?" New York Times, March 25, 2007.
 * Murray Waas, "The Case of the Gonzales Notes," The Atlantic, Sept. 26 2008.
 * Murray Waas, "What Did Bush Tell Gonzales?" The Atlantic, Sept. 26, 2008.