Jack Goldsmith

Jack Landman Goldsmith, a conservative lawyer and a professor since 2004 at Harvard Law School, is the former head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel and a "vocal critic of the Administration's political tactics ... following the recent publication of his book which details his attempts to re-write legal opinions that gave the Administration extraordinary latitude in domestic surveillance, torture and treatment of captives in Afghanistan and Iraq."

Vice President Dick Cheney "blocked [Goldsmith's] promotion ... in retaliation for his role in a review of a government surveillance program that led to the [May 10, 2004,] Intensive Care Unit Showdown, where then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and Chief of Staff Andrew Card attempted to persuade a post-op John Ashcroft to give legal cover to the government's secret domestic spying program, according to written answers provided to Congress by former Deputy Attorney General James Comey."

Goldsmith resigned June 17, 2004, with an effective date of July 30, 2004, from the Office of Counsel and was replaced in 2005 by Steven G. Bradbury.

Goldsmith has been a Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute since 2004 after leaving the Bush administration.

Bush Administration War on Terror Memos
ProPublica notes that "the Bush administration’s "war on terror" - including its controversial policies on detentions, interrogations and warrantless wiretapping - were all underpinned by legal memoranda. While some of those memos have been released ... the former administration chose to keep many others secret, citing security and confidentiality concerns. The decision to release them now lies with President Obama. To help inform the debate - and inject an extra dose of accountability - we’re posting a list of the relevant memos, both public and secret." 

Memo authors include John C. Yoo, Steven G. Bradbury, Jay Bybee, James B. Comey, Robert J. Delahunty, Jack Goldsmith, James Ho, Daniel Levin, Patrick Philbin, legal architects (and some internal critics) of the Bush Administration's use of torture and detention policies now being reversed or reviewed by the Obama Administration.

Articles by Jack Goldsmith

 * With Eric A. Posner, "A Better Way on Detainees," Washington Post, August 4, 2006.
 * With Dahlia Lithwick, "Politics as Usual. Why the Justice Department will never be apolitical," Slate, March 14, 2007.

Published works by Jack Goldsmith

 * The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration, W. W. Norton, September 10, 2007, ISBN-10: 0393065502 / ISBN-13: 978-0393065503.
 * The Limits of International Law with Eric A. Posner, Oxford University Press, November 15, 2006, ISBN-10: 0195314174 / ISBN-13: 978-0195314175.
 * Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World with Tim Wu, Oxford University Press, February 24, 2006, ISBN-10: 0195152662 / ISBN-13: 978-0195152661.

Professional experience / education
The following information about Goldsmith's professional experience and education comes from his AEI profile.


 * Professor, Harvard Law School, 2004-present
 * Assistant attorney general, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, 2003-2004
 * Associate professor, 1994-1997; professor, 2003-2004, University of Virginia School of Law
 * Special counsel to the general counsel, U.S. Department of Defense, 2002-2003
 * Professor, University of Chicago Law School, 1997-2003
 * Associate, Covington & Burling, Washington, D.C., 1992-1994
 * Legal assistant to Judge George Aldrich, Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, The Netherlands, 1991-1992
 * Law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court, 1990-1991
 * Law clerk to Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1989-1990
 * Diploma in Private International Law, Hague Academy of International Law
 * J.D., Yale Law School
 * B.A., M.A., Oxford University
 * B.A., Washington & Lee University

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Bush administration and torture
 * George W. Bush's domestic spying

2004

 * Jim Lobe, "130 Jurists Condemn White House Torture Memos," Inter Press Service (Antiwar.com), August 7, 2004.
 * Dana Milbank, "In Cheney's Shadow, Counsel Pushes the Conservative Cause," Washington Post, October 11, 2004.
 * Daniel J. Hemel, "Icy Welcome for New Law Prof," The Harvard Crimson, December 10, 2004.

2006

 * Daniel Klaidman, Stuart Taylor, Jr., and Evan Thomas, "Palace Revolt. They were loyal conservatives, and Bush appointees. They fought a quiet battle to rein in the president's power in the war on terror. And they paid a price for it," Newsweek/MSNBC, February 6, 2006 (issue).
 * Paras D. Bhayani, "After Newsweek Reports That Goldsmith Opposed Bush Torture Policy, HLS Profs' Critics Stay Mum," The Harvard Crimson, February 17, 2006.
 * Shane Harris and Murray Waas "Justice Department Probe Foiled" National Journal, May 25, 2006

2007

 * Murray Waas "Internal Affairs", National Journal, March 15, 2007.
 * Ryan Singel, "Former Official's Account of Intensive Care Showdown Over Gov Spying Raises Six Issues," Threat Level Blog/WIRED, May 17, 2007.
 * Ryan Singel, "FBI Office Under Investigation Involved in Secret Spying Controversy --UPDATED," Threat Level Blog/WIRED, August 16, 2007.
 * Spencer Ackerman, "Comey Ally Jack Goldsmith to Testify Before Senate Committee," TPMmuckraker, August 28, 2007.
 * Glenn Greenwald, Opinion: "Dick Cheney's top aide: 'We're one bomb away' from our goal," Salon, September 4, 2007.
 * Amanda Terkel, "Former Bush Official: White House Wanted To ‘Get Rid Of That Obnoxious FISA Court’," Think Progress, September 4, 2007.
 * Dan Froomkin, "What Addington Wrought," White House Watch Blog/Washington Post, September 5, 2007.
 * Pete Yost, "Lawyer Takes Legal Look at War on Terror," Associated Press, September 7, 2007.
 * Paul Mirengoff, "Cautions of a Conservative," Power Line Blog, September 7, 2007.
 * Daniel Klaidman, "‘The Law Required It’. Former Justice Department lawyer Jack Goldsmith explains why he fought the White House’s aggressive legal maneuvers in the fight against terror," Newsweek/MSNBC, September 8, 2007.
 * David Edwards and Jason Rhyne, "Former top DOJ lawyer speaks out on fight against Bush spying," The Raw Story, September 8, 2007.
 * Jeffrey Rosen, "Conscience of a Conservative," New York Times, September 9, 2007.
 * Charlie Savage, "Savage v. Goldsmith: Is presidential power a one-way ratchet? Has Cheney succeeded?" TPM Cafe, September 11, 2007.
 * Michiko Katukani, "Former Law Adviser Speaks Out on Bush," New York Times, September 11, 2007.
 * Benjamin Wittes, "Hijacked. Jack Goldsmith's Critique of Bush is More Complicated Than You Think," The Plank/National Review Online, September 11, 2007.
 * Jay Rosen, "The Master Narrative that Went Missing During the Bush Presidency," The Huffington Post, September 12, 2007.
 * Emma Schwartz, "Q&A with Jack Goldsmith. A Flawed Sense of Justice," U.S. News & World Report, September 16, 2007.
 * Tim Rutten, Book Review: "'The Terror Presidency' by Jack Goldsmith. A one-time insider details the Bush administration's legal deliberations on terrorists and presidential power," Los Angeles Times, September 19, 2007.
 * Michael McGough, Opinion: "The nuanced Bush-basher. Former Justice Dept. official Jack Goldsmith makes a more measured case against the Bush/Cheney 'war on terror' record than most of his lefty admirers," Los Angeles Times, September 20, 2007.
 * "Preserving the Rule of Law in the Fight Against Terrorism. Testimony of Jack Landman Goldsmith," Senate Committee on the Judiciary, October 2, 2007.
 * Chrisy Hardin Smith, "SJC: Goldsmith Testimony," Parts: I and II, Firedoglake Blog, October 2, 2007.
 * Jason Ryan, "Testimony Reveals Secrecy Over Wiretapping Program," Political Radar/ABC News, October 2, 2007.
 * Ryan Singel, "Goldsmith Says Too Many Lawyers Hurt Anti-Terror," Threat Level Blog/WIRED, October 2, 2007.
 * Ryan Singel, "Former DOJ Lawyer Couldn't Find Way to Legalize Bush Spying Program," Threat Level Blog/WIRED, October 2, 2007.
 * Paul Kiel, "Goldsmith: Legal Basis for Surveillance Program was 'Biggest Mess'," TPMmuckraker, October 2, 2007.
 * Dan Eggen, "White House Secrecy On Wiretaps Described," Washington Post, October 3, 2007.
 * Neil A. Lewis, "Panel Is Told of ‘Mess’ Over Eavesdropping," New York Times, October 3, 2007.
 * Pamela Hess, "Legality of Eavesdropping Questioned," Associated Press (Guardian (UK)), October 3, 2007.
 * David Edwards and Jason Rhyne, "NY Times: Severe interrogation techniques are 'hidden legacy' of Gonzales tenure at Justice," The Raw Story, October 4, 2007.
 * Nick Langewis and Mike Aivaz, "Jon Stewart sits down with Bush book author Goldsmith to discuss new terror memo," The Raw Story, October 5, 2007.

2008

 * Murray Waas,"The Case of the Gonzales Notes,"The Atlantic, Sept. 26, 2008.
 * Murray Waas,"What Bush Told Gonzales,"    The Atlantic, Sept. 26, 2008.

2009

 * Murray Waas, "Dropped Call: Alberto Gonzales Won't Be Charged Over Testimony," New York Magazine, Nov. 23, 2009.

External resources

 * Faculty Directory: Jack Landman Goldsmith, Harvard Law School, accessed October 5, 2007.
 * Jack Goldsmith in the dKosopedia.
 * Jack Goldsmith in the Wikipedia.