Do What We Say, Not What We Do

A Longtime Democrat Lawyer, Who Went On To Become Obama’s Deputy White House Counsel, Reviewed Sonia Sotomayor’s Documents

OBAMA WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL GREG CRAIG on lawyers reviewing part of Judge Sotomayor’s record: “They were private citizens under contract with the White House. The team was led by Ms. Leslie Kiernan, a partner with the Washington D.C. law firm of Zuckerman Spaeder.” (Gregory B. Craig, White House Counsel, Letter to Sen. Sessions, 7/02/2009)

“Former deputy White House counsel Leslie B. Kiernan has joined the law and lobby giant Akin Gump … Kiernan served in that role and as deputy assistant to President Obama from 2011 to 2014…. During her time in the Obama administration, she also served as counsel to the Office of the First Lady.” (“Deputy White House Counsel Leslie B. Kiernan Starts Job At Akin Gump, Lorillard Lobbying Contract Shifts To Imperial Tobacco Group Subsidiary,” The Washington Post, 7/07/2015)

Before Reviewing The Sotomayor Documents Leslie Kiernan Represented Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe And Former Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

“Prior to that, Kiernan was a longtime partner at the litigation powerhouse firm Zuckerman Spaeder. During that time, she represented David Plouffe, who would later become Obama’s campaign manager and strategist, in a federal investigation into questionable fundraising activities during the 1996 Senate bid of Robert Torricelli (D-NJ). Plouffe at the time was Torricelli’s campaign manager.” (“Deputy White House Counsel Leslie B. Kiernan Starts Job At Akin Gump, Lorillard Lobbying Contract Shifts To Imperial Tobacco Group Subsidiary,” The Washington Post, 7/07/2015)

• “Kiernan was a longtime partner at Zuckerman Spaeder who focused on white-collar defense and congressional investigations, including representing Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) during most of a lengthy House ethics probe. In 2009, she did some outside work for Obama by interviewing Justice Sonia Sotomayor prior to her Supreme Court nomination.” (“White House Counsel Brings in New Staff,” The Blog of LegalTimes, 8/17/2011)

Longtime Clinton White House Lawyer Bruce Lindsey Oversaw The Clinton Library’s Review Of Elena Kagan’s Documents

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: “Document production from [Elena Kagan’s] years in the Clinton White House counsel’s office was supervised by Bruce Lindsey, whose White House tenure overlapped with Ms. Kagan’s. Bill Clinton designated Mr. Lindsey to supervise records from his Presidency in cooperation with the National Archives and Records Administration under the Presidential Records Act. Some documents related to Ms. Kagan’s White House tenure didn’t become public until 2014.” (Editorial, “The Kavanaugh Document Fight,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/13/2018)

“Bruce Lindsey serves as the counselor to the chair of the Board for the Clinton Foundation, and served as chairman from 2005 to 2017. Bruce joined the Foundation in 2001 as general counsel and served as CEO from 2003 to 2013. Bruce served as assistant to the President and deputy counsel to the President throughout President Clinton's two terms in office.” (“Board of Directors,” Clinton Foundation Website, Accessed 8/17/2018)

The Obama White House Argued ‘It Is Necessary For A Representative Appointed By Clinton To Review The [Kagan] Files’

“White House counsel Bob Bauer informed Sessions in a letter Tuesday that the Obama administration would not block the release of documents [related to Elena Kagan] from the Clinton archive. ‘President Obama does not intend to assert executive privilege over any of the documents requested by the committee,’ Bauer wrote. Bauer, however, wrote that former President Bill Clinton may have ‘confidentiality interests’ in the documents that need to be protected. Bauer argued that is why it is necessary for a representative appointed by Clinton to review the files.” (“Fight Over Kagan Documents Heats Up,” The Hill, 6/02/2010)