Fred Fisher Fielding (born March 21, 1939) is an American lawyer. He held the office of

White House Counsel The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...

for US Presidents

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and George W. Bush in addition to serving as an Associate and Deputy

for

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

under

John Dean John Wesley Dean III (born October 14, 1938) is an American former attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal ...

. Fielding was also of counsel to the

presidential transition of Donald Trump Planning for the presidential transition of Donald Trump, led by then vice president-elect, former governor Mike Pence of Indiana, began before Donald Trump won the United States presidential election on November 8, 2016, and became the pr ...

and a member of the

9/11 Commission The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, "to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks", includin ...

. An alumnus of

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...

, he is the namesake of that school's Fielding Center for Presidential Leadership Study.

Personal life

Fielding was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and raised in Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania. He attended

Central Bucks High School West Central Bucks High School - West, often shortened to CB West, is a public high school housing students in grades ten through twelve. It is located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania and is part of the Central Bucks School District. During the 2020-202 ...

, graduated cum laude from

in 1961, and received his J.D. degree from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

in 1964. He married Maria Dugger and had two children, Adam and Alexandra. At Gettysburg College, he is the namesake of the Fielding Center for Presidential Leadership Study.

Career

Law firms

Fielding began his career as a summer associate at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in 1963. Fielding was a senior partner at

Wiley Rein LLP Wiley Rein LLP (known as Wiley) is one of the largest law firms in Washington, D.C., United States. With 240 lawyers, the firm represents clients in complex regulatory, litigation, and transactional matters. Many of the firm's lawyers and publ ...

(formerly Wiley Rein & Fielding), a Washington, D.C. law firm, and in 2009, Fielding joined

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,200 legal professionals in 31 offices across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Mergers with other law firms stimulated global growth and led to ...

as a partner in the firm's Washington office. In 2007, he represented, along with others,

Blackwater Worldwide Blackwater was an American private military company founded on December 26, 1996 by former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince. It was renamed Xe Services in 2009 and known as Academi since 2011 after it was acquired by a group of private investors. ...

, a

private military company A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military ...

. Following the

Blackwater Baghdad shootings The Nisour Square massacre occurred on September 16, 2007, when employees of Blackwater Security Consulting (now Constellis), a private military company contracted by the US government to provide security services in Iraq, shot at Iraqi civilian ...

Henry Waxman Henry Arnold Waxman (born September 12, 1939) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1975 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district included much of the western part of the city of ...

House Oversight Committee The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

ed its

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

Erik Prince to testify. The climate of opinion among politicians and the public at large jeopardized its contracts to provide security for

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

personnel in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Presidential administrations

Richard Nixon

Fielding served as Associate Counsel for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

from 1970 to 1972, where he was the deputy to

during the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

. He then returned to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

=Deep Throat Connection

= In April 2003, a team of

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...

students taught by William Gaines conducted a detailed review of source materials, leading them to conclude that Fielding was Deep Throat, the unnamed source for articles written by ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' reporters

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for '' The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingt ...

and

Carl Bernstein Carl Milton Bernstein ( ; born February 14, 1944) is an American investigative journalist and author. While a young reporter for ''The Washington Post'' in 1972, Bernstein was teamed up with Bob Woodward, and the two did much of the original n ...

. Many years previously, former White House Chief of Staff for

H. R. Haldeman Harry Robbins Haldeman (October 27, 1926 – November 12, 1993) was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and his consequent involvement in the Watergate s ...

, also speculated that Fielding was Deep Throat. That speculation ended after former Associate Director of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

Mark Felt William Mark Felt Sr. (August 17, 1913 – December 18, 2008) was an American law enforcement officer who worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1942 to 1973 and was known for his role in the Watergate scandal. Felt ...

announced in May 2005 that he was Deep Throat, as later confirmed by Woodward, Bernstein and Executive Editor

Ben Bradlee Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (, 1921 – , 2014) was an American journalist who served as managing editor, then as executive editor of ''The Washington Post'', from 1965 to 1991. He became a public figure when the ''Post'' joined ''The New Y ...

in a statement released through ''The Washington Post''.

Ronald Reagan

He was the

Counsel to the President The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...

for President

from 1981 to 1986.

George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton

Fielding served on the Tribunal on the U.S.-UK Air Treaty Dispute (1989–1994), George H. W. Bush's

Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform was a commission established by President George H. W. Bush in to review federal ethics laws, executive orders, and policies and to make recommendations to the president for legislative, administrative, and o ...

(1989), and

Secretary of Transportation A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

Rodney E. Slater's Task Force on Aviation Disasters (1997–1998).

9/11 Commission

In 2002 Fielding, became one of ten bipartisan members of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission), where he was credited with helping to persuade the Bush administration to be more transparent with the commission than the administration had initially planned to be.

George W. Bush

Fielding returned to government on January 8, 2007 by President George W. Bush to replace outgoing White House Counsel Harriet Miers. Fielding was responsible for approving the pardon issued by President Bush to convicted real estate fraudster Isaac Toussie. When the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...

'' reported that Toussie had made large contributions to the Republican Party, the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

revoked the pardon the next day. According to ''Time'' magazine in July 2009, Fielding opposed Vice President

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former ...

's request that President Bush issue a full pardon to convicted vice presidential aide Scooter Libby. Following Fielding's advice, Bush ended up not pardoning Libby.

Donald Trump

Fielding served on president-elect

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

's legal team. Fielding's work for Trump was announced by his Morgan, Lewis colleague,

Sheri Dillon Sheri Dillon is an American attorney who is a member of the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP since 2015. Education *Georgetown University Law Center, 1999, J.D., cum laude *University of Missouri, 1986, M.P.P., with honors *University of Miss ...

, when she spoke at Trump's January 11, 2017, a day after a leaked document alleged the Trump campaign's long suspected collusion with Russian efforts to derail his presidential campaign competitor

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

=Russia

= Fielding has published legal articles on the topics of presidential counsel and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

matters in his role at

. The firm was named 2016 Russia Law Firm of the Year by

Chambers and Partners Chambers and Partners (often noted elsewhere as Chambers & Partners) produces international rankings for the legal industry, which is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Orbach and Chambers Orbach and Chambers Publishing Limited was founded ...

The awards are based on research and, "substantial feedback from clients". The firm's Moscow office has won previous honors for its high-profile work in Russia. Including a Tier 1 rank from The Legal 500 EMEA for Corporate/M&A Law Firm, Russia and a rank in Bank 1 from Chambers Global for Energy & Natural Resources Law Firm, Russia.

References

External links

9/11 CommissionFred Fielding's federal campaign contribution reportListing on Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fielding, Fred F. 1939 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy George W. Bush administration personnel Gettysburg College alumni Lawyers from Philadelphia Pennsylvania Republicans Reagan administration personnel United States presidential advisors University of Virginia School of Law alumni White House Counsels American law firm executives