Lanny Davis
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Lanny Jesse Davis (born December 12, 1945) is an American political operative,
lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
, consultant, lobbyist, author, and television commentator. He is the co-founder and partner of the law firm of Davis Goldberg & Galper PLLC, and co-founder and partner of the public relations firm Trident DMG. From 1996 to 1998, he served as a special counsel to President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
and was a legal spokesperson for the President and the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
amid a litany of investigations. In July 2018, Davis was hired by Michael Cohen, a former personal attorney to
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, to represent Cohen in his testimony before Congress regarding President Donald Trump. Davis later represented Cohen when he pleaded guilty to tax fraud, bank fraud, and violation of campaign finance laws on August 21, 2018. Davis's clients have included Harvey Weinstein, Porton Group, National Women's History Museum, National Black Chamber of Commerce, eHealth, Sofitel Hotels,
Trent Lott Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, author, and politician who represented Mississippi in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1989 and in the United States Senate from 1989 to 2007. ...
, Gene Upshaw, Dan Snyder, Martha Stewart, Shannon Sharpe, and the Office of the President at
Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
. Davis has been a regular television commentator and political and legal analyst for
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, CNN,
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and network television news programs. He wrote a column called "Purple Nation," and his writing appeared in publications including
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
, '' The Hill'', ''
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'', and '' The Daily Caller''. A
Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
graduate, he won the Thurman Arnold Moot Court prize and contributed to the ''
Yale Law Journal ''The Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ) is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School. The journal is one ...
''. In 2005, President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
appointed Davis to serve as the only Democratic member of the five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, created by the U.S. Congress as part of the 2005 Intelligence Reform Act.


Background

Davis grew up in
Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous
, New Jersey, in a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family. His father, Mort, was a dentist in Jersey City and his mother worked as the office manager of his father's dental office. He attended Newark Academy in Newark, graduating in 1962. As an undergraduate at Yale, he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. According to an item in '' U.S. News & World Report'', as part of his initiation into the fraternity, Davis underwent hazing by, among others, the future
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. He also served as chairman of the campus newspaper, the '' Yale Daily News''. Davis went on to receive his J.D. degree from
Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
in 1970. It was there that he first met
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
. Davis has four children, and lives in Potomac, Maryland, with his second wife, Carolyn Atwell-Davis, who was the legislative affairs director for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. One of his sons,
Seth Seth, in the Abrahamic religions, was the third son of Adam and Eve. The Hebrew Bible names two of his siblings (although it also states that he had others): his brothers Cain and Abel. According to , Seth was born after Abel's murder by Cain, ...
, was a columnist for ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' magazine and is a
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commentator for CBS.


Career


Politics

From 1970 to 1972, Davis was National Director of Youth Coalition for Muskie, the youth organization of Edmund S. Muskie's unsuccessful campaign for the 1972 Democratic Party Presidential nomination. In 1976 Davis ran for Congress as a Democrat in Maryland's 8th congressional district and lost to Republican Newton Steers. Davis served three terms (1980–1992) on the
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...
representing the State of Maryland. In 2005 President Bush appointed Davis to serve as the only Democrat on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. Davis was the treasurer for
Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; February 24, 1942 – March 27, 2024) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. Originally a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Dem ...
's Reuniting Our Country PAC.


Attorney

Davis started his legal career as an associate at Patton Boggs in 1975 and became a partner in 1978. He served as special counsel to the President from 1996 to 1998, during which time he also was the spokesman for Clinton in issues regarding campaign finance investigations and other legal issues, including President Clinton's impeachment trial. After leaving the White House, Davis returned to Patton Boggs. There he worked as a lobbyist for the nation of
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001. In 2003, Davis became a partner in Washington, D.C. office of the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. There, he provides counseling to corporations and government contractors on crisis management. He left the firm in late 2009 to join McDermott Will & Emery, but separated from the firm seven months later to open his own company, Lanny J. Davis & Associates. He was a senior advisor and spokesman for the Israel Project. In 2009, he did "damage control for hawkish Democratic congresswoman Jane Harman over the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a pro-Israel lobbying group that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. It is one of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the ...
leak story".Roth, Zachary (2009-07-14
Lanny Davis Now Lobbying In Support Of Honduran Coup
Talking Points Memo
In January 2012 Davis launched a new public affairs firm, Purple Nation Solutions. Davis also joined the Philadelphia-based law firm of Dilworth Paxson L.L.P. in March 2012, practicing out of the firm's Washington office and focusing on "legal crisis management." In October 2012 Davis was the subject of a CBS Sunday Morning segment where he took investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson behind the scenes into the world of lobbying, focusing on his work for eHealthInsurance. In October 2013 Davis began acting as outside legal counsel to the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
to help defend the organization's nickname. He also represented Kathleen Kane and Bo Dietl in his solo practice. In 2016, at the age of 70, Davis co-founded the law firm of Davis Goldberg & Galper with partners Adam Goldberg and Joshua Galper, stating that he needed to continue supporting his family but was too busy to handle his workload by himself. In addition to co-founding Davis Goldberg & Galper, Davis started a new PR firm, called TridentDMG, in partnership with Eleanor McManus, who had worked with Davis since 2010 and previously served as a senior producer for CNN's "Larry King Live."


Michael Cohen

In July 2018, Davis was hired by Michael Cohen, a former personal attorney to
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, to represent him as co-counsel in the Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal. Davis encouraged Cohen to reveal that he and Trump had discussed a payment surrounding a different affair with model Karen McDougal. Davis later revealed that Cohen had secretly recorded the conversation with Trump, and he released a tape of the conversation to CNN, which played it on the air. On it, Trump and Cohen can be heard discussing how to make a payment for "all of that info regarding our friend David," interpreted as meaning David Pecker, the head of American Media which publishes the National Enquirer. Davis continued to serve as Cohen's attorney when Cohen came under federal criminal investigation by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and papers and other materials were seized from Cohen in April 2018 under a subpoena. Davis helped Cohen to negotiate a plea bargain under which he agreed to plead guilty to several charges in return for leniency in sentencing. On August 21, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight charges: five counts of tax evasion, one count of making false statements to a financial institution, one count of willfully causing an unlawful corporate contribution, and one count of making an excessive campaign contribution at the request of a candidate or campaign. After Cohen's guilty plea and conviction, Davis made several public comments, indicating that Cohen is ready to "tell everything about Donald Trump that he knows", and alluding to Cohen's knowledge which could be used against Trump. He later added that he believed Cohen would agree to testify before Congress, even without immunity. He also rejected the possibility of a presidential pardon from Trump, saying that Cohen would "never accept a pardon from a man that he considers to be both corrupt and a dangerous person in the oval office." However, Davis later contradicted that statement; saying that during the weeks after Cohen's home was raided by the FBI, Cohen "directed his attorney to explore possibilities of a pardon at one point with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani as well as other lawyers advising President Trump".


Foreign government representation

In 2000 Davis lobbied on behalf of Pakistan's government while U.S. President Bill Clinton was in deliberations over whether to visit the country. Those lobbying on behalf of neighboring India, at the time, said such a visit would be legitimizing a terrorist state. In regards to the negotiations Davis stated, "Whatever we might say about this particular government in Pakistan, it has immediately indicated a willingness to negotiate. Nobody has yet explained why India refuses to sit down and negotiate, that's why President Clinton's involvement is so important." In July 2009 Davis represented the Honduran Business Council and testified publicly before the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee on its behalf. He criticized the deportation of former President
Manuel Zelaya José Manuel Zelaya Rosales (born 20 September 1952)Encyclopædia BritannicaManuel Zelaya is a Hondurans, Honduran politician who served as the 35th president of Honduras from 2006 until his forcible removal in the 2009 Honduran coup d'état, 2 ...
but also supported a reconciliation solution based on principles of the rule of law and due process. In 2010 Davis worked with the State Department's West African Bureau and the U.S. Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea to assist in transitioning to a transparent democracy that protected
due process Due process of law is application by the state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to a case so all legal rights that are owed to a person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual p ...
and
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
. These efforts culminated in a speech Davis wrote for the President of Equatorial Guinea that was ultimately endorsed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. For ten days in December 2010, Davis represented the Washington, D.C. Ivory Coast Embassy and Ambassador and worked closely with the State Department's West African Bureau to facilitate a phone call from President Obama to the defeated president of Ivory Coast to try to persuade him to avoid bloodshed and make a peaceful exit from office. When the defeated Ivory Coast president refused to accept the phone call, Davis resigned. On January 1, 2011, the official spokesman of the U.S. State Department, P. J. Crowley, publicly acknowledged that Davis' role was "helpful".


Author and commentator

In 1999, Davis wrote a memoir about his work in the White House titled ''Truth to Tell: Tell It Early, Tell It All, Tell It Yourself: Notes from My White House Education''. His most recent book, which appeared in 2006, is titled '' Scandal: How "Gotcha" Politics Is Destroying America''. The book received praise from politicians and commentators across party lines, including Senators Evan Bayh and
Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...
. Davis has also served as a frequent political commentator on television, radio, and newspapers. In 2006, through opinions expressed in ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' (August 8, 2006) and on
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
, Davis strongly supported longtime friend Joseph Lieberman in his losing bid against
Ned Lamont Edward Miner Lamont Jr. ( ; born January 3, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2019 as the 89th governor of Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a Greenwich, Con ...
for the Democratic Party nomination for the post of U.S. Senator from
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
. He then continued to support Lieberman when he ran in and won the general election as an Independent. In 2008, Davis supported Senator
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
in her race for the Democratic nomination for
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
, and has appeared on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC as a surrogate for her. After Clinton conceded, Davis went on to support
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. In 2008, Davis questioned the United States' response to the conflict between
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and advised present and future U.S. leaders to consider the point of view of the Russian leaders before unilaterally supporting the government of Georgia in the conflict. , Davis appeared weekly on four radio programs: ''America's Morning News Radio Show'' with John McCaslin, WMAL's ''Mornings on the Mall'', ''Andy Parks Live'' and KSRO's ''The Drive with Steve Jaxon''. He was a participant in the D.C.'s Funniest Celebrity competition in 2011.


Opinions and criticism

In a 2009 column on Salon.com, Glenn Greenwald criticized Davis for declining to disclose his clients. Greenwald asserted that Davis' clients included dictatorships, opponents of unions, and opponents of health care reform. According to Salon columnist Justin Elliot, Davis "specializes in lobbying for controversial corporate and foreign clients, particularly those seeking Democratic representation in Washington".Elliott, Justin (2010-12-21
High-profile Dem lawyer flacking for African strongman
Salon.com
He has "built a client list that now includes oligarchic coup supporters in
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
, a dictator in
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...
, for-profit colleges accused of exploiting students, and a company that dominates the manufacture of additives for infant formula", as well as an "
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
strongman whose claims to that country's presidency have been condemned by the international community and may even set off a civil war". Among his clients are "Ivory Coast leader and flagrant
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
violator Laurent Gbagbo" and " Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the longtime dictator of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea." "Just as Davis was assuring the American press that his client, Gbagbo, opposed violence, Gbagbo's forces were in fact mounting a campaign of organized violence against the opposition". The latter representation has earned him criticism from
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
groups, who claim that he "appears to be engaged in little more than a whitewashing exercise designed to rehabilitate the image of the Obiang regime on the international stage".Elliott, Justin (2011-01-04
Lanny Davis' African human rights disaster
Salon.com
Similar criticisms were aired in an acerbic exchange with Jon Lovett in ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
''.Lovett, Jon 2012-05-25
The Brash Hypocrisy of Lanny Davis
''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
''
At the time of the events in the Ivory Coast, State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley issued the following statement: "Lanny did open another alternative channel of communications for us, and was providing the right advice to his client. President Gbagbo has declined to engage our ambassador, Phillip Carter. Absent that avenue, Lanny became another route to encourage President Gbagbo to leave. Unfortunately, every indication is that his client wasn't heeding his advice." Some of Davis's emails with
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
were released to the public as part of the Hillary Clinton email controversy. The flattering emails were characterized by some media members as "cringeworthy."


See also

* List of U.S. political appointments that crossed party lines


References


External links

* *
Lanny Davis's Pundits Blogs
for '' The Hill''
Dilworthlaw.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Lanny American lobbyists 1945 births Living people Maryland lawyers Newark Academy alumni American political writers American male non-fiction writers Writers from Jersey City, New Jersey Yale Law School alumni Clinton administration personnel United States presidential advisors People from Potomac, Maryland Maryland Democrats 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe people