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Pat Cipollone | |
|---|---|
 | |
| White House Counsel | |
| In office December 10, 2018 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Emmet Flood (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Dana Remus |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pasquale Anthony Cipollone (1966-05-06)May 6, 1966 (age 59) New York City, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Rebecca Thelen |
| Children | 10 |
| Education | Fordham University (BA) University of Chicago (JD) |
Pasquale Anthony "Pat"Cipollone[1] (born May 6, 1966)[2] is an American attorney who served asWhite House Counsel under PresidentDonald Trump. While in office he defended Trump in hisfirst impeachment trial. He objected to Trump's efforts to overturn the2020 presidential election, and played a key role in theJanuary 6 committee hearings, specifically the committee's sixth hearing.
Cipollone's father was an Italian immigrant and factory worker; his mother was a homemaker. He spent most of his childhood in theBronx.[3] The family moved toNorthern Kentucky, where he graduated fromCovington Catholic High School in 1984.[4] He graduated as classvaledictorian fromFordham University in 1988, with aBachelor of Arts in economics and political philosophy.[3] He enrolled at theUniversity of Chicago Law School, where he was managing editor of theUniversity of Chicago Law Review, earning aJ.D. degree in 1991.[5]
Cipollone was a law clerk for JudgeDanny Boggs of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Cincinnati, Ohio) from 1991 to 1992, and served as an assistant toAttorney GeneralWilliam P. Barr from 1992 to 1993.[6]
He was a partner at the law firmKirkland & Ellis, and prior to taking over as White House Counsel was a partner at Stein, Mitchell, Cipollone, Beato & Missner, where he practiced commercial litigation.[7] His clients included President Donald Trump, Radio Ingraham LLC, and Sony Entertainment.[8]
As of July 2022, Cipollone was a named partner of the Los Angeles law firm Ellis George Cipollone O'Brien Annaguey LLP d/b/a Ellis George Cipollone.[9]
Cipollone's financial disclosure reported an income of $6.7 million in 2017–2018.[8][10][11]
| Trump–Ukraine scandal |
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.jpg) A request by U.S. presidentDonald Trump (right) to Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy (left) to investigateJoe Biden andhis son sparked the scandal. |
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Defense Department |
National Security Council |
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Cipollone was namedWhite House Counsel by PresidentDonald Trump in October 2018.[12][13] He succeededDon McGahn who left office on October 17, 2018.[14]Emmet Flood served as counsel until Cipollone's background security check was completed.[15][16] Cipollone officially assumed the role on December 10, 2018.[17]
In his role as White House Counsel, Cipollone was the public face of the White House response to theimpeachment inquiry into Donald Trump. In October 2019, he signed an eight-page letter to Democratic House leaders stating that the White House would not cooperate in any way with the inquiry. He laid out a broad view of executive authority and said that Democrats' actions violate "the Constitution, the rule of law, and every past precedent".[18][3] This letter has been cited as evidence for the charge that President Trump was obstructing the House's impeachment inquiry.[19]
In December 2019, Cipollone wrote two letters in response to an invitation fromJerry Nadler, chair of theHouse Judiciary Committee, for the White House or Trump himself to participate in its hearings. He said the White House and Trump would not participate because the planned hearings do not "provide the president with any semblance of a fair process" and the inquiry is "completely baseless".[20][21]
On January 14, 2020, Cipollone was named to the team of attorneys representing PresidentDonald Trump in the impeachment hearing case.[22]
On January 31, 2020, it was reported that Cipollone was present at a May 2019 White House meeting where President Trump directed his national security adviserJohn Bolton to "extract damaging information on Democrats from Ukrainian officials."[23]
In January 2021, Cipollone was present at a White House meeting where he reportedly argued against a proposal to replace acting attorney generalJeffrey A. Rosen withJeffrey Clark, the acting head of the Justice Department's Civil Division. Clark, unlike Rosen, was willing to pursue Trump's baseless claims of election fraud and help Trumpoverturn the 2020 election results. Specifically, Clark wanted to send a letter to Georgia state legislators urging them to void Biden's win in their state, and Cipollone strongly objected to this. One official later said, "Pat pretty much saved Rosen's job that day."[24]
WhileTrump pursued schemes to stay in power that led to theJanuary 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Cipollone and members of his team threatened to resign on principle. On March 31, 2022,Jared Kushner told theHouse select committee investigating the January 6 attack that he had been aware of Cipollone's objections but that he had dismissed and ignored them as mere "whining". The tape of Kushner's interview was revealed at the committee's first public hearing on June 9, 2022.[25]
Cipollone's comments and actions during his final days as Trump's White House Counsel have played a key role in theJanuary 6 committee hearings, specifically the committee's sixth hearing.
On June 28, 2022, former Trump White House aideCassidy Hutchinson testified that Cipollone discussed potential criminal legal exposure for Trump's planned rally on January 6. "Pat was concerned it would look like we were obstructing justice or obstructing the Electoral College count", she testified, "that it would look like we were obstructing what was happening on Capitol Hill."[26]Obstructing an official proceeding is a felony under U.S. law, and as part of a dispute withJohn Eastman, U.S. District JudgeDavid O. Carter ruled with the committee, stating "the Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress."[27]
"We had conversations about potentially obstructing justice or defrauding the electoral count", Hutchinson testified about discussions with Cipollone.[citation needed] Carter's ruling also cited "conspiracy to defraud the United States", by circumventing theElectoral Count Act.[citation needed]
Hutchinson testified to being present for dramatic conversations between Cipollone and White House Chief of StaffMark Meadows on January 6, with Hutchinson quoting Cipollone as saying "Mark, something needs to be done or people are going to die and the blood is going to be on your f'ing hands." Hutchinson quoted Cipollone as saying, "Mark, we need to do something more. They're literally calling for the vice president to be f'ing hung", with Meadows responding "you heard [the president], Pat. He thinksMike deserves it. He doesn't think they're doing anything wrong."[26]
Committee Vice ChairLiz Cheney repeatedly called for Cipollone to testify before the committee, saying a week before Hutchinson's testimony “our evidence shows that Pat Cipollone and his office tried to do what was right" and spoke for the committee stating "we think the American people deserve to hear from Mr. Cipollone personally. He should appear before this committee."[28] Cipollone's distant predecessor as White House Counsel,John Dean, a former Republican who had served in the Nixon administration during theWatergate scandal, called on Cipollone to follow his example and testify about Trump to Congress.[29] Cipollone was issued a publicsubpoena to testify before the committee the day after Hutchinson's testimony.[30] Cipollone complied with the subpoena, meeting with the committee for a videotapeddeposition on July 8.[31]
On August 2, 2022, Cipollone was subpoenaed by the Justice Department as part of its investigation into theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack.[32]
Cipollone is aRoman Catholic, a founding member of theNational Catholic Prayer Breakfast and a board member of the Catholic Information Center.[33] Conservative commentatorLaura Ingraham credited Cipollone with helping her convert to Catholicism in 2002.[34][35][36] He has ten children.[37] One of Cipollone's daughters worked as a booker forThe Ingraham Angle.[38]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | White House Counsel 2018–2021 | Succeeded by |
