Office Of Counsel

The Office of Counsel is the unit within the White House Office that provides legal advice to the President and his aides on policy and personal matters, including conflict of interest and ethics laws. The Office of Counsel consists of approximately 20 lawyers and is headed by the White House counsel, who is appointed by the President.

Duties of the counsel include handling requests for Presidential pardons and commutation of sentences; advising the President on which gifts he may accept for the nation; ensuring compliance with campaign finance laws during election campaigns; and responding to subpoenas from Congress for information and, when necessary, invoking executive privilege (the right of the President to withhold information about his activities from Congress or the courts). The White House counsel advises the President whether to sign or veto legislation and supervises compliance with the War Powers Resolution, a law that requires the President to report to Congress when he introduces U.S. armed forces into hostilities or situations that might lead to hostilities. The counsel's office prepares a handbook on procedures to be followed in case of Presidential disability, according to the provisions of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. The office reviews data on appointments with the White House Personnel Office and the Office of Government Ethics and may show copies of Federal Bureau of Investigation reports and tax-compliance summaries prepared by the Internal Revenue Service to Senate committees reviewing Presidential nominations.

The White House counsel interviews candidates for District of Columbia judgeships, reviews the nominations made by the attorney general for federal judgeships, and is a principal adviser to the President on Supreme Court nominations.

At the end of a President's term, the White House counsel handles legal matters in connection with the establishment of a Presidential library and the disposition of the Presidential papers.

See also Appointment power; Ethics; Office of Government Ethics; Pardon power; White House Office