Lanny Davis
Lanny Davis | |
---|---|
Born | Lanny Jesse Davis December 12, 1945 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
Education | Yale University (BA, JD) |
Known for | Former Clinton family advisor, political strategist |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Elaine Charney[1] (divorced) Carolyn Atwell |
Children | Seth |
Lanny Jesse Davis (born December 12, 1945) is an American political operative,
In July 2018, Davis was hired by Michael Cohen, a former personal attorney to Donald Trump, to represent Cohen in his testimony before Congress regarding President Donald Trump.[2] Davis later represented Cohen when he pleaded guilty to tax fraud, bank fraud, and violation of campaign finance laws on August 21, 2018.[3]
Davis's clients have included
In 2005, President
Background
Davis grew up in
Davis has four children, and now lives in
Career
Politics
From 1970 to 1972, Davis was National Director of Youth Coalition for Muskie, the youth organization of
In 1976 Davis ran for Congress as a Democrat in Maryland's 8th congressional district and lost to Republican Newton Steers.[citation needed]
Davis served three terms (1980–1992) on the Democratic National Committee 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.[citation needed]
Davis was the treasurer for Joe Lieberman's Reuniting Our Country PAC.[10]
Attorney
Davis started his legal career as an associate at
After leaving the White House, Davis returned to Patton Boggs. There he worked as a
He was a senior advisor and spokesman for the
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."[15]
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
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.[13] 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."[18]
Michael Cohen
In July 2018, Davis was hired by Michael Cohen, a former personal attorney to Donald Trump, to represent him as co-counsel in the Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal.[2] 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.[19][20]
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,[3] and papers and other materials were seized from Cohen in April 2018 under a subpoena.[21][22] 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.[23][24]
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",[25] and alluding to Cohen's knowledge which could be used against Trump.[26] He later added that he believed Cohen would agree to testify before Congress, even without immunity.[27] 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."[28] 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".[29]
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.[30] Those lobbying on behalf of neighboring India, at the time, said such a visit would be legitimizing a terrorist state.[30] 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."[30]
In July 2009 Davis represented the Honduran Business Council and testified publicly before the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee on its behalf.[31] He criticized the deportation of former President Manuel Zelaya but also supported a reconciliation solution based on principles of the rule of law and due process.[32]
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 and human rights. These efforts culminated in a speech Davis wrote for the President of Equatorial Guinea[33] that was ultimately endorsed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.[34]
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.
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.
Davis has also served as a frequent political commentator on television, radio, and newspapers.
In 2006, through opinions expressed in
In 2008, Davis supported Senator Hillary Clinton in her race for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, and has appeared on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC as a surrogate for her. After Clinton conceded, Davis went on to support Barack Obama.[37]
In 2008, Davis questioned the United States' response to the
Currently, Davis appears 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.[39]
Opinions and criticism
This article's "criticism" or "controversy" section may compromise the article's neutrality. (March 2019) |
Glenn Greenwald, a lawyer and columnist for Salon, criticized Davis in 2009 for Davis's perceived failure to disclose his clients. Greenwald asserted his clients included dictatorships, opponents of unions, and opponents of health care reform.[40]
According to Salon columnist Justin Elliot, Davis "specializes in lobbying for controversial corporate and foreign clients, particularly those seeking Democratic representation in
At the time of the events in the Ivory Coast, State Department spokesman
Some of Davis's emails with Hillary Clinton were released to the public as part of the Hillary Clinton email controversy. The flattering emails were characterized by some media members as "cringeworthy."[45][46]
See also
- List of U.S. political appointments that crossed party lines
References
- ^ "Davis-Charney". The New York Times. December 19, 1966. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
Miss Elaine J. Charney, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sydney E. Charney of Forest Hills, Queens, formerly of Chicago, was married here yesterday to Lanny J. Davis, son of Dr. and Mrs. Mortimer C. Davis of Jersey City.
- ^ a b Maggie Haberman (July 5, 2018). "Michael Cohen Hires Lanny Davis, Lawyer Close to the Clintons". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Leonnig, Carol D.; Hamburger, Tom; Barrett, Devlin (April 9, 2018). "Trump attorney Cohen is being investigated for unknown reasons". The Washington Post.
- ^ Lanny J. Davis Personal Web Biography
- ^ Interview with Lanny Davis, April 12, 2001, Muskie Archive, Bates College
- ^ "U.S. News & World Report". Archived from the original on 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
- ^ John Tierney (March 21, 2004). "The Nation: Sons of Yale; How Blue and Red Emerged From Old Blue". The New York Times.
- ^ Elizabeth Bumiller (September 3, 1998). "PUBLIC LIVES; Public Defender of a High-Profile Private Life". The New York Times.
- ^ "Davis didn't take usual path to TV". USA Today. March 28, 2006.
- ^ "Reuniting Our Country PAC". opensecrets.org.
- ^ Raymond Bonner (February 13, 2000). "Nuclear Rivals Marshal Armies of Lobbyists in Washington". The New York Times.
- ^ Sanati, Cyrus (April 15, 2010). "Former Clinton Counsel Forms Own Law Firm". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c Beck, Susan (May 5, 2016). "Lanny Davis Launches New Firm With Orrick, Patton Boggs Alums". American Law Daily. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
- ^ Roth, Zachary (2009-07-14) Lanny Davis Now Lobbying In Support Of Honduran Coup, Talking Points Memo
- ^ "Former White House Special Counsel Lanny Davis Joins Dilworth Paxson". Dilworth Paxon.
- ^ Behind the closed doors of Washington lobbyists, CBS News
- ^ Milbank, Dana (October 7, 2013). "For the Redskins, what's in a name? Plenty".
- ^ Wilson, Megan (April 15, 2016). "Clinton ally Lanny Davis starting new DC firms". The Hill.
- ^ "Exclusive: CNN obtains secret Trump-Cohen tape". CNN. July 25, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ Blake, Aaron (July 24, 2018). "The Trump-Michael Cohen tape transcript, annotated". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ Strobel, Warren; Walcott, John (April 10, 2018). "FBI raids offices, home of Trump's personal lawyer: sources". Reuters. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
- ^ Watkins, Eli (9 April 2018). "FBI raids Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's office". CNN. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ Hong, Nicole; Ballhaus, Rebecca (August 21, 2018). "Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty, Says He Acted at Trump's Direction". Wall Street Journal – via www.wsj.com.
- ^ "Michael Cohen 'strikes plea deal'". BBC News. 2018-08-21. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
- ^ "Trump ex-lawyer 'happy' to aid Russia probe". BBC News. 2018-08-22. Retrieved 2018-08-22.
- ^ Becker, Isaac. "Cohen lawyer Lanny Davis suggests his client has knowledge implicating Trump in 'criminal conspiracy' to hack Democratic emails". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ Vazquez, Maegan (August 22, 2018). "Cohen lawyer says he would testify to Congress about Trump without immunity". CNN. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ NPR Morning Edition. "Michael Cohen's Lawyer Says His Client Would Never Accept Pardon From 'Corrupt' Trump". NPR. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ Ballhaus, Rebecca (7 March 2019). "Cohen Told Lawyer to Seek Trump Pardon". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ a b c Lawson, Alastair (16 February 2000). "Intense lobbying over Clinton visit". BBC. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- ^ "Serial No. 111-26 (House Hearing) - The Crisis in Honduras". GovInfo.gov. U.S. Government Printing Office. 10 July 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ Testimony of Lanny J. Davis Archived 2012-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Foreign Affairs, July 10, 2009
- ^ Speech Delivered by President Obiang Nguema Mbasago
- ^ Letter from Desmund Tutu
- ^ Resignation Letter from Lanny Davis
- ^ a b Mike Allen (January 1, 2011). "Politico Playbook: Lanny Davis Backstory". Politico.
- ^ "Advice to John McCain: Be John McCain". The Huffington Post.
- ^ Lanny Davis (August 25, 2008). "Are we all Georgians? Not so fast". The Washington Times.
- ^ [1][permanent dead link]
- ^ Glenn Greenwald (August 18, 2009). "The Lanny Davis disease and America's health care debate". Salon.com.
- ^ a b Elliott, Justin (2010-12-21) High-profile Dem lawyer flacking for African strongman, Salon.com
- ^ Elliott, Justin (2011-02-16) The atrocities that were under Lanny Davis' nose, Salon.com
- ^ Elliott, Justin (2011-01-04) Lanny Davis' African human rights disaster, Salon.com
- ^ Lovett, Jon 2012-05-25) The Brash Hypocrisy of Lanny Davis, The Atlantic
- ^ "Kissing Up 101: What a student of influence can learn from the Clinton emails". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
- ^ "Lanny's Letter to Hillary Is D.C.'s Most Cringe-Inducing Document Ever". The Weekly Standard. 2015-09-02. Retrieved 2015-12-01.