William Howard Taft IV
William Taft | |
---|---|
Chapman B. Cox | |
Personal details | |
Born | Washington, D.C., U.S. | September 13, 1945
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | |
Children | 3 |
Relatives | Taft family |
Education | Yale University (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
William Howard Taft IV (born September 13, 1945) is an American
Early life and education
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (May 2020) |
Taft was born in Washington, D.C., the second child of William Howard Taft III and Barbara Bradfield. His patrilineal great-grandfather was U.S. President William Howard Taft. Taft attended St. Paul's School, graduating in 1962. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in English from Yale University in 1966 and his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1969.
Personal life
He and his late wife,
Career
After researching the FTC as one of "Nader's Raiders", Taft served briefly as attorney adviser to the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission in 1970.
From 1970 to 1973, he was the principal assistant to
Taft married Julia Vadala in 1974.
Taft served from 1973 to 1976 as the
During the Carter administration, he was an attorney with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Leva, Hawes, Symington, Martin and Oppenheimer.
In February 1981, as one of his first appointments, President
Taft served as
During the Clinton administration, Taft entered private practice with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.
Service in George W. Bush administration
After the election of 2000,
While serving as Legal Adviser, Taft wrote two seminal law journal articles regarding the views of the United States on the legality of the use of military force. First, in connection with the decision of the
In 2004, Taft's name surfaced as a dissenter concerning the policy of interrogation techniques for military detainees.
Leaving government service
After the re-election of President Bush, resignation of Colin Powell and appointment of Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state, Taft resigned to return to private practice, again at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Currently he is a visiting professor at Stanford Law School, having succeeded Allen Weiner as the Warren Christopher Professor of the Practice of International Law and Diplomacy in 2007.[6] In January 2009 he was named chair of the board of trustees for Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization that supports the expansion of freedom around the world.[7]
On September 12, 2006, Taft co-signed (along with 28 other retired military or defense department officials) a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services committee in which he stated his belief that the Bush Administration's attempt to redefine
Taft is said to be one of the sources who told journalists
Though a staunch Republican, Taft opposed the
In 2020, Taft, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."[11]
References
- ^ "Julia Taft; Crisis Manager Helped Resettle Refugees". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26.
- ^ "II. Secretaries of Defense". Washington Headquarters Services - Pentagon Digital Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
Deputy secretary of defense, 3 February 1984 to 22 April 1989.
- ^ [1] Tat, William H., "Self-Defense and the Oil Platforms Decision," 29 Yale J. International Law, 295, 305 (2004)
- ^ [2] Taft, William H. and Buchwald, Todd F., "Preemption, Iraq and International Law, 97 American Journal of International Law 557, 563 (2003)
- ^ Lawyer for State Dept. Disputed Detainee Memo
- ^ "William Taft IV to Join Stanford Law School as the Warren Christopher Professor of the Practice of International Law and Diplomacy" Stanford Law School, April 4, 2007
- ^ "Freedom House Welcomes William H. Taft IV as New Chairman"; retrieved January 15, 2011
- ^ Novak, Robert, "Who Said What When: The rise and fall of the Valerie Plame 'scandal'", The Weekly Standard, October 16, 2006, book review of Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War, by Michael Isikoff and David Corn, accessed October 8, 2008
- ^ "Former GOP national security officials: Trump would be 'most reckless' American president in history". Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
- ^ "Republicans endorse Biden". Sandusky Register. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- ^ "Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden". Defending Democracy Together. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2021.