Harriet Miers: Difference between revisions

'''Harriet Ellan Miers''' (born August 10, 1945) is an American lawyer who served as [[White House Counsel|White House counsel]] to President [[George W. Bush]] from 2005 to 2007. A member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] since 1988, she previously served as [[White House Office of the Staff Secretary|White House Staffstaff Secretarysecretary]] from 2001 to 2003 and [[White House Deputy Chief of Staff]] for Policy from 2003 until 2005. In 2005, Miers was nominated by Bush to be an [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]] to replace retiring Justice [[Sandra Day O'Connor]], but—in the face of bipartisan opposition—asked Bush to withdraw her nomination. Following her withdrawal in 2007, Miers returned to private practice, becoming a partner in the litigation and public policy group at [[Locke Lord]].

Miers was born in [[Dallas]] and spent most of her life there until she moved to [[Washington, D.C.]], (2001) to work in the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush Administrationadministration]]. She has described herself as a "Texan through and through."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/usa/story/0,12271,1584254,00.html|work=The Guardian|title=Bush offers crucial supreme court seat to his former lawyer|date=October 4, 2005|access-date=2007-01-04|location=London|first=Julian|last=Borger}}</ref> She is the fourth of the five children of [[real estate]] [[investor]] Harris Wood Miers Sr., and his wife, the former Erma (Sally) Grace Richardson.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wargs.com/other/miers.html|title=Ancestry of Harriet Miers|author=Robert Battle|publisher=William Addams Reitwiesner Genealogical Services|access-date=2008-07-28}}</ref> Miers graduated from [[Hillcrest High School (Dallas, Texas)|Hillcrest High School]] in Dallas in 1963.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4962505|title=Miers' Texas Past and Controversy Today|last=Goodwyn|first=Wade|work=All Things Considered|publisher=NPR|date=October 17, 2005|accessdate=February 26, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051023103345/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4962505|archivedate=October 23, 2005|url-status=live}}</ref>

Miers entered [[Southern Methodist University]] intending to become a [[teacher]]. The economic plight of her family was so dire that she almost dropped out in her freshman year, but she was able to find part-time work that put her through college. Then, her father had a debilitating [[cerebrovascular accident|stroke]]. When a lawyer helped organize her family's financial situation, Miers was inspired to enter law school.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/politics/politicsspecial1/miers-known-as-a-hardworking-advocate-for-the-president.html|title=Miers Known as a Hard-Working Advocate for the President|work=The New York Times|author=Todd S. Purdum and Neil A. Lewis|date=October 4, 2005|access-date=February 26, 2022|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060331221938/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2005/10/04/politics/politicsspecial1/04miers.html?ei=5090&en=8633b32cec749877&ex=1286078400&pagewanted=all|archivedate=March 31, 2006}}</ref> In 1967, Miers graduated from [[Southern Methodist University]] with a [[bachelor's degree]] in [[mathematics]];. inIn 1970, she graduated from its [[Dedman School of Law]] with a [[Juris Doctor]] degree (1970).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/SupremeCourt/story?id=1170572&page=1|title=Who is Harriet Miers|date=2005-10-27|publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051215122342/http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/print?id=1170572|archivedate=December 15, 2005|url-status=live}}</ref>

From 1972 until 2001 Miers worked for the Dallas law firm of [[Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell|Locke, Liddell & Sapp]] (and predecessor firms before mergers). She was the first female lawyer hired by the firm and later became its president. When the merger that created Locke, Liddell & Sapp took place in 1999, she became the co-managing partner of a legal business with more than 400 lawyers. In 2000 the firm settled a lawsuit for $22 million that accused the firm of having "aided a client in defrauding investors".<ref name="bankrupt.com">{{cite journal|url=http://bankrupt.com/CAR_Public/000501.MBX|publisher=InterNet Bankruptcy Library|title=LOCKE LIDDELL: $ 22 Mil Settlement Serves as Warning to Other Law Firms|journal=Class Action Reporter|volume=2|issue=83|date=May 1, 2000|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000818031647/http://bankrupt.com/CAR_Public/000501.MBX|archivedate=August 18, 2000|url-status=dead|accessdate=February 26, 2022}}</ref> According to the ''Class Action Reporter'', Miers "said the firm denies liability in connection with its representation of Erxleben. 'Obviously, we evaluated that this was the right time to settle and to resolve this matter and that it was in the best interest of the firm to do so,' Miers said."<ref name="bankrupt.com"/>

Her tenure has also been criticized. In 1997, the commission under Miers hired Lawrence Littwin as executive director but fired him five months later. At the time, the contract to operate the lottery was held by the politically connected [[GTECH Corporation|GTech Corporation]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/1999/nov/28/observerbusiness.theobserver13 |title=It's rollover time for the Lottery|work=The Observer|place=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010418014428/http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3935858,00.html |archive-date=NovemberApril 2818, 19992001|accessdate=February 26, 2022}}</ref> which had obtained the contract with the help of a former [[Lieutenant Governor of Texas]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Ben Barnes (Texas politician)|Ben Barnes]]).<ref>{{cite news|title=Texas Speaker Reportedly Helped Bush Get Into Guard|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/barnes092199.htm|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=George Jr.|last= Lardner|date=September 21, 1999|access-date=February 26, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312132643/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/barnes092199.htm|archivedate=March 12, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Littwin, as director, began an investigation into whether GTech had made illegal campaign contributions and whether GTech owed the commission millions of dollars for breaches of its contract. He stated that Miers ordered him to stop the investigation. He brought a lawsuit alleging that he was fired in retaliation for the investigation and to ensure that GTech would keep its contract.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlo/76R/billtext/HC00153I.HTM |title=76(R) HCR 153 Introduced version - Bill Text |access-date=2006-08-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060827001214/http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlo/76R/billtext/HC00153I.HTM |archive-date=2006-08-27 }}</ref>

Miers met with the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] after her nomination and in those meetings she was ill-prepared and uninformed on the law.{{sfn|Greenburg|2008|p=278}} Senator [[Tom Coburn]] told her privately that she "flunked" and "[was] going to have to say something next time."{{sfn|Greenburg|2008|p=278}} Miers had difficulty expressing her views and explaining basic constitutional law concepts.{{sfn|Greenburg|2008|pp=278-279}} Miers had no experience in constitutional law and did not have extensive litigation experience; at her Texas law firm, she had been more of a manager.{{sfn|Greenburg|2008|p=279}} In addition, Miers had rarely handled appeals and did not understand the complicated constitutional questions senators asked of her.{{sfn|Greenburg|2008|p=279}} To White House lawyers, Miers was "less an attorney than a law firm manager and bar association president."{{sfn|Greenburg|2008|p=280}}

On June 13, 2007, the Senate and House Judiciary Committees issued subpoenas to Miers and to [[Sara M. Taylor]], former deputy assistant to President Bush and the White House director of political affairs, asking them to produce documents and appear before the committees to testify about what role, if any, both may have had in the U.S. Attorney firings controversy. Miers was requested to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 11, 2007. The White House reiterated its longstanding demand that no past or present White House officials would be permitted to testify under oath before the panels, and that private interviews, not under oath, and without transcripts would be permitted. The Chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees reiterated that the White House terms were unacceptable.<ref name="NYT-Stout-2007-06-13">{{cite news|first=David|last=Stout|title=Congress Subpoenas Miers and Another Former Bush Aide|date=June 13, 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/washington/13cnd-attorneys.html?hp|work=The New York Times|access-date=2007-06-13}}</ref> Ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee [[Arlen Specter|Arlen Specter (R-PA)]] said that the committee had "really had no response from the White House" regarding possible testimony on the firing of several U.S. attorneys, and that had prompted the subpoena to compel a response. Miers refused to appear before Congress because Bush ordered her not to.<ref name="Hill-Marre-2007-06-13">{{cite news|first=Klaus|last=Marre|title=Specter endorses subpoena of White House official|date=June 13, 2007|publisher=Capitol Hill Publishing|url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/specter-agrees-with-issuing-subpoena-2007-06-13.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603212008/http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/specter-agrees-with-issuing-subpoena-2007-06-13.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 3, 2008|work=The Hill|access-date=2007-06-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Senate Judiciary Committee Subpoena of Harriet Miers |publisher=Gonzales Watch |url=http://www.gonzaleswatch.com/2007/06/13/senate-judiciary-subpoenas-harriet-miers-former-white-house-counsel/ |date=2007-06-13 |access-date=2007-06-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629135935/http://www.gonzaleswatch.com/2007/06/13/senate-judiciary-subpoenas-harriet-miers-former-white-house-counsel/ |archive-date=June 29, 2007 }}</ref> On Wednesday, July 25, 2007, the [[House Judiciary Committee]] voted 22–17 to cite Miers for [[contempt of Congress]] for her failure to appear before the committee in response to its subpoena.<ref name=twssffwe>{{cite news|title=Panel Holds Two Bush Aides in Contempt|work=The New York Times|quote=The House Judiciary Committee voted today to seek contempt of Congress citations against a top aide to President Bush and a former presidential aide over their refusal to cooperate in an inquiry about the firing of federal prosecutors.... president's chief of staff, and Harriet E. Miers|date=July 25, 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/washington/25cnd-contempt.html?_r=1|access-date=2010-09-22|first=David|last=Stout}}</ref> On February 14, 2008, the full House of Representatives voted to cite her for contempt by a vote of 223–32. Many Republicans walked out of the chamber in protest, deriding the priorities of the speaker in calling the vote, as opposed to a vote on a surveillance bill.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/washington/15contempt.html?hp|work=The New York Times|title=House Votes to Issue Contempt Citations|first=Philip|last=Shenon|date=February 15, 2008|access-date=May 4, 2010}}</ref>

In 1979, after she made partner in her law firm, she became an evangelical Christian after a series of long discussions with Hecht, who was her colleague at the firm.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/10/05/MNGB5F2N671.DTL |title=A BORN-AGAIN NOMINEE |author=Ed Wyatt and Simone Romero of ''[[The New York Times]]'' |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=August 29, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810084916/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fchronicle%2Farchive%2F2005%2F10%2F05%2FMNGB5F2N671/chronicle/archive/2005/10/05/MNGB5F2N671.DTL |archive-date=August 10, 2007 }}</ref>

[[Category:Living20th-century peopleAmerican women lawyers]]

[[Category:American20th-century womenAmerican lawyers]]