George J. Terwilliger III

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George Terwilliger
26th United States Deputy Attorney General
In office
November 26, 1991 – January 20, 1993
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byWilliam P. Barr
Succeeded byPhilip B. Heymann
United States Attorney for the District of Vermont
In office
1987–1991
PresidentRonald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Preceded byGeorge Cook
Succeeded byCharles Caruso
Personal details
Born
George James Terwilliger III

(1950-06-05) June 5, 1950 (age 73)
New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCarol Hitchings
Children3, including Zachary
EducationSeton Hall University (BA)
Antioch School of Law (JD)

George James Terwilliger III[1] (born June 5, 1950) is an American lawyer and public official. He is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of McGuireWoods LLP where he is head of the firm's Crisis Response practice and co-head of its white collar team. He is a former United States Deputy Attorney General and acting United States Attorney General.[2][3] Terwilliger, of Vermont, was nominated on February 14, 1992, by President George H. W. Bush to be Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. He succeeded William Pelham Barr.[4] As Deputy Attorney General, Terwilliger became the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and ran the day-to-day operations of the department, serving in that position from 1991 through 1993. He was appointed to the position by President George H.W. Bush after serving as the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, appointed by President Reagan.

Early and family life[edit]

Terwilliger was born June 5, 1950, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He grew up in Metuchen, N.J., went to public school, graduated from Seton Hall University (B.A., 1973) with a degree in Communications and Antioch School of Law (J.D., 1978). Married, Terwilliger has three children and three grandchildren, and resides in Alexandria and Delaplane, Virginia. His father, George J. Terwilliger, Jr., was a civil engineer and Navy veteran with combat experience in the Pacific in World War II. His mother, Ruth Terwilliger, was a librarian and worked in real estate sales.

Career[edit]

Early government service[edit]

After admission to the bar, Terwilliger served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia (1978–81) and an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont (1981–86) and then became U.S. Attorney for Vermont (1986-1990) and later Deputy U.S. Attorney General (1991–93) in the George H. W. Bush administration. Terwilliger specialized in white-collar crime and terrorism.[5] In 1993, Terwilliger "briefly took the helm of the Justice Department as acting attorney general after the departure of former Attorney General William P. Barr."[6]

Iran-Contra[edit]

Terwilliger commented on the Iran–Contra affair in a February 6, 2001 appearance on a CNN titled "Burden of Proof: Ronald Reagan's Legal Legacy".[7]

2000 Florida recount[edit]

During the Florida 2000 election recount, Terwilliger was co-leader of Republican President-elect George W. Bush's legal team[8] and was "an advisor to the Bush-Cheney Transition and counselor to designated cabinet and other prospective appointees."[2]

In June 2001, Bush administration spokesman Ari Fleischer was asked in a White House press briefing whether Terwilliger was a leading candidate to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[9]

Private legal practice[edit]

Rather than return to government service, in 2003, Terwilliger co-founded the 527 committee "Americans for a Better Country" with Frank J. Donatelli, former Ronald Reagan White House political director and secretary and treasurer of the Young America's Foundation,[10] and Craig Shirley, president and CEO of Shirley & Banister Public Affairs.[11][12]

In April 2007 Terwilliger served as a panelist for the Brookings Institution Judicial Issues Forum entitled "Politics and the Justice Department: Finding a Path to Accountability".[13] Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales resigned August 27, 2007,[14] and left office on September 17, 2007.[15][16] On October 10, 2007, news outlets reported that Gonzales hired Terwilliger "to represent him in investigations of mismanagement" of the U.S. Department of Justice. "Investigators are look[ing] into allegations that Gonzales lied to lawmakers and illegally allowed politics to influence hiring and firing at the department."[17] Terwilliger represented Gonzales through several Inspector General investigations and a subsequent criminal investigation by a special prosecutor. Gonzales was exonerated in all matters.

In 2008, the American Bar Association mentioned Terwilliger as a leading candidate for Attorney General under a John McCain presidency.[18] It related that while in the USDOJ during the Reagan Administration, Terwilliger dealt with resolving matters such as investigating BCCI after an international banking scandal and investigating after the savings and loan scandal,[18] environmental cases, antitrust merger reviews and enforcement matters, civil rights and voting cases as well as terrorism and national security cases. Terwilliger was also in charge of all Justice Department operations, including crisis response, such as the 1992 Los Angeles riots. On policy matters, he was a principal in the highest councils of government charged with addressing the broad array of legal policy issues arising in the executive branch.[2]

As of August 2023, Terwilliger was a partner of the McGuireWoods US-based international law firm.[19]

Current high-profile work[edit]

Terwilliger currently represents former U.S. Congressman Aaron Schock, indicted in 2016 after resigning from his legislative position. In March 2017, Terwilliger and his colleagues publicized the involvement of a former Schock staffer who acted as a confidential informant in the case after the indictment.[20][21]

He also represents Mark Meadows, former White House Chief of Staff to President Donald Trump, with regard to the investigation of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a Select Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.[22]

Affiliations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Confirmation hearings on federal appointments : hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Second Congress, first session, on confirmation hearings on appointments to the federal judiciary. pt.8 (1993)
  2. ^ a b c "George J. Terwilliger III, Partner, Washington, DC". White & Case. Archived from the original on September 18, 2006.
  3. ^ "George Terwilliger III J.D. Biostatement". HealthSystem.Virginia.edu. Archived from the original on September 15, 2006.
  4. ^ "Nomination of George J. Terwilliger III To Be Deputy Attorney General". George Bush Presidential Library and Museum. February 14, 1992. Archived from the original on September 2, 2004.
  5. ^ "Profile: George J. Terwilliger". CNN. Archived from the original on April 11, 2003. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  6. ^ "FACTBOX: Who replaces Gonzales? Bush has options". Reuters. August 28, 2007.
  7. ^ "Burden of Proof: Ronald Reagan's Legal Legacy". CNN. February 6, 2001. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  8. ^ "Transcript: Saturday Morning News: Florida Court Prepares for Historic Hearing". CNN. December 2, 2000.
  9. ^ Mokhiber, Russell (June 19, 2001). "Ari & I. White House Press Briefing with Ari Fleischer". Common Dreams. Archived from the original on August 2, 2007.
  10. ^ Donatelli, Frank (June 6, 2005). "Reagan's Many Contributions Live On". Human Events. Archived from the original on March 25, 2006.
  11. ^ "527 Committees: Americans for a Better Country". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on November 17, 2007.
  12. ^ Thompson, Krissah (July 21, 2013). "Meet Craig Shirley and Diana Banister, the right's pitch-perfect conservatives". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  13. ^ "A Brookings Judicial Issues Forum: Politics and the Justice Department: Finding a Path to Accountability". Brookings Institution. April 10, 2007. Archived from the original on April 16, 2007.
  14. ^ Kiel, Paul (August 27, 2007). "Gonzales' resignation letter dated August 26, 2007". TPMmuckraker. Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007.
  15. ^ Thomas, Pierre (August 27, 2007). "Attorney General Gonzales Resigns". ABC News.
  16. ^ "Gonzales Resigns". Think Progress. August 27, 2007.
  17. ^ Jakes Jordan, Lara (October 11, 2007). "Alberto Gonzales Hires Defense Attorney". WTOP-FM. Associated Press.
  18. ^ a b Carter, Terry (November 2008). "The Lawyers Who May Run America". ABA Journal. Retrieved October 22, 2008.
  19. ^ "George J. Terwilliger III, Partner". mcguirewoods.com. McGuireWoods. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  20. ^ "Aaron Schock: Informant in ex-congressman's corruption case broke law, attorneys claim". Associated Press. March 28, 2017.
  21. ^ Jarrett, Laura. "Ex-congressman Aaron Schock claims staffer dimed him out to the FBI". CNN.
  22. ^ "Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows refusing to appear for deposition with Jan. 6 committee". The Washington Post. December 7, 2021.
  23. ^ "Meeting of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission". October 31, 1997.

External links[edit]

Legal offices
Preceded by United States Attorney for the District of Vermont
1987–1991 		Succeeded by
Charles Caruso
Preceded by United States Deputy Attorney General
1991–1993 		Succeeded by
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