Biden Taps Former Prosecutor Ed Siskel as Top White House Lawyer

Aug. 22, 2023, 10:58 AM UTC

President Joe Biden named Ed Siskel to be the new White House counsel as investigations into the president’s previous handling of classified materials and his son’s business dealings ramp up.

Siskel, who served as deputy White House counsel during the Obama administration, is replacing Stuart Delery, who announced his departure last week. Siskel previously served as a federal prosecutor and top counsel for the city of Chicago.

“Ed has shown a deep commitment to public service and respect for the law,” Biden said in a statement. “His experience will let him hit the ground running as a key leader on my team as we continue making progress for the American people every day.”

Siskel will take on his new role in September, just weeks after the Department of Justice announced it was naming a special counsel to investigate Biden’s son, Hunter, including business deals he made with foreign individuals during his father’s tenure as vice president.

The Justice Department has also been investigating the discovery of classified documents at the private office Biden kept between his time leaving the vice presidency and being elected president.

While the White House counsel is not the president’s personal lawyer and neither the classified document probe nor the one into Hunter Biden’s businesses fall directly under that office’s portfolio, Siskel may help craft official responses to those inquiries.

© 2023 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Used with permission.


To contact the reporter on this story: Magan Crane in Washington at mcrane19@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Shepard at mshepard7@bloomberg.net

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