News

4 Things About Jamie Gorelick, the Die-Hard Clintonista Who’s Jared Kushner’s Ethics Lawyer

Image by Getty Images

By Daniel J. Solomon January 10, 2017

Attorney Jamie Gorelick, who served as deputy attorney general under former President Bill Clinton, is representing Jared Kushner as he enters the White House as senior advisor to his father-in-law, President-elect Donald Trump.

Gorelick’s job representing Kushner is about as unconventional as her client’s new role — the WilmerHale partner was a significant contributor to Hillary Clinton’s presidential and senate campaigns.

Here are four facts about this unexpected ally.

New Yorker, Born and Raised

Gorelick is originally from Great Neck, a Long Island suburb of New York City, where she grew up in a Jewish family. She earned her undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University.

Staunch Hillary Ally and Rumored Attorney General

Gorelick’s name was high on the list of potential attorneys general for a Hillary Clinton administration, a reflection of years of loyalty. Before the election, Gorelick lead the charge against FBI director James Comey for relaunching an investigation against the candidate’s private email server. And she defended the Clinton Foundation in a suit brought against it several few years ago.

Cashed In at Fannie Mae

After leaving the Clinton White House, Gorelick was hired as Vice Chairman of Fannie Mae, where she earned more than $20 million. Some conservatives blame the semi-public mortgage for the financial crisis. During Gorelick’s tenure, Fannie Mae was found to have more than $9 billion in accounting irregularities.

History of Unpopular Clients

Gorelick has not shied away from controversial clients. She was top legal council for British Petroleum after the company poisoned the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 with Deepwater Horizon oil spill. More than a decade ago she defended Duke University in a lawsuit over a lacrosse team rape scandal. So representing Jared Kushner may seem to be an abrupt turn, but Gorelick has actually been an iconoclast for years.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO