White House Counsel

President Franklin Roosevelt created the post of Special Counsel to the President in 1943 to help with speeches, legislation, and legal questions, and over time the job became the head of the White House Counsel's Office, a team of lawyers within the White House Office. The Counsel is appointed by the President without Senate confirmation and is distinct from the Attorney General, who leads the Justice Department, and from the Office of Legal Counsel, which issues formal legal opinions binding on the executive branch.

The Counsel's Office advises the President and staff on constitutional powers, executive orders, signing statements, and legislation, reviews ethics and conflict-of-interest rules for White House employees, and manages the vetting of nominees, including candidates for federal judgeships, which has made the office central to judicial selection. It handles claims of executive privilege, responds to congressional investigations and subpoenas, coordinates with the Justice Department on pardons and litigation, and helps oversee presidential records.

The Counsel represents the office of the presidency rather than the President as an individual, a line that becomes important in investigations. During Watergate, the President's counsel became a key witness against him, and later counsels have faced questions about whether they must protect the institution against the officeholder. Presidents facing personal legal issues hire private lawyers. Supporters of a strong Counsel's Office say it keeps the White House within the law, while critics argue that some counsels have acted mainly to shield presidents from accountability.