Pat Cipollone

Pat Cipollone
Alma Mater	University of Chicago Law School

Pasquale "Pat" A. Cipollone (born May 6, 1966) is an American lawyer who serves as White House Counsel for President Donald Trump.

Early life and education

Cipollone's father was an Italian immigrant and factory worker; his mother was a homemaker. He spent most of his childhood in the Bronx.^[1] The family moved to Kentucky, where he graduated from Covington Catholic High School in 1984.^[2] He graduated as class valedictorian from Fordham University in 1988, with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and political philosophy.^[1] He attended the University of Chicago Law School, where he was managing editor of the University of Chicago Law Review, earning a Juris Doctor in 1991.^[3]

Legal career

He was a law clerk for Judge Danny Boggs of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 1991–1992, and served as an assistant to Attorney General William P. Barr from 1992–1993.^[4]

Cipollone was a partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, and prior to taking over as White House Counsel was a partner at Stein, Mitchell, Cipollone, Beato & Missner, where he practiced commercial litigation.^[5] His clients included President Donald Trump, Radio Ingraham LLC, and Sony Entertainment.^[6]

Cipollone's financial disclosure reported an income of $6.7 million in 2017-2018.^[7][8]

White House Counsel

Cipollone was named White House Counsel by President Donald Trump in October 2018.^[9][10] He succeeded Don McGahn who left office on October 17, 2018. ^[11] Emmet Flood served as counsel until Cipollone's background security check was completed.^[12][13] Cipollone officially assumed the role on December 10, 2018.^[14]

In his role as White House Counsel, Cipollone has been the public face of the White House response to the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump. In October 2019 he signed an eight-page letter to Democratic House leaders stating that the White House would not cooperate in any way with the inquiry. He laid out a broad view of executive authority and said that Democrats' actions violate "the Constitution, the rule of law, and every past precedent".^[15][1] In December 2019 he wrote two letters in response to an invitation from Jerry Nadler, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, for the White House or Trump himself to participate in its hearings. He said the White House and Trump would not participate because the planned hearings do not "provide the president with any semblance of a fair process" and the inquiry is "completely baseless".^[16][17]. In 2020, January, 14, he was named as part of the team of Attorney that will represent President Donald Trump in the impeachment hearing case^[18].

Personal life

Cipollone is a Roman Catholic, a founding member of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast and a board member of the Catholic Information Center.^[19] Conservative commentator Laura Ingraham credited Cipollone with helping her convert to Catholicism in 2002.^[20] He has ten children.^[21] One of Cipollone’s daughters worked as a booker for Ingraham’s show on Fox News.^[22]

References

External links

• Stein, Mitchell, Cipollone, Beato & Missner profile