Washington
CNN
—
Richard Sauber, the White House counsel who battled a wave of highly politicized Republican congressional investigations and a special counsel probe into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents, plans to leave the administration may’s beginning.
Sauber, who has served as special advisor to the president since May 2022, is expected to return to private practice. Rachel Cotton, a senior counsel in the White House counsel’s office who served as Sauber’s deputy, will replace him.
Sauber’s expected departure follows the conclusion of special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents. While Hur concluded that criminal charges against the president were not warranted, his more than 300-page report was highly controversial, largely because of its numerous references to the president’s alleged memory problems.
In his capacity as White House Legal Advisor, Sauber has become a key voice in the White House to publicly denounce Hur’s conclusions.
As Biden’s special adviser, Sauber also oversaw the White House’s legal strategy amid Republican lawmakers’ months-long effort to impeach the president. That mission appeared to unravel earlier this year, after a former FBI informant with ties to Russia was accused of providing false information to the FBI – the lies that were at the very basis Republican corruption allegations leveled against Biden and his family.
While Sauber had always hoped to one day return to the private sector, the conclusion of the Hur investigation and the apparent political collapse of the GOP impeachment inquiry into Biden created a natural opening for his exit, told CNN a White House official. The White House counsel’s office’s work to counter House GOP efforts to investigate the president will continue under the leadership of Cotton, who will now inherit from Sauber the official title of “special adviser to the president” and a team of about a half-dozen lawyers who focus on surveillance issues related to the White House.
Even if the votes seem to be missing from House GOP conference To impeach the president, lawmakers have floated various ideas in the past regarding a possible surveillance investigation into the president, his administration and his family.
White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients said in a statement provided to CNN for this article: “Dick has provided invaluable advice to the President as we have navigated complex legal issues over the past two years. , and even in times of pressure, he always approached the president. his work with a wicked sense of humor and a wisdom to be seen around the corners.
Sauber was one of many hires the Biden White House made in 2022 as he prepared to face a series of surveillance investigations from House Republicans.
Then, in January 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment of a special counsel to examine Biden’s past handling of classified documents — an investigation that, to the dismay of many in the White House, was would drag on for 13 months.
Sauber also worked in close coordination with Department of Homeland Security officials regarding the Republican impeachment of Secretary of State Alejandro Mayorkas.
White House counsel Ed Siskel described Cotton as the “ideal person” to replace Sauber, citing his “years of experience on these issues, as well as his wisdom and leadership.”
