Richard Sauber
{{Short description|American attorney}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Richard A. Sauber
| image = Richardsauber.jpg
| caption =
| office = General Counsel of United States Department of Veterans Affairs
| president = Joe Biden
| term_start = May 3, 2021
| term_end = June 2022
| predecessor = James Byrne
| successor = Anjali Chaturvedi (nominee)
| birth_name = Richard A. Sauber
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party =
| spouse =
| children =
| education = Yale University (BA)
New York University (JD)
Oxford University (MLitt)
}}
Richard A. "Dick" Sauber is an American attorney who has served as special counsel for President Joe Biden since 2022. He previously served as general counsel at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs from May 2021 until June 2022.{{cite web |title=President Biden Announces Key Nominees of his Health and Human Service, Education, and Veteran Affairs Teams |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/19/president-biden-announces-key-nominees-of-his-health-and-human-service-education-and-veteran-affairs-teams/ |website=The White House |access-date=8 May 2023 |date=19 February 2021}}
Early life and education
Sauber obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University (where he graduated magna cum laude), a Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law, and a Master of Letters from Oxford University.{{cite web |title=Richard A. Sauber |url=https://department.va.gov/staff-biographies/richard-a-sauber/ |website=U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs |access-date=8 May 2023}}
Career
Sauber served as a federal prosecutor and worked with the Reagan administration for pursuing fraud in government contracts. Sauber was also a partner at the law firm Robbins, Russell in Washington, DC, as well as at the law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Sauber also served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School and as general counsel for Freedom House.
=VA General Counsel=
On February 19, 2021, President Biden nominated Sauber to be general counsel of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Hearings on his nomination were held before the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee on April 14, 2021. The committee favorably reported his nomination on April 22, 2021. The United States Senate confirmed Sauber's nomination on April 29, 2021, by voice vote, and he started as general counsel on May 3, 2021.{{cite web |title=PN130 — Richard A. Sauber — Department of Veterans Affairs 117th Congress (2021-2022) |url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/117th-congress/130 |website=US Congress |access-date=8 May 2023}}
=Move to White House=
On May 14, 2022, it was reported that the White House would hire Sauber in response to the potential for investigations into the Biden administration if Republicans won back control of the United States House of Representatives in the 2022 United States elections.{{cite web |last1=Collins |first1=Kaitlan |last2=Wright |first2=Jasmine |title=White House hires lawyer Richard Sauber as it braces for potential GOP investigations after midterms {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/14/politics/biden-white-house-richard-sauber-republican-investigations/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=8 May 2023 |language=en |date=14 May 2022}} Sauber officially left the Veterans' Affairs Department in June 2022. On various occasions, Sauber declined requests from House Republicans for documents for various investigations into the Biden administration due to them not controlling committees yet.{{cite web |last1=Hunnicutt |first1=Trevor |title=White House lawyer snubs Republican request for documents for now |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white-house-lawyer-snubs-republican-request-documents-now-2022-12-29/ |website=Reuters |access-date=8 May 2023 |language=en |date=29 December 2022}}
==Classified documents controversies==
{{main|Joe Biden classified documents incident}}
In late 2022 and early 2023, various amounts of classified documents were found in several different former offices of President Biden.{{cite web |last1=Samuels |first1=Brett |title=5 key players in the Biden document controversy |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3830483-5-key-players-in-the-biden-document-controversy/ |website=The Hill |access-date=8 May 2023 |date=26 January 2023}} On January 9, 2023, Sauber announced that classified documents were found in a former office of President Biden's in November 2022.{{cite web |last1=Samuels |first1=Brett |title=Classified documents found from Biden's time as VP, White House cooperating with DOJ |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3806056-classified-documents-found-from-bidens-time-as-vp-white-cooperating-with-doj/ |website=The Hill |access-date=8 May 2023 |date=9 January 2023}} On January 10, 2023, Sauber announced that classified documents were reported to have been found at the Penn Biden Center.{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Zeke |title=DOJ reviewing potentially classified docs at Biden center |url=https://apnews.com/article/biden-politics-united-states-government-812ef44a5333f6d93423a67a683fa024 |website=AP News |access-date=8 May 2023 |language=en |date=9 January 2023}} On January 14, 2023, Sauber announced more classified documents were found at President Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware.{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Zeke |title=More classified documents found at Biden's home by lawyers |url=https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-district-of-columbia-0574fd762159e8cb5f31c85205df3dc0 |website=AP News |access-date=8 May 2023 |language=en |date=14 January 2023}} Sauber has been cooperating with the United States Department of Justice as investigations are ongoing.
Personal life
References
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:New York University School of Law alumni
Category:Yale University alumni
Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford
Category:United States Department of Veterans Affairs officials