Bush seeks 'wise' counsel in Nixon, Reagan veteran

Posted by Mark Silva at 11:58 am CST

President Bush is hiring Fred Fielding, an old Washington hand and veteran of Republican administrations, as general counsel at a time when the White House is facing increasing scrutiny from a Democratic-run Congress.

"Fred fielding is a guy of enormous experience and competence,'' Tony Snow, the White House spokesman, said with the president's announcement of Fielding's hiring today.

Fielding replaces Harriet Miers, a longtime friend of the president from Texas whom Bush nominated for a vacancy on the Supreme Court only to withdraw her in the face of growing criticism from conservative senators. Miers recently announced that she will resign after six years as counsel.

Fielding arrives at a critical juncture for Bush, as a Democratic-controlled Congress prepares for hearings into the Bush administration's conduct of the war and other controversies. Fielding also will help Bush advance nominees for federal judgeships before a Democratic-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee less likely to favor the president's candidates.

"Fred's exemplary legal career has equipped him with the judgment and expertise necessary to serve in this important position,'' Bush said in a statement issued today. "I look forward to benefiting from his wise counsel.''

Fielding, 67, a longtime Washington lawyer, has served Republican presidents since the 1970s. He worked as associate counsel for President Nixon (from 1970-72), serving as deputy to John Dean during the Watergate scandal. Fielding served as counsel to President Reagan from 1981-86.

Fielding also served on the 9/11 Commission.

Philadelphia-born, Fielding is a graduate of Gettysburg College and the University of Virginia School of Law.

A team of journalism students once concluded that Fielding must have been the "Deep Throat'' source for Washington journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the investigations that led to Nixon's resignation after Watergate. But Mark Felt, a former FBI official, announced in May 2005 that he was Deep Throat – this confirmed by Woodward and Bernstein.