There's been so much to come out of Washington, it's hard to keep up. But we don't want to let this pass unnoticed, as we'll probably be hearing a lot more from Fielding in the next two years. Anticipating a flurry of Congressional subpoenas, President Bush replaced White House Counsel, Harriet Miers (yes, that Harriet Miers), with seasoned Washington insider Fred Fielding. Fielding, who was Reagan's top lawyer, worked in the Nixon administration as a deputy to then-WH counsel John Dean.
Dean: I wish him well. I was curious as to who would take that post. He's a very able lawyer. He's very savvy. But he's also been sipping some of the kool-aid lately so I'm not sure how exactly he's going to come out on this.
John J. Miller gives us this little nugget over at The Corner:
Fred Fielding held one of the most important jobs on the Bush transition team of 2000-01. He was the guy who met with potential cabinet nominees one-on-one, in a locked room with the windowshades drawn, and asked what was potentially a very sensitive question: "Anything in your background that might embarass the president?" The guy is presumably a world-class keeper of secrets.