Joe Biden Loses His Lawyer

President Joe Biden will be saying goodbye to a key White House lawyer, as Richard Sauber plans to depart his role in May.

Sauber was involved in fending off various Republican-led inquiries into Biden, as well as the classified documents case.

Context

Previously serving as a federal prosecutor in the administration of former President Ronald Reagan, Sauber was nominated by Biden to serve as general counsel for the Department of Veterans Affairs. He was formally confirmed to the role by a Senate vote in May 2021.

A year later, in May 2022, Sauber was brought over to the White House staff to serve as special counsel for President Biden to help respond to the potential legal inquiries against the president promised by Republicans if they won control of the House of Representatives. The GOP ultimately did win the chamber by a small margin that year, and Sauber went on to lead the White House's legal strategy amid the various Republican-led legal attacks against Biden, including the now-stalled efforts to impeach him.

Sauber also helped oversee the special counsel investigation into Biden's mishandling of classified documents, after various materials dating back to his time as vice president were found at some of his properties. The president was ultimately not charged, and Sauber was vocally critical of special counsel Robert Hur's comments in his report about Biden's memory, which created a media firestorm over concerns about his advanced age.

What We Know

On Tuesday, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients provided a statement to various outlets confirming that Sauber will be departing the administration in May.

"Dick has provided invaluable counsel to the President as we have navigated complex legal issues over the past two years, and even at times of pressure, he always approached his work with a wicked sense of humor and a wisdom to see around corners," Zients's statement read.

Newsweek reached out to the White House on Tuesday morning via email for comment.

Views

Alongside Biden's personal attorney, Bob Bauer, Sauber wrote a five-page letter to Hur following his report on the documents investigation, chastising his comments about the president's memory.

"We do not believe that the report's treatment of President Biden's memory is accurate or appropriate," the letter read. "The report uses highly prejudicial language to describe a commonplace occurrence among witnesses: a lack of recall of years-old events."

What Comes Next

Along with its announcement of Sauber's departure, the White House also confirmed that his role will be filled by Rachel Cotton, previously a senior counsel at the White House Counsel's Office who has worked closely with Sauber as his deputy. Another White House counsel, Ed Siskel, called her the "perfect person" for the job thanks to her "years of experience working on these issues, and her wisdom and leadership."

Update 4/9/24, 11:04 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.