Warren Neil Eggleston (born July 5, 1953)[1] is an American lawyer who served as the
White House Counsel under President
Barack Obama. Eggleston was the fourth person to hold this post during the Obama administration.
From 1981 until 1987, Eggleston was an Assistant U.S. Attorney and the chief appellate attorney for the
Southern District of New York. From 1987 until 1988, Eggleston served as deputy chief counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran, which investigated the
Iran-Contra Affair.[6] From 1993 until 1994, he served in the White House as associate counsel to the president.[6] Eggleston's work in the Clinton administration took place during congressional investigations into Clinton's Whitewater real estate transactions.[7]
After leaving the White House, Eggleston represented former colleagues during corruption investigations, including Clinton's transportation secretary,
Federico Peña, and his labor secretary,
Alexis Herman.[8] In both cases, no charges were ever filed.[8]
In 2001, Eggleston represented
Cheryl Mills, who was a board member of the
William J. Clinton Presidential Library foundation, during a congressional investigation into President Clinton's last-minute pardon of fugitive financier
Marc Rich, whose wife had been a foundation donor.[8]
In 2005, Eggleston left the law firm of
Howrey and joined the law firm of
Debevoise & Plimpton as a partner, where he remained until 2012.[9]
In 2007, Eggleston represented
Sara Taylor, who was a White House political affairs director in the George W. Bush administration, during an inquiry from a congressional oversight committee into the
Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy and other Bush policies that Democrats believed had politicized the work of federal agencies.[8]
In 2009, Eggleston represented then-Obama chief of staff
Rahm Emanuel during the prosecution of Illinois Gov.
Rod Blagojevich.[7] Around that same time, he also represented then-Sen.
Kent Conrad during a congressional ethics inquiry into a mortgage he had received from
Countrywide Financial.[8]
From 2012 until 2014, Eggleston was a litigation partner at the law firm
Kirkland & Ellis, based in Washington.[10] Eggleston's private sector work included helping corporations navigate regulations imposed by the Obama administration.[11]
White House Counsel
On April 21, 2014, the White House announced that Eggleston would become White House counsel, replacing
Kathryn Ruemmler upon her departure in May 2014.[5]