- Richard Ben-Veniste
Richard Ben-Veniste (born
January 3 ,1943 ), a member of the9/11 Commission , is known for his pointed questions and criticisms of members of both the Clinton andGeorge W. Bush administrations.Ben-Veniste graduated from
Stuyvesant High School inNew York City in 1960, [cite news |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E0D7133CF936A25755C0A9649C8B63 |title=Lead Levels At School Are Linked To Sept. 11 |first=Anemona |last=Hartocollis |date=2002-06-15 |publisher=New York Times |accessdate=2007-11-02] received anA.B. fromMuhlenberg College inAllentown, Pennsylvania in 1964, anLL.B. fromColumbia Law School in New York City in 1967, and anLL.M. fromNorthwestern University School of Law inEvanston, Illinois in 1968.He served as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1968 to 1973, including the turbulent period of the
Watergate scandal . Mr. Ben-Veniste was a leading figure in the prosecution of this scandal. He served as chief of the Watergate Task Force of the WatergateSpecial Prosecutor 's Office. He later aided in the investigations of other issues of national importance, including serving as chief counsel to theSenate Whitewater Committee .Ben-Veniste is a presidential appointee to the
Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group , a group mandated to review and declassify documents relating towar crimes in theWorld War II era. He also co-authored "Stonewall: The Real Story of the Watergate Prosecution".Most recently, Ben-Veniste was appointed to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (popularly known as the "9/11 Commission"), where he has developed a reputation for asking tough questions and demanding access to sensitive documents, although in some circles he has been accused of grandstanding. It was under Ben-Veniste's questioning that
Condoleezza Rice was forced to begrudgingly repeat the title of a largely-ignored White House memo: "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States."Ben-Veniste is a partner with the international law firm
Mayer Brown . He is married to Donna Grell Ben-Veniste. His previous marriage was to [http://www.shelbyfischer.com Shelby Fischer] . He has two daughters: Olivia Lorraine and Danielle Ilyana.Works
* Richard Ben-Veniste and George Frampton, "Stonewall: The Real Story of the Watergate Prosecution" Simon & Schuster, 1977, ISBN 0-671-22463-8
References
* [http://www.nndb.com/people/219/000043090/ Richard Ben-Veniste profile, NNDB] .
Category:9/11 Commission
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