Patrick F. Philbin

Patrick F. Philbin is an American lawyer and Bush administration appointee.cite web
url=http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?entity=patrick_f._philbin
title=Profile: Patrick F. Philbin
publisher=Cooperative Research
accessdate=May 23
accessyear=2007]

Philbin served as a law clerk for federal appeals judge Laurence Silberman.cite news
url=http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/storyprint.asp?StoryID=592426
title=The legal terror of executive power
author=Ruth Marcus
date= May 25, 2007
publisher=Albany Times Union
accessdate=2007-05-26]

Philbin was appointed Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel.cite web
url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB127/
title=The Interrogation Documents: Debating U.S. Policy and Methods
date=July 13, 2004
publisher=George Washington University
accessdate=May 23
accessyear=2007]

Philbin is notable for being one of the lawyers who helped counsel President Bush that he, as head of the United States' Government's executive branch had the authority to charge Guantanamo captives before military commissions.

According to James Comey Philbin was present when he rushed to John Ashcroft's hospital bed to try to prevent other Bush officials to try to pressure the very sick Ashcroft to reverse the decision of the deputy acting as his replacement not to renew the controversial wireless wiretap program.cite web
url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2007/05/waterboarding_ashcroft.html
author=Joel Auchenbach
title=Waterboarding Ashcroft
publisher=Washington Post
date=May 16 2007
accessdate=May 23
accessyear=2007] Comey said that Philbin's career suffered when he supported Comey in his efforts to intervene to prevent Gonzales from abusing Ashcroft.

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