who was reagan's first attorney general

by Mikel Lakin Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago 8 min read

William French Smith II (August 26, 1917 – October 29, 1990) was an American lawyer. He was the 74th United States Attorney General.
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William French Smith
In office January 23, 1981 – February 25, 1985
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Benjamin Civiletti
Succeeded by	Edwin Meese

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What is the answer to the Reagan Attorney General crossword clue?

Oct 30, 1990 · William French Smith, who as Ronald Reagan's personal lawyer helped guide him to the White House and then joined the Reagan Revolution as the president's first attorney general, has died at 73. Smith, who died of cancer Monday, helped lead the administration's conservative shift on such issues as civil rights and corporate mergers.

Who became Attorney General in February 1985?

Oct 20, 2010 · 1st term attorney general was John Ashcroft-2nd term attorney general was Alberto Gonzalez Was Gerald Ford Ronald Reagan's vice presidents name? No- Reagan's VP was George H. W. Bush. Ford served...

What is the medical advisor to every president since Ronald Reagan?

Answers for reagans attorney general crossword clue, 5 letters. Search for crossword clues found in the Daily Celebrity, NY Times, Daily Mirror, Telegraph and major publications. Find clues for reagans attorney general or most any crossword answer or clues for crossword answers.

Who was Ronald Reagan’s chief of Staff John Meese?

May 17, 2001 · Smith, Reagan's first attorney general, brought two bright young lawyers to Washington in 1981: Olson and Starr, who served as counselor to the attorney general. Twenty years later, Olson was at...

Who was the attorney general that Reagan nominated?

Reagan nominated Meese to be William French Smith 's successor as Attorney General on January 23, 1984. For more than a year, Democrats repeatedly charged Meese with unethical conduct to bar his confirmation as attorney general, including a report by Archibald Cox to the Senate on Meese's "lack of ethical sensitivity" and "blindness to abuse of position."

Who was Ronald Reagan's legal affairs secretary?

Meese joined Ronald Reagan 's staff in 1967. He served as legal affairs secretary from 1967 to 1968 and as executive assistant and chief of staff to Governor Reagan from 1969 to 1974. Despite his later well-known fondness for Reagan, Meese was initially reluctant to accept the appointment because he thought of himself as non-partisan: "I was not particularly interested."

What was the controversy that Meese created?

Meese created a "storm of controversy" in December 1983 after his responses to questions about hunger in America. In response to a question about balancing spending cuts against the need to feed hungry children, he said that he had seen no "authoritative" evidence that children in America were going hungry and that some of the allegations "are purely political." When asked about soup kitchens, he said that "some people are going to soup kitchens voluntarily.... I know we've had considerable information that people go to soup kitchens because the food is free and that that's easier than paying for it." Democratic leaders and social welfare activists called his comments "disgraceful," "an outrage," "unkind," "mean-spirited," and "absolutely ridiculous." Tip O'Neill, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, compared Meese to Ebenezer Scrooge. Shortly after, Meese offered a tongue-in-cheek defense of Scrooge, saying that he "had his faults, but he wasn't unfair to anyone" and that he suffered from "a bad press."

Why was Meese investigated?

In the late-1980s, Meese was investigated for his role in covering up the Iran-Contra Affair to limit damage to President Ronald Reagan. Although evidence supporting this accusation came to light, Meese was ultimately not charged with any obstruction.

What was one of Meese's innovations?

One of Meese's innovations was to seek the cooperation of drug-producing countries. "One of our most effective weapons against drug traffickers," Meese wrote in his autobiography, "was to confiscate the assets of their criminal activity, such as expensive autos, yachts, businesses and homes....

What was the purpose of the meeting between James Baker and Meese?

On November 17, 1980, Meese and James Baker held a meeting to divide their list of White House responsibilities, since both saw the potential for future conflict because of their positions being somewhat similar in nature. The one-page memorandum listed Meese's responsibilities as:

When was the Meese report published?

The Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, often called the Meese report, convened in the spring of 1985 and published its findings in July 1986.

Overview

Edwin Meese III (born December 2, 1931) is an American attorney, law professor, author and member of the Republican Party who served in official capacities within the Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial administration (1967–1974), the Reagan presidential transition team (1980–81) and the Reagan administration (1981–1985). Following the 1984 election, he was considered for the position of White …

Early life and education

California governor's office

Meese joined Ronald Reagan's staff in 1967. He served as legal affairs secretary from 1967 to 1968 and as executive assistant and chief of staff to Governor Reagan from 1969 to 1974. Despite his later well-known fondness for Reagan, Meese was initially reluctant to accept the appointment because he thought of himself as non-partisan: "I was not particularly interested."
Meese was known for his "unique ability" to explain complex ideas to Reagan in a way that often …

Industry and academia

From January 1975 to May 1976, Meese served as vice president for administration of Rohr Industries in Chula Vista, California. He left Rohr to enter private law practice in San Diego County, California.
After receiving a grant from the Sarah Scaife Foundation, Meese developed what he called "a plan for a law school center for criminal justice policy and management". The plan was accepted by t…

Reagan presidency

Following the Iowa caucuses, Meese joined the 1980 Reagan presidential campaign full-time as chief of staff in charge of day-to-day campaign operations and senior issues adviser. After the 1980 election, Meese headed Reagan's transition effort.
At the advice of Meese, Reagan secretly allowed his campaign to establish a tr…

Iraq Study Group

In May 2006 Meese was named a member of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group by group co-chairmen James Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton, commissioned to assess and report on the contemporary status of the Iraq War. Meese co-authored the group's final December 2006 report.

Fellowships and honors

Meese serves on the boards of several institutions. Meese has held the Ronald Reagan Chair in Public Policy at the Heritage Foundationsince 1988, when he joined the think tank. It is the only policy chair in the United States officially named for the 40th president. He is also chairman of Heritage's Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, founded in 2001 to advance conservative views about th…

Books and film

Edwin Meese has authored or co-authored a number of books on government, judiciary and civics, including:
• A Familiar Exposition of the Constitution of the United States, Bicentennial Edition (1986)
• The Great Debate: Interpreting Our Written Constitution (1986)