A Reputation for Compromise

Fred F. Fielding took over as White House counsel in January, prompting the widespread expectation that he would help usher a new pragmatism into the West Wing, one that could defuse the inevitable tension between the White House and the newly empowered Democrats in Congress.

After all, Fielding, 68, is the prototype of a Washington "wise man," a species long disdained by President Bush and his closest advisers, who critics say prefer to stand by their view of principle rather than accede to compromise. Fielding -- who since his days as a deputy general counsel under President Richard Nixon has earned a reputation as a man who could find compromise where few could -- was supposed to temper that tendency.

But, so far, he hasn't.

Rather than walk the White House toward middle ground, Fielding has been on the front line of the escalating battle between the White House and Congress over the limits of presidential power and privilege. He signed the letters telling Congress that the administration will not turn over vital documents or allow aides and former aides to testify about internal White House deliberations before Congress, saying such testimony would be a breach of executive privilege.

Last week, Fielding's predecessor, Harriet E. Miers, told the House Judiciary Committee that she would defy a congressional subpoena to appear before a subcommittee investigating the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. The decision was based on a letter from Fielding, according to Miers's lawyer.

Both Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairmen, respectively, of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, have dismissed Fielding's responses to congressional orders as "stonewalling." Democrats warned defiant Bush administration officials that they could face contempt charges, which would precipitate a court fight likely to extend beyond the Bush presidency.

That the White House finds itself at the precipice of a constitutional clash with Congress is surprising to many people who have worked with Fielding and come away with high respect for his ability to foster agreement.

"Fred is a guy who is usually able to work with people and find solutions if they are feasible," said Richard Wiley, managing partner of Wiley Rein, the Washington firm where Fielding was a partner before moving on to the White House. "I hold him in high regard for his judicial temperament. It just may be that these issues are intractable."

Indeed, congressional investigators have been moving aggressively to probe some of the administration's most controversial decisions, including its warrantless wiretapping program, the execution of the war in Iraq, the commutation of the prison sentence of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and the dismissal of the U.S. attorneys.

In response, Fielding, who also served as White House counsel to President Ronald Reagan, has bulked up his staff, hiring nine new lawyers, mostly to respond to the blizzard of congressional inquiries.

"I have a high regard for Fred Fielding, but he represents a client which is an administration that is so extreme in its desire to maintain secrecy and keep transparency away from its activities that I think his hands are tied," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

The White House has called most of the congressional investigations baseless and called the subpoenas an infringement on presidential prerogatives.

"One of the issues that Fred faces is protecting presidential prerogatives, not only for this president but also for future presidents," said Richard A. Hauser, a former deputy to Fielding during the Reagan administration. He added that invoking executive privilege "is not something that [Fielding] would do casually or lightly."

Fielding was not available for an interview. But he has made himself clear in his correspondence with Congress. In a letter to Conyers responding to a request for documents related to the Libby commutation, Fielding said, "There is simply no cause here for permitting a congressional inquiry into the advice and deliberations of presidential staff."

While such assertions anger members of Congress, some analysts speculated they may reflect the wisdom of Fielding's ways. With 18 months left in the president's term, any court fight over executive privilege is likely to extend well beyond the president's term, making much of the dust-up largely moot. And with most of the inquiries revolving around two of the president's closest confidants, political adviser Karl Rove and Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, some observers say Fielding may do well to simply run out the clock.

"Even assuming you lost a court case in the district court, you could take well over a year in exhausting appeals over the issue," said Richard Ben-Veniste, who served with Fielding on the bipartisan commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "Fred knows that. Fred's natural impulse is to find a compromise. But the individuals who are affected here are of such high importance to his client that I think his natural inclination may be subordinated to the wishes of his client."