Ben-Veniste, Richard, 1943-

Richard Ben-Veniste (born January 3, 1943) is an American lawyer. He first rose to prominence as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. He has also been a member of the 9/11 Commission. He is known for his pointed questions and criticisms of members of both the Clinton[citation needed] and George W. Bush administrations. In 2017, he became a CNN Legal Analyst.[4]

Ben-Veniste was an assistant U.S. attorney (1968–1973) in the Southern District of New York, and chief of the Special Prosecutions section, (1971–1973). He became a leading Watergate prosecutor, as chief of the Watergate Task Force of the Watergate Special Prosecutor's Office, (1973–1975).

He was the Democrats' chief counsel (1995–1996)[2] on the Senate Whitewater Committee which investigated a variety of allegations involving Bill and Hillary Clinton. He argued that the Clintons did no wrong in connection with their investment in a failed land development project named Whitewater, or in their other Arkansas business affairs, nor did they commit violations of law after Mr. Clinton became president.[7]

Ben-Veniste was a presidential appointee (2000) to the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group, which ultimately declassified some 8 million documents relating to war crimes in the World War II and post-war era.

9/11 Commission
Ben-Veniste was a member (2002) of the 9/11 Commission, where he developed a reputation for asking tough questions and demanding access to sensitive documents, although in some circles he was accused of grandstanding.[8] His interrogation of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was contentious, and led to the declassification of the previously secret August 6, 2001, President's Daily Brief: "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States." The 9/11 Commission Report was published in 2004 and has been read by millions of readers worldwide.

Ben-Veniste was a partner of the Washington, D.C., law firm of Melrod, Redman & Gartlan (1975–1981). In 1981 he formed Ben-Veniste and Shennoff, where he practiced for 10 years. He joined Weil, Gotshal and Manges in 1991, where he was a partner until 2002. Ben-Veniste was a partner at Mayer Brown LLP from 2002 until January 2023.[2][3][9]