Richard Beckler

Richard W. Beckler (30 March 1940 – 25 September 2017) was an attorney. He served a number of prominent clients. At the time of his death in late September, 2017, he had been appointed as General Counsel of the US General Services Administration.[1]

Richard Beckler
Born
Richard William Beckler

(1940-03-30)March 30, 1940
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 25, 2017(2017-09-25) (aged 77)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationWilliams College (BA); Fordham University School of Law (JD)
OccupationLawyer

After his death, Beckler's actions at the GSA were discussed in the US national media when it was revealed that the GSA had supplied the special counsel investigation by Robert Mueller with copies of more than 5000 emails sent by the Trump administration transition team. GSA Deputy Counsel Lenny Loewentritt, stated that Beckler had not made a commitment to the transition team that law enforcement materials requests would be routed through transition lawyers.[2] Reuters reported statements that "The FBI had requested the materials from GSA staff on Aug. 23, asking for copies of the emails, laptops, cell phones and other materials associated with nine members of the Trump transition team responsible for national security and policy matters".[3]

Early life

Beckler was born in Brooklyn, New York on 30 March 1940, the child of William Beckler and Mary (Lohrmann) Beckler.[4] He had an older sister named Beth.[4]

Beckler was educated at Williams College (BA) and Fordham University School of Law (JD).[1]

Richard Beckler served in the U.S. Navy, Active Duty Officer from 1962-1970 and as Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve (1965-1978).

Richard Beckler served as Assistant District Attorney in the NY (Manhattan) County District Attorney's Office under District Attorney Frank Hogan (1968-1972). Beckler joined the U.S. Department of Justice, Fraud Section, in 1972. Beckler was promoted to and served as the Section Chief of the Criminal Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice 1976-1979, where he headed a task force on foreign payment cases and worked closely with officials from the Department of the Treasury, the SEC and the Department of State.

Mr. Beckler joined Fulbright & Jaworski as Head of the Washington Litigation Group from 1979-2003. He spent the next 37 years in white collar criminal defense for the firms Fulbright & Jaworski, Howrey LLP, and Bracewell & Giuliani mostly representing corporations such as Halliburton. Beckler also represented many individuals, including CIA Director William J. Casey. Beckler had also represented Iran-Contra figure John Poindexter.[5] Before coming to the GSA, Beckler was a partner and head of litigation in Washington, D.C., for the international law firm Bracewell LLP.

Mr. Beckler's appointment as GSA General Counsel was announced on May 12, 2017.[6]

Hospitalization & death

Beckler was hospitalized in September 2017 and died on 25 September, 2017, in Los Angeles.[4] A memorial website reported that Beckler had died after "a grueling two-month battle with Pancreatic cancer".[7]

References
  1. Anonymous (12 May 2017). "Richard W. Beckler Appointed GSA General Counsel". www.gsa.gov. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  2. Braun, Stephen; Day, Chad (17 December 2017). "Special counsel obtains thousands of Trump transition emails". AP News. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  3. Holland, Steve (16 December 2017). "Trump allies say Mueller unlawfully obtained thousands of emails". AF. Reuters. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  4. Anonymous (1 October 2017). "Richard "Dick" Beckler'ss Obituary on The Washington Post". The Washington Post. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  5. Johnston, David (12 February 2007). "A Historic Moment if Cheney Testifies Live, as Expected". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  6. Banister, Jon (12 May 2017). "Trump Appoints Campaign Staffer As GSA Associate Administrator". www.bisnow.com. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  7. Beckler, Lisa (organizer). "In Memory of Dick Beckler". YouCaring.com. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
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