Andrew Wright is a member of the Public Policy and Law practice group. He guides clients through congressional investigations, executive branch compliance, and government enforcement actions.
Andrew rejoined K&L Gates after serving as Director of Legal Policy for the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition. He previously served as associate counsel to US President Barack Obama and assistant counsel to US Vice President Al Gore. In those roles, he represented and advised the White House on a variety of legal matters, with an emphasis on litigation, congressional oversight, investigations, compliance, and national security. In White House Counsel's Office, he was the primary legal liaison to the departments of Defense, Justice (DOJ), and State; Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); Office of the Director of National Intelligence; and US Agency for International Development on government investigations, congressional oversight, and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) matters.
In Congress, Andrew served as staff director of the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs of the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. There, he led oversight investigations of national security and foreign affairs, designed subcommittee hearings, and managed staff under former committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and subcommittee chairman John Tierney (D-MA).
In addition to his time in public service, Andrew is a trainer for the Carl Levin Center at Wayne State University, educating lawyers, business leaders, legislators, and public servants on oversight. He has led courses for current House and Senate oversight staff from both political parties. He is a Founding Editor and Senior Fellow of the online national security forum Just Security. He is a member of the American Law Institute.
Prior to joining the firm, Andrew was a Senior Fellow at New York University School of Law. He also taught at Savannah Law School and West Virginia University College of Law, including courses in constitutional law, criminal law, criminal procedure, presidential powers, and federal criminal law. Andrew has previous private practice experience as a litigator and white collar criminal defense lawyer. Additionally, he worked on numerous presidential and congressional election campaigns.
- Recognized by Chambers USA for Government Relations: Congressional Investigations nationally, 2023-2024
- Recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a Recommended Lawyer for Government relations, 2024
- Recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a Recommended Lawyer for Dispute Resolution: Corporate Investigations and White-Collar Criminal Defense, 2023
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Congressional Oversight Staff Trainer, Levin Center at Wayne Law
- Consultative Group Member, Government Ethics Project, American Law Institute
- Senior Fellow & Founding Editor, Just Security
- Truman-Albright Fellows Program Mentor, Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation
- Speaker, “Supreme Court decision: Trump v. United States Rapid Response Webinar,” hosted by Seattle University School of Law, 2024
- Panelist, “Is the U.S. Democratic System in Trouble?,” hosted by the Southeastern Association of Law Schools, 2022
- Panelist, “Foxes and Henhouses: Restoring Oversight and Accountability A Year After the 2020 Election,” moderated by Politico’s Josh Gerstein for the American Constitution Society, Washington, D.C., 2021
- Panelist, “Russia and the Mueller Report: What You Need to Know,” moderated by CNN’s White House Reporter Maegan Vazquez for New York University Speaker Series, Washington, D.C., 2019
- Speaker, “Congressional Investigations of the Energy Sector,” 40th Annual Institute, Energy & Mineral Law Foundation, Washington, D.C., 2019
- Speaker, “Executive Privilege and Inspectors General,” Faculty Presentation, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C., 2019
In addition to contributions to the national security online legal forum Just Security, Andrew has bylines in Newsweek, Slate, Huffington Post, Politico Magazine, JURIST, ACS Blog, Savannah Morning News, and The Atlanta Voice. He has also written law review articles exploring congressional investigations and executive power, appearing in Texas Law Review, New York University Law Review Online, Marquette Law Review, Mississippi Law Journal, Wayne Law Review, West Virginia Law Review, Arkansas Law Review, and Savannah Law Review.
Additional publications include:
- Presidential Immunity Decision May Have Implications for Congressional-Executive Divide on Criminal Contempt, Just Security, 26 August 2024
- Budget Cuts as Alternative Congressional Oversight Enforcement Mechanism, Just Security, 24 May 2024
- Inspectors General Reform: Considering Proposals for Greater Independence, Effectiveness, and Accountability, American Constitution Society Issue Brief, September 2021 (with Sara Hall)
- DOJ Announces Major Changes to Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policies, Westlaw Today powered by Reuters, 8 November 2021
- House Subpoena Power Wins In McGahn Case, With Caveats, Law360, 6 August 2021
- Quoted, “Congressional Inquiry Practices To Stay Hot With GOP Sweep,” Law360, 26 November 2024
- Quoted, “Robert Menendez Guilty: The Significance of the First ‘Foreign Agent’ Conviction of a U.S. Senator,” Just Security, 19 July 2024
- Quoted, “Behind The Scenes With The Congressional Investigations Bar,” Law360, 12 June 2024
- Quoted, “Oregon Department of Justice probe of Providence Health continues,” The Lund Report, 9 November 2023
- Quoted, “Brownstein Hyatt Ahead Again In Q2 Lobbying Revenues,” Law360 Pulse, 21 July 2023
- Quoted, “FARA Indictment Shows DOJ’s Willing to Use Registration Law to Limit Foreign Influence” The National Law Journal, 11 July 2023
- Quoted, “Lobbying Has Become Increasingly Complex With AI Being Front and Center,” The National Law Journal and Law.com, 21 June 2023
- Quoted, “What to expect from the new IT/cyber/innovation House subcommittee,” Federal News Network, 7 February 2023
- Quoted, “How agency leaders can prepare for more aggressive House oversight,” Federal News Network, 3 February 2023
- Mentioned, “'Robust Investigations Agenda' by House Committees Expected: Here's What You Need to Know,” National Law Journal, 25 January 2023
- Quoted, “Just Security Podcast: The Balance of Power in a New Senate,” JustSecurity.org, 9 December 2022
- Quoted, “Biden’s most vocal Republican antagonists emerge from the sidelines – with subpoena power,” USA Today, Yahoo.com, IndyStar.com, TennisRacketHub.com, 17 January 2023
- “FBI’s Trump Search Stirs Talk, Except by Those Who Conducted It,” Wall Street Journal, 10 August 2022
- “Bannon attacks Jan. 6 committee on Fox News after Congress contempt conviction,” Washington Post, 23 July 2022
- “What Does Pat Cipollone’s Jan. 6 Testimony Mean for Future White House Counsel?,” National Law Journal, 15 July 2022
- “Attorney-Client Privilege May Be on Shaky Grounds in Congressional Investigations,” National Law Journal, 30 March 2022
- "Another midterm worry for Biden White House: probes and impeachment attempts,” Reuters, 17 January 2022
- “To navigate legal quandaries, Biden leans on low-key counsel,” Associated Press, 24 October 2021
- “Analysis: U.S. defending presidency, not trying to ‘save Trump,’ in recent legal moves,” Reuters, 8 June 2021
- “Could Donald Trump Be Forced to Testify by Congress During Impeachment?,” Town & Country, 9 February 2021
- “Donald Trump is not the first president to fight subpoenas,” The Economist, 2 May 2020
- “Diplomat said to have questioned optics of Hunter Biden job,” Boston Globe, 18 October 2019
- “Mnuchin Defies Subpoena for President Trump’s Tax Returns,” The Wall Street Journal, 18 May 2019
- “Subpoena on Trump Obamacare Stance a Dilemma for Democrats,” Bloomberg Government, 20 May 2019
- “McGahn was a no-show. What’s next for the Trump obstruction probe?” PBS Newshour, 21 May 2019
- “Trump appeals federal judge’s order upholding House subpoena for his accounting firm’s ?
records,” The Washington Post, 21 May, 2019
