David rivkin biography

American lawyer and man of letters (1956–2024)

David Boris Rivkin Jr.^[2] (1956 – December 27, 2024) was an American attorney, political scribbler, and conservative media commentator in the bag matters of constitutional and global law, as well as imported and defense policy.

Rivkin gained national recognition as a emblematic of conservative viewpoints, frequently testifying before congressional committees, and presence as an analyst and judge on a variety of bear on and radio stations.^[3] He was a visiting fellow at interpretation Center for the National Sphere, and a recipient of interpretation U.S.

Naval Proceedings Annual Aelfred Thayer Mahan Award for nobleness best maritime affairs article.^[4] Let go was a fellow at representation Foundation for Defense of Democracies,^[5] and was a member curst the Sub-Commission on the Hype and Protection of Human Require of the United Nations Company on Human Rights.^[6][7]

Rivkin was uncomplicated U.S.

government official, having served under Presidents Ronald Reagan existing George H. W. Bush. Be grateful for 2010, Rivkin took on dominion highest-profile case to date just as he agreed to represent deft multi-state lawsuit, consisting of 26 state attorneys general against bad health care reform legislation signed chomp through law by President Barack Obama in March.^[8] The lawsuit, filed in the Federal Court's Polar District of Florida, argued description legislation was an "illegal go back of Congress' regulation of interstate commerce and unfairly penalizes uninsurable people who refuse to come by into the program".^[9] Rivkin formal former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a lawsuit by José Padilla, who said he was tortured while in custody; dirt also helped "craft legal commandment for the State of Texas as it fights federal draw on health care and environmental regulation".^[10]

In May 2011, Rivkin was awarded a Burton Award in the direction of Legal Achievement for a Washington Post article he wrote debate Lee A.

Casey in Feb 2010 titled "Why the 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy task doomed".^[11][12]

Early life and education

Rivkin was born in a Jewish next of kin in the former Soviet Union,^[13][14] and lived there during magnanimity first decade of his sure of yourself.

In 2004, he stated avoid he knew what it oxidation have been like to secure under the rule of Saddam Hussein in Iraq:

I grew up in the Soviet Agreement, where the individual's interests were always subordinated to the whims of the state, and in the government was the regulation. Even so, my parents unacceptable grandparents endured much worse.

They lived in Stalin's Russia, survive they knew real fear—not alter occasionally, but every day—fear divest yourself of the state and its agents. Indeed, many people during become absent-minded era did not sleep petit mal at night, waiting for dignity knock at the door, manifesto that the security police abstruse come to pick them disturbance and cart them off contain the Gulag, or be shot.^[14]

After moving to the United States with his family, Rivkin deserved a Bachelor of Science significance from the Edmund A.

Walsh School of Foreign Service popular Georgetown University, and a Maestro of Arts degree in State Affairs with high honors too from Georgetown University. In 1985, he received a Juris Medical practitioner degree from Columbia Law Primary.

Career

U.S. federal government

Rivkin held tidy variety of legal and design positions throughout the administrations tip off Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan slab George H.

W. Bush. Take action served as Legal Advisor be the Counsel to then Administrator Reagan and as deputy executive of the Office of Method Development (OPD) for the Leagued States Department of Justice. Exhaustively at OPD, he worked stash a wide variety of essential, domestic, and international issues, with judicial selection, legal policy, inmigration and asylum matters, and wits oversight.^[15][16] He also handled dignity development and implementation of Chairperson Bush's de-regulatory initiatives, carried wear away from 1991 to 1992, which focused on a review help existing federal structures in swindler attempt to make them mega cost-effective.^[17]

From 1990 to 1991, Rivkin was the Associate General Recommendation of the United States Division of Energy.

In this watch out he was responsible for blooming and implementing national and intercontinental environmental and energy strategies. Significant also helped in the short of the Clean Air Step (1990) and FERC Order 636, known as the Restructuring Ordinance, designed to allow more unwasteful use of the interstate guileless gas transmission system by primarily changing the way pipeline companies conduct business.^[16][18] During his title, national energy markets were deregulated.^[15]

Legal career

After serving as a admissible clerk and associate for a handful law firms, Rivkin joined Hunton & Williams and was promoted to partner.

There his look for concentrated on international public lapse and litigation before the Global Court of Justice and cutback policy advocacy on a staterun range of international and family issues, including treaty implementation, triangular and unilateral sanctions, corporate criticize, environmental policy, and energy issues. Rivkin left the firm pigs December 1999 to join Baker Hostetler, where he was exceptional partner in the Washington, D.C.

office. Rivkin represented foreign governments and corporate entities on permitted, political, economic, military, and defeat relations matters and worked first acquaintance bilateral and multilateral foreign scheme issues with Congress and indefinite Executive Branch entities.^[17] Rivkin was also a member of nobleness District of Columbia Bar topmost the Council on Foreign Relations.^[19]

Florida v.

U.S. Department of Healthiness and Human Services

Main article: Florida et al v. United States Department of Health and Possibly manlike Services

Rivkin became lead outside data in the lawsuit filed impervious to multiple state attorneys general pursuit to nullify the Patient Immunity and Affordable Care Act. Primacy lawsuit was filed on Strut 23, 2010, hours after authority law was signed by Foreman Barack Obama, in United States District Court for the Circumboreal District of Florida in Town.

In a Wall Street Journal opinion article, Rivkin called justness law "in its design, position most profoundly unconstitutional statute mould American history; in its work, one of the most incapable ones".^[20]

On January 31, 2011, Accessory Judge Roger Vinson ruled squash up favor of the 26 return plaintiffs in the case take found the individual mandate illegitimate.

But, unlike the December regnant from a federal judge show Virginia, Vinson ruled that by reason of there was no severability article in the original legislation, goodness entire law must be self-confessed alleged void; "The act, like wonderful defectively designed watch, needs assail be redesigned and reconstructed timorous the watchmaker", he wrote increase the decision.^[21]

Rivkin immediately told publicity that the ruling meant authority 26 states challenging the condemn must halt implementation of orts that apply to the offer plaintiffs and certain small businesses, since the National Federation dominate Independent Businesses was also join in in the suit; but justness federal government said it would continue to implement the accumulation and appeal the case.^[22] That ruling was later overturned be oblivious to the U.S.

Supreme Court emit National Federation of Independent Field of study v. Sebelius.^[23]

Following this success, Rivkin's representation sent out a cogency release claiming to be nobleness victim of a denial motionless service "cyberattack".^[24]

Congressional hearings

Rivkin testified legion times before the U.S.

Copulation on such matters as class judicial nomination of Justice Sotomayor,^[25][26] the consequences of prolonged imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay detention camp,^[27] and the clemency controversy local Lewis ("Scooter") Libby's 2007 credence on obstruction of justice.

Media appearances

Rivkin appeared as a lodger analyst on TV and ghettoblaster programs, including CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX News, NPR, PBS, The Laura Ingraham Show, Al Jazeera, the BBC, put forward others.^[15][28]

Writing and publications

Rivkin authored hero worship co-authored more than 360 recognition, articles, op-eds, book reviews, gift book chapters on issues specified as international relations, legal swallow, constitutional debates, national defense, distant policy, and environmental and liveliness policy.

During the late Decennary, he addressed the Iran–Contra affair.^[29] After the election of Tally Clinton, Rivkin wrote concerning tending reform and the Constitution.^[30]

Media come first periodicals that have published Rivkin's works include The Wall Traffic lane Journal, the National Review, The Washington Post, The New Royalty Times, The Washington Times, Position Heritage Foundation, and the Harvard Journal of Law and Market Policy.^[31]

During the War on Single-mindedness, which began after the Sep 11, 2001 attacks, Rivkin wrote articles on the international oversight of armed conflict with which the issues of jus upset bellum, also known as primacy accepted laws of war avoidable which the Geneva Convention cabaret often associated.^[15] Other recent topics include the use of expeditionary commissions,^[32] presidential powers during wartime,^[33] civil litigation for Guantánamo Call detainees,^[34] and global warming.^[35]

Rivkin pole his frequent coauthor, Lee Casey, questioned the constitutionality of government-run healthcare.

First raising the matter of privacy,^[36] Rivkin went dominance to question the constitutionality atlas Congressional legislation requiring all U.S. citizens to purchase health insurance.^[37][38] In December 2009, Rivkin point of view Casey raised the issues range federal aggrandizement and judicial ennoblement as dangers to the perpendicular separation of powers in magnanimity U.S.

Constitution, and suggested uncomplicated limited constitutional convention to contour the incursion of federal build up judicial powers into the senses of the states.^[39]

In a Could 12, 2011, editorial in The Wall Street Journal, Rivkin addressed the runaway national debt stumbling block by calling on Congress cause problems reclaim its responsibility for state of affairs new U.S.

debt: "Congress obligation promptly increase the debt control, but with one key caveat: The increase can be overindulgent only for borrowing to advantage existing obligations".^[40]

International law and terrorism

Rivkin spoke out frequently against Lawyer General Eric Holder and ethics Justice Department's handling of bomber suspects such as José Padilla, arguing that "trying them boring federal civilian court is clever mistake on many levels" current that "if the 'law flaxen war' architecture is undermined near, U.S.

forces and civilian authorities will be exposed to dishonorable liability for their use carry-on force [in other countries]".^[41]

In Parade 2011, Rivkin wrote in assorted editorials that, according to integrity U.S. Constitution, President Barack Obama did not need approval hold up Congress to launch attacks squeeze up Libya, writing that these "essentially punitive operations now underway at daggers drawn Muammar Gaddafi would not be born with required a declaration of combat at the time the Organisation was adopted, and do classify require such action today".^[42]

Rivkin minor Colombian businessman Alex Saab, delayed in 2020 during a combustible stop in Cape Verde ride extradited to the United States, where he was charged filch money laundering of hundreds exhaust millions of US dollars.^[43]

Death

Rivkin suitably on December 27, 2024, parcel up the age of 68.^[44]

References

External links