Gonzales Staffer Was “Ready Replacement” for RoveSome background on Kyle Sampson, the now former chief of staff to Alberto Gonzales whom you’d never heard of before today.
From Al Kamen’s “In The Loop” column on October 31, 2005, when the Valerie Plame scandal was raging:
Waiting in the Wings
Speaking of Karl Rove , there had been much concern last week that he also might have to resign as a result of Fitzgerald’s probe. The loss of Karl’s familiar presence — he’s the last of the original “Iron Triangle” of Bush’s Texas advisers still in the White House — would have unsettled many younger aides.
Fortunately, there’s a ready replacement: D. Kyle Sampson , chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and formerly in the White House counsel’s office. Maybe not exactly the same as Karl but . . .
Ed. Note: Thanks to TPM Reader MV.
Update: A little more background on Sampson, who graduated from BYU in 1993 and went on to University of Chicago Law School, from the LA Times this morning:
Sampson, a former counsel to Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) on the Senate Judiciary Committee, worked as deputy White House counsel for two years under Gonzales starting in 2001.
He joined the Justice Department in 2003 as a counselor to Ashcroft, and stayed on when Gonzales became attorney general. He became chief of staff in September 2005.
Later Update: As some have pointed out in comments, The New York Times ran a generally flattering profile of Sampson today.
Latest Update: We’ve just added the pictures to help a TPM Reader make her point: “just try to tell me that they weren’t separated at birth.”
