Victoria Toensing

Victoria Toensing
Born Victoria Ann Long
(1941-10-16) October 16, 1941[1]
Colón, Panama
Education Indiana University, Bloomington (BS)
University of Detroit (JD)
Political party Republican
Spouse(s)
Trent Toensing (m. 1962)
[2]
Joseph diGenova (m. 1981)
[3]
Children 3, including Amy Toensing
Notes

Victoria Ann Toensing (née Long; born October 16, 1941) is a lawyer, and partner with her husband, Joseph diGenova, in the Washington law firm diGenova & Toensing.[6] Her practice specializes in white-collar criminal defense, regulatory inquiries, and lobbying. She has appeared as a legal commentator on several networks including CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC.

Early life and education

Toensing graduated from Indiana University in 1962, matriculating in education. She taught high-school English until she entered law school, earning a J.D. from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1975.

In 1981, Toensing became chief counsel to Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence,[7] where she helped draft the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982.

News and politics

Emily Bazelon of Slate.com has called Toensing "a blanketer of the airwaves about the tawdriness of the Lewinsky affair".[7] Toensing and her husband made regular appearances on television claiming that they were the target of investigations by the Clinton Administration.[8]

Regarding their role in the 1998 House of Representatives Teamsters investigation, Rep. Bill Clay, a Missouri Democrat said, "They've become a public spectacle, which means they can't be impartial." "It's a payoff from Newt Gingrich and the Republican Party to both Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova.... They have been on television over 200 times and not once have they been talking about an issue we're paying them $25,000 a month to handle for the Congress. It's a hell of a part-time job."[9]

Toensing was retained by media organizations to comment on the Plame Affair. In March 2005 Toensing submitted an amicus curiae brief on behalf of Matt Cooper and Judith Miller, two journalists who were subpoenaed in the Valerie Plame investigation for refusing to reveal information obtained from confidential sources. In the brief, she "argued that the law couldn't have been broken when Valerie Plame's cover as a CIA agent was blown because her status wasn't really covert".[7] She also contended that Ms. Plame did not have a cover to be blown, citing a July 23, 2004, article in The Washington Times that argued that Valerie Plame's status as an undercover CIA agent may have been known to Russian and Cuban intelligence operations prior to the article (by Robert Novak) that revealed her status as a CIA employee. In April 2018, Toensing represented Scooter Libby at the time when President Trump pardoned him.[10]

Toensing supported former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson in the 2008 presidential election.[7]

On March 19, 2018, she and her husband, diGenova, were considered for legal assistance by President Donald Trump to serve on his legal team for the Special Counsel investigation.[11][12] DiGenova served as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1983 to 1988.[13][14] However, Trump cancelled the hires several days later due to potential conflicts-of-interest.[15] Toensing represents Mark Corallo, who had previously served as a spokesman for Trump's private legal team during the investigation into possible collusion between members of Trump's 2016 campaign and the Russian government.[16][17] Robert Mueller interviewed Corallo as part of the Special Counsel investigation.[18][19]

References

  1. ↑ Trump's legal team in flux as he reverses decision to hire controversial pair, Politico, March 25, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Long Toensing Wedding". The Republic. October 22, 1962. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Love is cause for a rally". Detroit Free Press. March 26, 1981. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Who's Who of American Women, 1991-1992". Marquis Who's Who Inc. 1991. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  5. ↑ Jaffe, Harry (June 22, 2017). "Jane Sanders Lawyers Up". Politico. Retrieved 2016-06-26. Brady Toensing ... 49-year-old lawyer has conservative politics in his blood. His mother, Victoria Toensing...
  6. ↑ "Victoria Toensing". diGenova & Toensing, LLP Washington, DC. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Bazelon, Emily (2007-11-26) On the Advice of Counsel, Slate
  8. ↑ Kurtz, Howard (1998-02-27). "The Power Couple at Scandal's Vortex". The Washington Post.
  9. ↑ Howard Kurtz (February 27, 1998), The Power Couple at Scandal's Vortex, The Washington Post. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  10. ↑ Swanson, Ian (2018-04-13). "Trump pardons Scooter Libby, saying he was 'treated unfairly'". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  11. ↑ Brooke Singman (March 23, 2018). "Victoria Toensing joins husband Joseph diGenova on Trump's legal team in Russia probe". Fox News. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  12. ↑ Haberman, Maggie; Schmidt, Michael S. (2018-03-19). "Trump May Reshuffle Legal Team to Take On Mueller More Aggressively". WRAL-TV. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  13. ↑ LaFraniere, Sharon (February 29, 1988). "Digenova's Legacy". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  14. ↑ Haberman, Maggie; Schmidt, Michael S. (March 19, 2018). "Trump Hires Lawyer Who Has Pushed Theory That Justice Dept. Framed the President". The New York Times. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  15. ↑ Josh Dawsey, Carol D. Leonnig and John Wagner (March 25, 2018), In another blow to Trump’s efforts to combat Russia probe, diGenova will no longer join legal team, The Washington Post. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  16. ↑ Haberman, Maggie; Landler, Mark; Schmidt, Michael S. (March 25, 2018). "Trump Won't Hire 2 Lawyer Whose Appointments Were Announced Days Ago". The New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  17. ↑ Seipel, Brooke (July 20, 2017). "Trump legal team spokesman resigns: report". The Hill. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  18. ↑ Balhaus, Rebecca (January 30, 2018). "Mueller Seeks Interview With Ex-Spokesman for Trump's Legal Team". The Wall Street Journal. Special counsel Robert Mueller is seeking an interview with Mark Corallo, the former spokesman for President Donald Trump’s legal team, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, in what would be the first contact between the Special Counsel and a onetime member of the president’s personal legal team.
  19. ↑ Mueller Has Interviewed Trump Legal Team’s Former Spokesman, The Daily Beast, Betsy Woodruff, February 16, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
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