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Norm Eisen — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Obama administration

From 2007 to 2009, Eisen was active in the presidential campaign of his law school classmate Barack Obama before joining the transition team of then-President-elect Obama as deputy counsel. On January 20, 2009, Obama named him special counsel for ethics and government reform in the White House.

He earned the nickname "Dr. No" for his stringent ethics and anti-corruption efforts and became known for limiting registered lobbyists from taking positions in the administration. In Obama's autobiography, A Promised Land, he recalls an instance in which Eisen was asked which out-of-town conferences administration officials would be permitted to attend; Eisen replied, "If it sounds fun, you can't go." He is credited for helping compile President Obama's ethics-related campaign promises into an executive order the president signed on his first day in office.

During 2009 and 2010, Eisen also contributed to the administration's open government efforts, including putting the White House visitor logs on the internet to promote transparency; its response to the campaign finance decision in Citizens United v. FEC; and its financial regulatory plan, which is the basis for Dodd–Frank. His other activities included reviewing the background of potential administration officials and expanding the application of the Freedom of Information Act.

Eisen became the first ambassador to the Czech Republic nominated by President Obama. President Obama initially gave Eisen a recess appointment, the term of which was for only one year, until the end of 2011, unless the full U.S. Senate confirmed him. Recess appointment was required because of a hold on Eisen's nomination. The leaders of several Washington good-government groups authored a letter in support of the appointment of Eisen. Eisen's nomination received bipartisan support, including from Republican senators and conservative foreign policy scholars. The Senate ultimately confirmed Eisen on December 12, 2011.

As ambassador, he developed a "three pillars" approach to the U.S.–Czech relationship, emphasizing (1) strategic and defense cooperation; (2) commercial and economic ties; and (3) shared values. During his time as ambassador, he spent money out of his own wallet to maintain the ambassador's residence and entertain dignitaries.

Eisen visited Czech and U.S. troops serving side by side in Afghanistan. He advocated for U.S. business and saw bilateral trade increases of 50 percent with the Czech Republic during his tenure (more than three times the average for U.S. embassies in Europe at the time). He also spoke out against corruption and in defense of civil rights. Eisen has been credited with helping to deepen U.S.–Czech relations. He also supported the Middle East peace process, including posting the first investment conference on the "Kerry Plan" in Prague together with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright."

Eisen's ambassadorship was noteworthy because his mother, a Czechoslovak Holocaust survivor, had been deported by the Nazis from that country to Auschwitz. As Senator Joseph Lieberman noted in introducing Eisen at a Senate hearing: "It is indeed a profound historical justice... that the Ambassador's residence in Prague, which was originally built by a Jewish family that was forced to flee Prague by the Nazis, who... took over that house as their headquarters, now 70 years later, is occupied by Norman and his family... The story of Norm Eisen and his family and their path back to Europe is a classic American story, a reflection of what our country is about at its very best. And that is also precisely why the Ambassador has proven to be such an effective representative of our nation, our interests, and our values."

Subsequent work

He joined the Brookings Institution as a visiting fellow in September 2014. He became a senior fellow in their Governance Studies program and is the project chair of a research initiative on reducing corruption. At Brookings Eisen has contributed to reports on open government, the emoluments clause, presidential obstruction of justice, and anti-corruption efforts in the natural resource sector.

A prolific writer, he often contributes op-ed pieces to The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, USA Today, and other national publications.

From 2016 to 2019, Eisen served as chair of the board and co-counsel on litigation matters for CREW, including emoluments cases in New York and Maryland federal courts (CREW v. Trump and D.C. and Maryland v. Trump, respectively).

In 2017, Eisen was named number 11 on the Politico 50 list of thinkers shaping American politics. Eisen has also been named to the Forward 50 list of American Jews.

In September 2018, Crown published Eisen's The Last Palace: Europe's Turbulent Century in Five Lives and One Legendary House. It is a sweeping history of 1918 to 2018 as seen through the windows of the Villa Petschek, a Prague palace built by Jewish businessman Otto Petschek after World War I, occupied by the Nazis later, and then the residence the American ambassador in Prague during his term of office.

In February 2019, Eisen was appointed consultant to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary. He assisted the committee on oversight matters related to the Department of Justice, including impeachment, and other oversight and policy issues within the committee's jurisdiction. A columnist at The Washington Post called Eisen a "critical force in building the case for impeachment." Eisen later wrote a book about his time as special counsel.

He edited "Democracy's Defenders: U.S. Embassy Prague, the Fall of Communism in Czechoslovakia, and Its Aftermath" (2020) and authored "A Case for the American People: The United States v. Donald J. Trump" (2020).

With Colby Galliher, Eisen co-authored a book entitled, Overcoming Trumpery, which was published by Brookings Institution Press in 2022.

Eisen was a co-founder of the States United Democracy Center in 2021, and in his States United capacity, he signed a bar complaint against John C. Eastman and an ethics complaint filed against Jenna Ellis for their roles in undermining the 2020 election results. He served as co-counsel on an amicus brief filed in opposition to Lindsey Graham's motion to quash a subpoena in the Fulton County Special Grand Jury investigation of attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. Eisen has co-written reports for States United including a guide to the Electoral College vote count and the January 6, 2021, meeting of Congress.

With his States United co-founders, Joanna Lydgate and Christine Todd Whitman, Eisen was a winner of the 2022 Brown Democracy Medal, given by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Pennsylvania State University. Eisen departed States United in early 2024.

In January 2025, Eisen and columnist Jen Rubin began authoring a Substack publication entitled The Contrarian. Along with the articles posted to the publication, he has posted brief videos to the newsletter to provide the readers with breaking news regarding litigation as it progresses and to share insights into the processes.