Thomas Elliot Gaiser is an American lawyer who serves as the Solicitor General of Ohio.[1]
Elliot Gaiser | |
|---|---|
| Solicitor General of Ohio | |
| Assumed office November 20, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Benjamin M. Flowers |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Elliot Gaiser Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Education | Hillsdale College (BA) University of Chicago (JD) |
Early life and education
editThomas Elliot Gaiser was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He was involved in debate and speech in high school.[2] He had a faith-based education.[1]
In 2012, Gaiser received his Bachelor of Arts in political economy and speech studies from Hillsdale College.[3] Gaiser was the president of Hillsdale's chapter of Students for Free Enterprise during his senior year.[4] Gaiser returned to Hillsdale during the fall semester of the 2022–23 academic year to teach a one week, one-credit course on constitutional interpretation.[5]
Gaiser initially attended the Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law.[5] After his first year, he transferred to the University of Chicago, where he graduated with a Juris Doctor in 2016.
Career
editGaiser clerked for Judge Edith H. Jones on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit during the 2016–2017 term, Judge Neomi Rao on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and finally for Justice Samuel Alito of the United States Supreme Court during the 2021–2022 term.[1]
Prior to clerking for Justice Alito, Gaiser practiced law as an appellate attorney at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Boyden Gray & Associates LLP.[1] His notable work at includes authorship credit on an amicus brief filed in before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of economists supporting the successful efforts to overturn affirmative action policies at American institutions of higher education in the case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.[6] In 2022, after clerking at the Supreme Court, he joined Jones Day in their Columbus, Ohio, office.[7]
Following his appointment as Solicitor General of Ohio by Attorney General Dave Yost, Gaiser assumed the office on November 20, 2023.[8]
Connection with the efforts to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential election
editThroughout 2020 and into 2021, Gaiser served as a Senior Associate on the Trump campaign legal team.[9] White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany testified that she considered Gaiser a trusted expert on constitutional law in her deposition to the January 6th Committee.[10] Gaiser was one member of the small team of general counsel working on the campaign's 2020 election litigation from the day of the election.[11][12]
Elliot shifted to occupy a strategic communications role after he produced a document for the campaign detailing allegations of fraud and abuse of processes by state officials, specifically accusing Former Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Kathryn Boockvar of wrongdoing.[11] Gaiser presented the document with the intent that Trump use it as a speech and requested that McEnany circulated it amongst the staff.[13] Afterwards, he became one of McEnany's primary consultants for her messaging strategy on the election until he left to clerk for Justice Alito.[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Heisig, Eric (October 18, 2023). "Ohio Solicitor General Pick Named in Jan. 6 Panel Testimony (1)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ Schutte, Emily (October 26, 2023). "Hillsdale alumnus appointed next solicitor general in Ohio". Hillsdale Collegian.
- ^ Pero, Olivia (September 1, 2022). "Q&A: Former SCOTUS clerks Elliot Gaiser '12 and Garrett West '15". Hillsdale Collegian. Archived from the original on September 8, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Santorum to speak at Hillsdale Monday evening". Washington Examiner. Red Alert Politics. February 17, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ a b McKenna, Thomas (September 1, 2022). "Former SCOTUS clerks address prospective lawyers". Hillsdale Collegian. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ^ "Brief of Economists as Amici Curiae in Support Of Petitioners" (PDF). Clerk of the United States Supreme Court. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ Tincher-Numbers, Sarah (December 12, 2022). "Jones Day Recruits 7 Supreme Court Clerks". National Law Journal.
- ^ Thomas, David (October 18, 2023). "Ohio picks Jones Day lawyer, ex-Alito clerk as solicitor general". Reuters. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ Wolff, Michael (2021). Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency. Holt and Company. p. 126. ISBN 978-1250830012.
- ^ Balmert, Jen (October 19, 2023). "Ohio's new solicitor general referenced in press secretary's Jan. 6 deposition". The Enquirer. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Deposition of: Kayleigh McEnany" (PDF), page 300. Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol. U.S. House of Representatives. Washington, D.C., 2022.
- ^ Transcribed Interview of Matthew Morgan, (Apr. 25, 2022) (PDF) Supporting Materials Referenced in H. Rept. 117-663. Transcribed Interviews and Depositions. Matthew Morgan. Monday, April 25, 2022. Archive Link. Archived January 2, 2023. Accessed October 24, 2023.
- ^ "D.C., 2022. Deposition of: Ross Worthington" (PDF), page 75-76. Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol. U.S. House of Representatives. Washington, D.C., 2022.