Norm Eisen  Norman L. Eisen (born November 11, 1960) is an American politician. He served as a counsel for the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment process of President Donald J. Trump in 2020. He is also a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He served as White House Special Counsel for Ethics and Government Reform, United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic, and board chair of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). He is the author of "The Last Palace: Europe's Turbulent Century in Five Lives and One Legendary House" (2018). Eisen's parents were immigrants to the United States of Jewish ancestry and he grew up working in his family's hamburger stand in Los Angeles. He received his B.A. degree from Brown University in 1985 and his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1991, both with honors. While at Harvard, he met future President Barack Obama, then also a first-year law student. From 1985 to 1988, between college and law school, Eisen worked as the Assistant Director of the Los Angeles office of the Anti-Defamation League. He investigated antisemitism and other civil rights violations, promoted Holocaust education and advanced U.S.–Israel relations. After graduating from Harvard in 1991, Eisen practiced law in Washington, D.C. for over 18 years with the Zuckerman Spaeder law firm. He was named as one of Washington's top lawyers by "Washingtonian" magazine. He specialized in investigations of complex financial fraud, including Enron, Refco, the ADM antitrust case, and the subprime financial collapse. In 2003, Eisen co-founded Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a government watchdog organization. From 2016 until February 11, 2019 he was chair of the board and co-counsel on litigation matters, including emoluments cases in New York and Maryland federal courts ("CREW v. Trump" and "D.C. and Maryland v. Trump," respectively). 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 "Mr. No" for his stringent ethics and anti-corruption efforts and became known for limiting registered lobbyists from taking positions in the administration. 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.