Biography and public service
The U.S. Justice Department identifies T. Elliot Gaiser as the 27th Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel. He was nominated in April 2025, confirmed by the Senate in July and sworn in August 4, 2025. Previously he was solicitor general of Ohio and advised Attorney General Dave Yost. His legal career also included federal judicial clerkships and work at several law firms.
April 1, 2026 legal opinion
Gaiser signed an OLC opinion for White House counsel concluding that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional. White House counsel David Warrington issued records-retention guidance the next day. Federal District Judge John D. Bates later ordered specified White House offices to comply with the law; the preliminary injunction was not lifted by the June 30 stay of merits proceedings.
August 10, 2026 legal opinion
Gaiser signed a separate OLC opinion arguing that presidential communications privilege can extend to confidential communications with people outside the federal government when the communications concern official presidential decision-making and involve the president or direct advisers. The opinion did not identify particular private advisers. Congressional critics challenged the position; an OLC opinion is not a court ruling.
Evidence limits
Documented authorship of published DOJ legal opinions does not establish who chose the underlying legal strategy, whether a specific donor obtained a protected communication, or that any government records were concealed.
November 2026 federal judicial nomination
President Donald Trump announced Gaiser's nomination to a lifetime U.S. District Court position in the Northern District of Texas on November 10, 2026. A Senate Judiciary minority statement describes Gaiser's nomination questionnaire as recording contact from Sen. Ted Cruz's office on November 4, the day after the midterm election, and says a nomination hearing was planned for November 18. Associated Press reported November 12 that Republican Sen. John Cornyn questioned expedited vetting and Gaiser's 2020 election-related legal work. Senate Judiciary's minority statement sets out its procedural objection. Gaiser had not been confirmed as a judge. The nomination and his April/August DOJ opinions are each documented, but no original record presented here establishes that the nomination was a reward for either opinion.
Sources
Positions, source-reported statements, and court orders are distinguished from allegations. Inclusion is not a finding of wrongdoing.