James Connaughton - Dossier

Slowly and as I can, I am trying to amass information on James Connaughton, the head of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality.



Home address?
James Connaughton
3930 Livingston St NW
Washington, DC 20015-2922
(202) 244-3147

EPA report (2003) on WTC response
"The White House Council on Environmental Quality influenced, through the collaboration process, the information that EPA communicated to the public through its early press releases when it convinced EPA to add reassuring statements and delete cautionary ones."

Rolling Stone article on Bush administration's denial of global warming

NASA's "Dr. Hansen went public with a charge that made headlines around the world—that the Bush administration had been trying to silence his warnings about the urgent need to address climate change." Comments on Connaughton. From Democracy Now!

Brother-in-law is Bush's "gatekeeper" from Washington Post

Grist story on Connaughton

DayLife search for Connaughton - explore at length

Nomination to CEQ announcement from WhiteHouse.org

Nomination article from NYT as found on CommonDreams.org
"For chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Mr. Bush has picked James Connaughton, a partner at Sidley & Austin, a law firm that advises corporate clients and trade groups on environmental law. He has represented General Electric and Atlantic Richfield in fights against the E.P.A. about cleanup of Superfund sites."

Connaughton confirmation hearing delayed by Nevada senator in Chemicals and Engineering Weekly

Confirmation speech

Connaughton's statement at confirmation hearing from The Environmental Management Report, a newsletter about ISO matters published by the QSU Publishing Company

Wedding announcement in the New York Times
Current wife? (Same person, uses name Susanna rather than Evelyn)
Yes, this guest list confirms Susanna Connaughton, Executive Director, U.S. Comission for UNESCO is his wife.
Apparently, she recently left this post.

Tiny bio and a picture plus DoS bio (same info below)
New Executive Director of the NatCom Susanna Connaughton has been appointer Executive Director of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. She started on Monday, October 16, 2006 and left the week of June 29, 2008.

The State Department announcement state that Ms. Connaughton has an MBA from Northwestern (Kellogg) in public and non-profit management and marketing and an undergraduate degree in government. She most recently served at the National Association of Homebuilders and has had various private and public sector experiences, including serving as a Commissioner on the DC Commission on National and Community Service.
I believe she is married to James Connaughton, Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality."


Articles that mention "James Connaughton" in the New York Times

Articles that mention Connaughton in the Washington Post

Article on meeting between Sen. Hillary Clinton and James Connaughton NYT

Connaughton in with Steven Griles lobbying problem in Washington Post

Connaugton on video various times in 2007 and 2008 from Energy Policy TV

Office Address and description from WK Kellogg list:
James Connaughton
722 Jackson Place, N.W,
Washington, DC 20503
Ph: (202) 395-5750
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) coordinates federal environmental efforts and works closely with agencies, including USDA, and White House offices in developing environmental policies and initiatives. The chair serves as the principal environmental policy advisor to the president. CEQ reports annually to the president on the state of the environment, oversees federal agency implementation of the environmental impact assessment process, and acts as a referee when agencies disagree over such assessments.

Another address from FunOutdoors.com
The Honorable James Connaughton
Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality
Executive Office of the President
Room 360 EEOB
Washington, DC 20502
Phone: 202-456-6224 Fax: 202-456-2710

Wikipedia entry - nothing on 9/11

(I wish I had access to Nexis!)

I will try to find a transcript and the documentation of Mr. Connaughton's confirmation by the US Senate on June 14, 2001, which should have far more information.

WhiteHouse.org page for CEQ


The following is a screen shot of Mr. McNaughton's puff-piece biography from the White House's web site, whitehouse.org. I'm keeping the screen shot for use later on, when there is a new head of the CEQ and the previous link will, presumably, no longer lead to the bio.

Another bio from (Department of) State.gov is the same but adds: "An avid vocal harmony singer, sailor, and beachcomber, Mr. Connaughton resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife Susanna and two young children, Spencer and Grace."