A.B. Culvahouse ’73, a former White House counsel and the chairman of the international law firm O'Melveny & Myers, has seen a lot of history happen in his 38 years in Washington, D.C. The Monday after NYU’s final exams Culvahouse was on national television, sitting behind Senator Howard Baker at the Watergate hearings. A few months later Baker brought him to the Oval Office to discuss, with the Senate committee and President Nixon, about gaining access to the notorious Watergate tapes. He is even the head of one of the nation’s top law firms. But, Culvahouse will most likely be remembered as the man who launched Sarah Palin’s career.
Culvahouse was recently profiled in Washingtonian magazine about his behind-the-scenes career, but most importantly his job to vet John McCain’s vice-presidential contenders, which brought him out from the shadows of our nation’s Capital.
In the article it describes a speech Culvahouse made in 2009 to the Republican National Lawyers Association about his high-profile job, “Culvahouse said vetting McCain's vice-presidential candidates was something he had ‘been preparing all of my life to do.’”