Richard Beckler

Richard W. Beckler (30 March 1940 – 25 September 2017) was an attorney. He served a number of prominent clients. At the time of his death in late September, 2017, he had been appointed as General Counsel of the US General Services Administration.

After his death, Beckler's actions at the GSA were discussed in the US national media when it was revealed that the GSA had supplied the special counsel investigation by Robert Mueller with copies of more than 5000 emails sent by the Trump administration transition team. GSA Deputy Counsel Lenny Loewentritt, stated that Beckler had not made a commitment to the transition team that law enforcement materials requests would be routed through transition lawyers. Reuters reported statements that "The FBI had requested the materials from GSA staff on Aug. 23, asking for copies of the emails, laptops, cell phones and other materials associated with nine members of the Trump transition team responsible for national security and policy matters".

Early life

Beckler was born in Brooklyn, New York on 30 March 1940, the child of William Beckler and Mary (Lohrmann) Beckler. Before coming to the GSA, Beckler was a partner and head of litigation in Washington, D.C., for the international law firm Bracewell LLP.

Mr. Beckler's appointment as GSA General Counsel was announced on May 12, 2017.

Hospitalization & death

Beckler was hospitalized in September 2017 and died on 25 September, 2017, in Los Angeles. A memorial website reported that Beckler had died after "a grueling two-month battle with Pancreatic cancer".