What he did then: White House Counsel

What he does now: Attorney General of the United States

Reported involvement: As White House counsel, Gonzales coordinated the legal analysis by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel for the President and various executive agencies on the subjects of detention, interrogation, and the president's war powers generally. Gonzales also published a Jan. 25, 2002, memorandum that concluded that the Geneva Conventions should not apply to the current war on terrorism. Critics charge that this memo set the legal conditions for the abuses that would follow.

Photograph of Alberto Gonzales by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.