Malcolm Wilkey

Malcolm Richard Wilkey (b. December 6, 1918, d. August 15, 2009) is a former federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1970-1985. He retired from the federal judiciary in 1985 to take up a position as U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay.

Wilkey was nominated by President Richard Nixon on February 16, 1970, to a seat vacated by Warren Burger; he was confirmed by the Senate on February 24, 1970, and received commission the next day. He assumed senior status on December 6, 1984, and served in that capacity until his retirement on November 8, 1985.

On August 15, 2009, Wilkey died at age 90 from a battle with prostate cancer.

Education

• Harvard University, A.B., 1940
• Harvard Law School, LL.B., 1948

Professional career

• U.S. Army Major, 1941-1945
• U.S. Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel, 1946-1953
• Private practice, Texas, 1948-1954
• Instructor, University of Houston School of Law, 1949-1954
• U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, 1954-1958
• Assistant attorney general, Office of Legal Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice, 1958-1959
• Assistant attorney general, Criminal Division, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1959-1961
• Private practice, Texas, 1961-1963
• General counsel and secretary, Kennecott Copper Corporation, 1963-1970
• Ambassador to Uruguay, 1985-1990
• Chairman of the Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform, appointed by George H.W. Bush in 1989.

Law clerks

• Harold Koh clerked for Judge Wilkey.

• William Pelham Barr, who went on to be Attorney General under President George H.W. Bush.

Publications

Wilkey published a memoir, "As the Twig is Bent", in 2004. A review of the book describes it as the story of how Wilkey "rose from a depression-era southern boyhood to the battles of World War II, high offices in Washington, the U.S. ambassadorship to Uruguay, and now an active retirement, still serving his country, in Chile. A delightful, informed, opinionated recounting of landmarks in the history of a nation and in the life of a patriotic American."

House banking scandal

In 1992, Wilkey was appointed to conduct a special Justice Department investigation of the 329 present and former members of the U.S. House of Representatives who had overdrafts in the bank during a 39-month period that ended in October, 1991. Wilkey's report on the House banking scandal concluded that there was possible criminal conduct by a small number of members and resulted in the immediate establishment of a special prosecution unit in the Justice Department to conduct a more complete investigation.

Henry Gonzalez, a Democratic member of the U.S. Congress, petitioned Chief Justice William Rehnquist, without success, to halt Wilkey's invesigation. Then U.S. House Speaker Tom Foley also resisted the release of records to Wilkey, without success.

Personal

Wilkey married Emma A. Secul dePolo on December 21, 1959. After Wilkey retired from his post as Ambassador to Uruguay, the Wilkeys took up residence in Mrs. Wilkey's native Chile.

External links

• Biography from the Federal Judicial Center.
• Biography of Wilkey at NNDB
• Malcolm Wilkey relationship map at Muckety