Earl J. Silbert


Earl J. Silbert is a prominent American lawyer who served as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1974 to 1979, and served, along with two other U.S. Attorneys, as the first prosecutor in the infamous Watergate scandal. His daughter is novelist Leslie Silbert.

Background

Silbert was born in Boston Massachusetts. He had two sisters. His father was also a lawyer and a member of Massachusetts House of Representatives. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated, with honors, from Harvard Law School in 1960.
From 1960 he worked at the United States Department of Justice. From 1974 to 1979 he served as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Silbert was indirectly involved in the trial of CIA asset Michael V. Townley for the assassination of former Chilean ambassador to the U.S. Orlando Letelier. Silbert's involvement centered on a document he agreed to with the Chilean government of dictator Augusto Pinochet to limit the amount of information the Justice Department would release about the assassination of Letelier and other activities involving the Chilean government. Silbert's April 7, 1978, agreement with Enrique Montero Marx, the Chilean under-secretary of the interior, came one day before the Chilean government turned over one of its secret police agents, Michael Vernon Townley, to the FBI for questioning in the Letelier slaying.
Silbert represented
Michael Abbell, a former U.S. Justice Department prosecutor who then became a defense attorney for Colombia's notorious Cali cartel and who was eventually sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in drug trafficking.
Silbert also represented former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay.
Silbert's daughter is novelist Leslie Silbert.

Awards

In 2009, the Council for Court Excellence Justice Potter Stewart Award was presented to Sibert for his work to improve the judicial system, both as a United States Attorney and subsequently in private practice.