Lawyer Who Helped Prepare Kamala Harris’ Aggressive Kavanaugh Tactics Works in DOD Under Trump

Then-Sen. Kamala Harris became notorious for vehemently opposing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 ahead of her 2020 presidential run, and a woman who advised Harris during the Kavanaugh confirmation now serves in the Defense Department under President Trump.

Samantha Goldstein, who gave more than $19,000 to Democrats in the past three years and called Trump “unfit to hold office,” nonetheless works as an associate deputy general counsel in the DOD under him. She previously served as a special counsel for Harris in 2018.

According to one national security source with a history in the Pentagon, Goldstein joined then-Sen. Harris’ staff in 2018 to advise the senator on the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

O’Melveny & Myers, one of Goldstein’s previous employers, says in a staff profile page archived from 2020 that Goldstein indeed participated in the Kavanaugh confirmation under Harris.

“In 2018, Samantha served as special counsel to U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris,” the profile read. “In that position, Samantha was part of the small team that helped prepare the senator for the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearings on a U.S. Supreme Court nomination.”

Samantha Goldstein Profile Photo for O’Melveny & Myers

Harris’ Record on Kavanaugh

Critics like Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino described Harris as “a ringleader” in the Kavanaugh hearing “circus.”

Severino noted that Harris “blanketed Facebook with thousands of ads fundraising off the Kavanaugh nomination, surpassing every other senator,” apparently “looking ahead to a presidential run.”

Kavanaugh faced multiple sexual assault accusations from named and unnamed accusers, none of whom presented evidence corroborating their claims.

An anonymous accuser sent a letter to Harris’ office, claiming that Kavanaugh and a friend “took 2 turns raping me” in the backseat of a car. Harris’ office forwarded the letter to the full Senate committee. Kavanaugh vehemently denied the claim, calling the accusation a “crock, farce, wrong, didn’t happen, not anything close.”

The woman who identified herself as the letter’s author later admitted she “only claimed authorship ‘as a way to grab attention.'”

PolitiFact faulted Harris for falsely claiming that Kavanaugh had referred to popular contraceptive methods as “abortion-inducing.” Harris’ video clip falsely attributed to Kavanaugh a position taken by Priests for Life.

In a particularly notorious exchange, Harris asked Kavanaugh whether he had discussed the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller (into allegations of Trump-Russia collusion) with anyone at a specific law firm.

Harris acted as though she had evidence of Kavanaugh speaking with a specific person, but she declined to name anyone.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, raised an objection, noting that “this town is full of law firms.”

“There is no possible way we can expect this witness to know who populates an entire firm,” he added.

This Russiagate question may have originated with Goldstein.

A few months after the hearings, when Goldstein had left Harris’ office and returned to O’Melveny, she co-wrote a Washington Post op-ed mentioning the Mueller probe and insisting that Trump is “unfit to hold office.”

Goldstein wrote that the Mueller report “demonstrates that the president and his closest aides violated … fundamental duties imposed by their oaths of office,” namely the duty to protect and defend the Constitution “against all enemies foreign and domestic.”

Goldstein did not respond to The Daily Signal‘s request for comment about why she serves at DOD if she thinks Trump is unfit to hold office.

Goldstein entered the Justice Department in 2021. She became deputy legal advisor on Biden’s National Security Council in July 2024, and joined the Defense Department in February.

According to Federal Election Commission records, she gave $6,600 to Harris’ campaign in 2024 and another $5,000 to the Harris Victory Fund. She also gave $5,800 to the campaign and victory fund of Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., in 2022.

Factoring in the $1,700 she sent to the Democratic National Committee in 2024, Goldstein gave $19,100 to Democrats in the past three years.

Federal Election Commission Records

While federal employees may contribute to whichever political campaigns they support, Goldstein’s contributions seem to reveal opposition to the president she serves.

Some bureaucrats may seek to remain in the federal government to undermine Trump’s presidency from within, though there is no evidence Goldstein is doing this.

An April poll found that a whopping 75% of Washington, D.C.-based federal employees making $75,000 or more per year who voted for Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris in November said they would not follow a lawful Trump order if they considered it bad policy.

The Daily Signal reached out to O’Melveny & Myers, the Defense Department, and the Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats for comment, but did not receive responses.

This is the latest in a series on bureaucrats burrowing in. Part one covers eight appointees. Part two focuses on a former Russiagate advisor who works at the Federal Aviation Administration. Part three reveals a former lawyer for then-Sen. Kamala Harris who now works at the Defense Department. Part four reveals a Biden campaign lawyer who now works at the Justice Department.

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