John Roberts' Managers

Former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.
Named by President Bush as an informal advisor to Supreme Court Justice nominee John Roberts, Fred Thompson will facilitate communication between Roberts and senators throughout the confirmation process.

Now known as district attorney Arthur Branch on the NBC series "Law and Order," Thompson is also a former Republican senator from Tennessee, an attorney and lobbyist.

As an attorney, Thompson served as minority council to the Senate Watergate Committee from 1973-4 and as special council to Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander in 1980, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 1980-1, and the Senate Intelligence Committee in 1982.

Thompson was first elected to fill former Vice President Al Gore's vacated Senate seat in 1994 and re-elected two years later. During his tenure as senator, he served on the Senate Judiciary Committee and showed a strong pro-life stance, voting against the use of taxpayer money to fund abortions. But Thompson also expressed his support for the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion.

In 2002, Thompson retired from the Senate to pursue his acting career. He has appeared in a number of movies including "The Hunt for Red October," "In the Line of Fire," and "Die Hard 2."

Thompson is also a lobbyist for the conservative Progress for America.

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie
As head of a multi-million dollar political lobbying firm and former Republican National Committee chairman, Ed Gillespie brings robust experience in campaign strategy to his newest role -- informal advisor to President Bush's Supreme Court nominee John Roberts.

Gillespie, who served as senior communications adviser to then-Governor Bush's 2000 presidential campaign and strategist for Elizabeth Dole's 2002 successful Senate bid, is expected to handle the public relations arm of the confirmation process. Among his duties is to craft a nominee profile and message to counter public and political opposition to Roberts.

Prior to his role as RNC chairman from 2001-3, Gillespie spent over a decade as a chief aide to former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, and as RNC director of communications and congressional affairs.

He also helped draft the "Contract with America," a GOP-authored document released during its victorious 1994 U.S. congressional election campaign detailing specific action if the Republican Party won the majority of seats.

Gillespie is founder and co-chairman of Quinn Gillespie & Associates, a high-profile political consulting and public affairs firm primarily representing energy, steel and timber interests. The firm's clients include the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Tyson Foods Inc. as well as corporate giants Microsoft and the now-defunct Enron.

-- Compiled by Monica Villavicencio for the Online NewsHour