Pete Williams (journalist)

Louis Alan "Pete" Williams (born February 28, 1952) is an American journalist and former government official. Since 1993, he has been a television correspondent for NBC News.

Williams, a graduate of Stanford University, began his career in local news with the Casper, Wyoming, television station KTWO and its eponymous radio station in 1974.

In 1986, Williams became press secretary for U.S. Representative Dick Cheney and followed Cheney to the United States Department of Defense as Cheney became United States Secretary of Defense to be the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs in 1989 during the George H. W. Bush administration.

Williams became a correspondent for NBC News in 1993 after leaving the Defense Department; his main areas of news coverage for NBC include the Department of Justice and Supreme Court.

Early life and education
Born in Casper, Wyoming, Williams graduated from Natrona County High School in 1970.

Williams graduated from Stanford University in 1974.

Early journalism career
From 1974 to 1985, Williams was reporter and news director for the Casper-based KTWO television and KTWO radio stations. Williams also served as director for the Wyoming Future Project from 1985 to 1986.

Press secretary
In 1986, Williams was hired as press secretary and legislative assistant in the staff of U.S. Representative Dick Cheney. Williams was appointed Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs in 1989, following Cheney's appointment as United States Secretary of Defense, and worked as press secretary of the Defense Department.

While serving as a Pentagon spokesperson, some in the press accused him of allegedly working to conceal certain military activities during the invasion of Panama and successful extradition of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, which was later featured in the documentary film The Panama Deception (1992).

Later journalism career
NBC News hired Williams in March 1993 as justice correspondent based in Washington, D. C., to cover news from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Supreme Court.

As NBC justice correspondent, Williams has interviewed:
 * Attorney General John Ashcroft
 * Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
 * Attorney General Eric Holder

In covering the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings for MSNBC and NBC News, Williams earned praise from various media analysts for choosing to report events in a restrained, cautionary fashion. In contrast with the Associated Press and CNN, Williams refused to report a later-retracted claim that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had arrested a suspect for the bombing. For Politico, Dylan Byers commented: "On a major story that has been defined by inaccurate and conflicting reports and wild speculation, Williams has been calm, diligent and correct." Brian Resnick of the National Journal wrote that Williams showed "restraint in not jumping too far into conclusions." The phrase "NBC's Pete Williams" became a trending topic in the overnight hours of April 19, 2013.

Personal life
He was outed as gay by writer Michelangelo Signorile in August 1991.