Early work (1973–1981) In January 1973, Coale was assigned to the Juvenile Court in
Maryland as an assistant state prosecutor. In March, he was arrested on charges of drunken driving. Coale resigned following his arrest. In April 1976, he got engaged to Sheldon Stump; In December 1979, Coale represented two
Marines who were imprisoned and released from the
embassy of the United States in Tehran amid the
Iran hostage crisis. The Marines sued
Iran and its supreme leader,
Ruhollah Khomeini, claiming their civil rights were violated. Coale also represented former hostages who sued after the ratification of the
Algiers Accords, which prevented them from seeking damages. A nine-member presidential commission later later determined that the former hostages should receive approximately each, a recommendation Coale rebuffed and called "ridiculous".
Political work (2008–2011) In September 2008, Coale endorsed
John McCain for president in that year's
presidential election, though he repeatedly traveled with
Hillary Clinton throughout the
2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Coale told
Newsweek that the
Democratic Party was being taken over by "
moveon.org types". He added that he had told Clinton's brother,
Tony Rodham, not to meet with
Carly Fiorina, a surrogate for
McCain's campaign, believing it would embarrass the
Clinton campaign; Rodham did so regardless. In March 2009,
The Washington Posts
Chris Cillizza reported that Coale had become an advisor to
Alaska governor
Sarah Palin, who ran as McCain's running mate. After Coale's wife,
Greta Van Susteren, conducted a series of interviews with Palin and her husband,
Todd, Van Susteren refuted Cillizza's report. In May,
Politicos
Jonathan Martin reported that Coale had urged Palin in February to assist in Clinton's campaign debt. Coale established Palin's
political action committee in 2009.
Trump work (2021–2025) In December 2025,
Connecticut senator
Richard Blumenthal, the ranking member of the
Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent a letter to Coale inquiring about his invitation to a dinner for donors of
Donald Trump's
White House State Ballroom. Coale told Blumenthal that he was invited for securing
YouTube's settlement to the Trust for the National Mall over a lawsuit involving the suspension of Trump's YouTube account following the
January 6 Capitol attack.
United States special envoy (2025–present) By March 2025, Coale had become the deputy United States special envoy for
Ukraine. In June, he helped secure the release of fourteen political prisoners from
Belarus. On November 9, president
Donald Trump announced that Coale would serve as the special envoy for Belarus. ==Views==