GM Hires a Crisis Communications Advisor

General Motors Co. has retained Jeff Eller former director of media affairs for the White House during the Clinton administration to help manage its response to the company's delayed recall of some 2.6 million defective ignition switches linked to 13 deaths.

Observers describe Eller, who worked on the Bridgestone-Firestone tire recall, as a seasoned Washington insider who understands Washington's political and governmental responses to safety recall crises.

Eller joins two other highly respected experts who are helping GM. The company's internal investigation into the disaster is being co-led by former U.S. Dept. of Justice investigator Anton Valukas. The company also has hired attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who managed funds for the 9/11 terrorist attack, to advise it about compensating recall crash victims.

But GM's bad publicity travails appear unlikely to ease until the company can provide specific answers to questions about why it took so long to remedy a problem it learned about 13 years ago.