In the United States,a special counsel is a lawyer appointed to investigate,and potentially prosecute,a particular case of suspected wrongdoing for which a conflict of interest exists for the usual prosecuting authority. Other jurisdictions have similar systems. For example,the investigation of an allegation against a sitting president or attorney general might be handled by a special prosecutor rather than by an ordinary prosecutor who would otherwise be in the position of investigating his or her own superior. Special prosecutors also have handled investigations into those connected to the government but not in a position of direct authority over the Justice Department's prosecutors,such as cabinet secretaries or election campaigns.
Merrick Brian Garland is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 86th United States attorney general since 2021. He previously served as a circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1997 to 2021. In 2016,President Barack Obama nominated Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court,but the Republican-led U.S. Senate did not hold a vote to confirm him.
John Michael Luttig is an American lawyer and jurist who served as a U.S. circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1991 to 2006. Luttig resigned his judgeship in 2006 to become the general counsel of Boeing,a position he held until 2019.
James Andrew Baker is a former American government official at the Department of Justice who served as general counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and later served as deputy general counsel at Twitter,Inc. before being fired by Elon Musk in December 2022.
Richard Adams Cordray is an American lawyer and politician who served from 2021 to 2024 as COO of Federal Student Aid in the United States Department of Education. From 2012 to 2017,he served as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Before that,Cordray variously served as Ohio's attorney general,solicitor general,and treasurer. He was the Democratic nominee for governor of Ohio in 2018. In April 2024,the Biden administration announced Cordray's departure after a chaotic rollout of changes to the FAFSA student aid application form.
Thomas Michael Hardiman is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Nominated by President George W. Bush,he began active service on April 2,2007. He maintains chambers in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,and was previously a United States district judge.
The Office of Special Counsel was an office of the United States Department of Justice established by provisions in the Ethics in Government Act that expired in 1999. The provisions were replaced by Department of Justice regulation 28 CFR Part 600,which created the successor office of special counsel. The current regulations were drafted by former acting solicitor general Neal Katyal.
Rod Jay Rosenstein is an American attorney who served as the 37th United States deputy attorney general from April 2017 until May 2019. Prior to his appointment,he served as a United States attorney for the District of Maryland. At the time of his confirmation as deputy attorney general in April 2017,he was the longest-serving U.S. attorney. Rosenstein had also been nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 2007,but his nomination was never considered by the U.S. Senate.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks,credit unions,securities firms,payday lenders,mortgage-servicing operations,foreclosure relief services,debt collectors,for-profit colleges,and other financial companies operating in the United States. Since its founding,the CFPB has used technology tools to monitor how financial entities used social media and algorithms to target consumers.
Katherine Ann Shaw is a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School,a Supreme Court contributor for ABC News,and co-host of the podcast Strict Scrutiny.
Timothy James Kelly is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and former chief counsel for national security and senior crime counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Andrew A. Weissmann is an American attorney and professor. He was an Assistant United States Attorney from 1991 to 2002,when he prosecuted high-profile organized crime cases. He served as a lead prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller's Special Counsel's Office (2017–2019),as Chief of the Fraud Section in the Department of Justice (2015–2017) and is currently a professor at NYU Law School.
Gregory George Katsas is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2017 as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Before becoming a federal judge,Katsas served as Deputy White House Counsel to President Donald Trump,as an Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice,and as a partner at the law firm Jones Day.
Jennifer Gillian Newstead is an American attorney who served as the Legal Adviser of the Department of State.
Scott W. Brady is an American attorney who was the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania from 2017 to 2021. Before becoming the U.S. Attorney,he was the head of litigation for Federated Investors.
Leandra English v. Donald Trump,et al.,No. 1:17-cv-02534,was a lawsuit before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The plaintiff,Leandra English,alleged that the defendants,Donald Trump and Mick Mulvaney,violated 12 U.S.C. §5491(b)(5)(B),a component of the Dodd–Frank Act of 2010,when President Trump appointed Mulvaney to be Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
The United States Justice Department investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election began in early 2021 with investigations and prosecutions of hundreds of individuals who participated in the January 6,2021 attack on the United States Capitol. By early 2022,the investigation had expanded to examine Donald Trump's inner circle,with the Justice Department impaneling several federal grand juries to investigate the attempts to overturn the election. Later in 2022,a special counsel was appointed. On August 1,2023,Trump was indicted. The indictment also describes six alleged co-conspirators.
Roslyn Litman was an American attorney. In 1966 she negotiated a settlement with the National Basketball Association on behalf of blackballed player Connie Hawkins on the basis of antitrust. In her first appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1989,she successfully argued to remove a nativity scene from display in the Allegheny County courthouse in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania.
John Luman Smith is an American attorney who has served in the United States Department of Justice as an assistant U.S. attorney,acting U.S. attorney,and head of the department's Public Integrity Section. He was also the chief prosecutor at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers,an international tribunal at The Hague tasked with investigating and prosecuting war crimes in the Kosovo War.
Following is a list of notable alumni of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
