The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all legal matters. The attorney general is a statutory member of the Cabinet of the United States.
The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security,military,and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House,it is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States,and composed of senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ),also known as the Justice Department,is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United States. It is equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries. The department is headed by the U.S. attorney general,who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet. The current attorney general is Merrick Garland,who has served since March 2021.
Frances M. "Fran" Fragos Townsend is an American lawyer and business executive who served as Homeland Security Advisor to United States President George W. Bush from 2004 to 2007,and was formerly the executive vice president for corporate affairs,corporate secretary,and compliance chief officer for Activision Blizzard,until September 2022,due to Microsoft acquiring Blizzard for $75 billion. She previously served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism. In 2008,Townsend joined CNN as a contributor,but later switched over to CBS where she is a national security analyst for them. Townsend was president of the Counter Extremism Project.
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are headed by an assistant attorney general.
The United States Department of Justice National Security Division (NSD) handles national security functions of the department. Created by the 2005 USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization,the division consolidated all of the department's national security and intelligence functions into a single division. The division is headed by the Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
John Owen Brennan is a former American intelligence officer who served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from March 2013 to January 2017. He served as chief counterterrorism advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama,with the title Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism,and Assistant to the President. Previously,he advised Obama on foreign policy and intelligence issues during the 2008 election campaign and presidential transition.
The United States Deputy National Security Advisor is a member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and the United States National Security Council,serving under the President's National Security Advisor.
Matthew Glen Olsen is an American attorney who has served as the Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division since 2021. He is the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
The Guantanamo Review Task Force was created by Executive Order 13492 issued by President of the United States Barack Obama on January 22,2009,his second full day in office. United States Attorney General Eric Holder announced Matthew G. Olsen as Executive Director of the task force on February 20,2009. The task force was charged with determining which Guantánamo detainees can be transferred (released),which can be prosecuted for crimes they may have committed,and,if neither of those is possible,recommending other lawful means for disposition of the detainees.
Vanita Gupta is an American attorney who served as United States Associate Attorney General from April 22,2021,to February 2,2024. From 2014 to 2017,Gupta served as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division under President Barack Obama.
Dana James Boente ( Bent-Ë) is an American attorney who served as General Counsel of the FBI from January 2018 to 2020,United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia from September 2013 to January 2018,and as the Acting United States Attorney General from January to February 2017. He also served as acting assistant attorney general for the National Security Division of the United States Department of Justice. On October 27,2017,Boente announced he would resign from the Department of Justice after a successor is in place. On January 23,2018,Boente was named general counsel to the FBI by the director Christopher A. Wray,filling the vacancy after James Baker's reassignment to another part of the bureau.
Rajesh "Raj" De is an American lawyer and former U.S. government official who later became the managing partner for the Washington,D.C.,office of the law firm Mayer Brown. During the presidency of Barack Obama,he served in three significant government roles—as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy,as White House Staff Secretary,and finally as general counsel of the U.S. National Security Agency.
Executive Order 13775 is the eleventh executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Signed on February 9,2017,the order changes the line of succession for the Department of Justice (DOJ). This order specifically reverses changes made to the DOJ line of succession that former President Barack Obama made in executive order 13762.
Robert Phillip Storch is an American lawyer and government official serving as the inspector general in the United States Department of Defense under Joe Biden. He previously served as the inspector general of the National Security Agency.
John Charles Demers is an Italian-born American lawyer who served as United States Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division (NSD) from 2018 to 2021. Following the resignation of Jeffrey A. Rosen,Demers also served as acting United States Attorney General for a few hours on January 20,2021 until President Joe Biden signed an executive order naming Monty Wilkinson as acting United States Attorney General later that day.
John Philip Carlin is an American attorney who served as acting deputy attorney general in the United States Department of Justice from January to April 2021. From April 2021 to September 2022,Carlin was principal associate deputy attorney general under Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. He previously served as United States assistant attorney general for the National Security Division from April 2014 to October 15,2016,and as chief of staff to Robert Mueller during his time as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Jen Easterly is an American intelligence officer and former military official who is serving as the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the Biden administration. She was confirmed by a voice vote in the Senate on July 12,2021.
Kevin Andrew Chambers is an American attorney and former certified public accountant serving as an associate deputy attorney general in the Biden administration. In March 2022,he was appointed to serve as director for COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement in the United States Department of Justice.
