The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice,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 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.
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.
The Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) is the office within the Department of Justice that provides executive and administrative support for the 93 United States Attorneys located throughout the 50 states,District of Columbia,Guam,the Northern Mariana Islands,Puerto Rico,and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Such support includes,but is not limited to,legal education,administrative oversight,technical support,and the creation of uniform policies. The organization of the EOUSA is laid out in Title 3 of the Justice Manual.,which is provided by the United States Department of Justice.
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general.
The United States Department of Justice Criminal Division is a federal agency of the United States Department of Justice that develops,enforces,and supervises the application of all federal criminal laws in the United States. Criminal Division attorneys prosecute many nationally significant cases and formulate and implement criminal enforcement policy. Division attorneys also provide advice and guidance to the Attorney General of the United States,the United States Congress,and the White House on matters of criminal law. The Division was founded in 1919.
Dawn Elizabeth Johnsen is an American lawyer and the Walter W. Foskett Professor of Constitutional law,on the faculty at Maurer School of Law at Indiana University in Bloomington,Indiana. She previously served in the Biden administration as Acting Attorney General at the Office of Legal Counsel,having been appointed on January 20,2021 by President Joe Biden,to return to the role she previously held in the Clinton administration. She was succeeded in that role in a permanent capacity by Christopher H. Schroeder,and is currently serving as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the same office
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.
Christopher Henry Schroeder is an American lawyer who served as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Biden Administration from 2021 to 2023. He served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy in the United States Department of Justice during the presidency of Barack Obama,serving from April 2010 until December 2012. Before and after his time as Assistant Attorney General,he was the Charles S. Murphy Professor of Law and Professor of Public Policy Studies at Duke University School of Law. He is now Professor Emeritus of the same institution.
Lisa Oudens Monaco is an American attorney,former federal prosecutor and national security official who has served as the 39th and current United States Deputy Attorney General since April 21,2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Danielle Gray is the former Assistant to the President,Cabinet Secretary,and a Senior Advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama. Previously,Gray served as Deputy Director of the National Economic Council and Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Gray is currently executive vice president and global chief legal officer of Walgreen Boots Alliance.
Jeffrey Adam Rosen is an American lawyer who served as the acting United States attorney general from December 2020 to January 2021 and as the United States deputy attorney general from 2019 to 2020. Before joining the Department of Justice,he was a senior partner at the law firm Kirkland &Ellis and was the United States deputy secretary of transportation.
John Charles Demers is an American lawyer who served as the 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 the acting United States Attorney General on January 20,2021,until President Joe Biden named Monty Wilkinson to the position later that day.
Derek S. Lyons is an American attorney and former White House Staff Secretary and Counselor to the President in the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Associate deputy attorney general is a position in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice. The number of positions varies widely depending on the staffing discretion of the deputy attorney general,but in 2017,there were five such positions,all of whom served as advisors to the deputy attorney general. There is also a separate principal associate deputy attorney general,who is the principal advisor to the deputy attorney general,and to whom all associate deputy attorneys general report. The associate deputy attorney general positions are filled by Senior Executive Service (SES) career attorneys,by SES political appointees,or by non-SES career attorneys serving on detail assignments from elsewhere in the department.
Seth D. DuCharme is an American attorney who served as the acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. DuCharme was appointed by Attorney General William Barr and sworn in on July 10,2020,succeeding Richard Donoghue,who left his role to serve as principal associate deputy attorney general to Jeffrey A. Rosen.
Stuart Frank Delery is an American attorney who served as the White House Counsel,from July 2022 to September 2023 succeeding Dana Remus. On August 17,2023,Delery announced that he would depart his position,with Ed Siskel announced to replace him by early September
Previously,Delery had served as Deputy Counsel to the President in the Biden administration,announced in December 2020. Prior to that,he was the Acting United States Associate Attorney General from 2014 to 2016.
Christopher Charles Fonzone is an American attorney serving as the United States assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel. He previously served as the general counsel to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Brian Fletcher is an American lawyer who serves as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. He served as Acting Solicitor General from August 11,2021,until Elizabeth Prelogar's confirmation on October 21,2021.
