John Demers

John Charles Demers (born September 21, 1971)[1] is an American attorney who served as the assistant attorney general of the National Security Division. An appointee of President Donald Trump, he served under both, President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. John Demers also served as acting United States Attorney General for a few hours following the resignation of the previous acting United States Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen at noon on January 20, 2021, until President Joe Biden signed an executive order naming Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Human Resources and Administration Monty Wilkinson as acting United States Attorney General later that day.[2]

John Demers
United States Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division
In office
February 22, 2018 – June 21, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byJohn P. Carlin
Succeeded byMark Lesko (acting)
Matthew G. Olsen
Acting United States Attorney General
In office
January 20, 2021 – January 20, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
DeputyJohn P. Carlin (acting)
Preceded byJeffrey A. Rosen (acting)
Succeeded byMonty Wilkinson (acting)
Personal details
Born (1971-09-21) September 21, 1971
Gubbio, Italy
Political partyRepublican
EducationCollege of the Holy Cross (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

Prior to Demers's departure, he was the longest-serving Senate-confirmed official from the Trump administration, that was retained for the Biden administration. Demers's long-planned departure from the Justice Department garnered attention when the Trump administration data seizure became publicly known in June 2021, which happened to coincide with his departure. Though Demers asked to leave immediately, the Biden administration asked him to remain until the end of June. Demers was succeeded by Matthew Olsen.[3][4] At the end of June, with Olsen not yet confirmed, Demers left the Justice Department and was replaced on an acting basis by acting acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Mark Lesko.[5]

Early life and education

Demers was born in Gubbio, Italy. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and Harvard Law School.[6]

Career

Prior to his post in the United States Department of Justice, Demers served as the vice president and assistant general counsel at Boeing. Demers clerked for Diarmuid O'Scannlain of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States. He worked in private practice before serving in the Office of Legal Counsel. Demers was on the leadership team of the United States Department of Justice National Security Division, first as senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General and then as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Law & Policy. Demers is an adjunct professor of national security law at Georgetown University Law Center.[7][8] John Demers's appointment to the head of the United States Department of Justice National Security Division garnered praise from both Democrats and Republicans. The Senate praised his work under both Republican and Democratic administrations, which included serving in the DOJ's National Security Division's leadership team in both 2006 and 2009.[3]

In March 2020, the Justice Department dropped the indictment against a Russian company Concord Management and Consulting. The indictment stemmed from Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Demers and US Attorney Timothy Shea said that while "the prosecution was properly commenced in the first place", continuing to pursue the case would "risk of exposure of law enforcement's tools and techniques". Concord lawyer Eric Dubelier who sought a trial in the case said the purpose of the indictment was "to make a political statement regarding the outcome of the 2016 election that was grossly overstated".[9][10]

Demers led the United States Department of Justice's China Initiative, an effort to counter Chinese espionage and intelligence activities in the U.S.[11][12] This initiative was intended to enable the National Security Division to combat Chinese espionage activities, in particular, Chinese intellectual property theft, surveillance, and a myriad of classified national security threats. This is considered to be Demer's signature achievement.[3] These initiatives were continued by the Department of Justice under Demer's nominated successor, Matthew Olsen, until its termination on 23 February 2022.[13]

Though not directly involved, Demers was possibly briefed on the Trump administration data seizure in which the Justice Department seized by subpoenas the communications information for members of Congress, journalists, and the Trump White House counsel. He announced he was leaving the Justice Department days after the full extent of the Trump administration data seizure became publicly known, though he was reported to have been planning his departure for some time earlier.[14][3]

See also

References
  1. "United States Senate Committee on Intelligence: Questionnaire for Completion by Presidential Nominees: John C. Demers" (PDF).
  2. Correspondent, Evan Perez, CNN Justice (January 20, 2021). "Trump's acting attorney general leaves without creating controversial special counsels". CNN. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. Benner, Katie (June 14, 2021). "Justice Dept. Official to Step Down Amid Uproar Over Leaks Inquiry". The New York Times.
  4. "DOJ National Security chief John Demers to step down amid leak probe furor". POLITICO. June 14, 2021.
  5. "Brooklyn US Attorney Mark Lesko to Replace DOJ National Security Chief John Demers". NBC New York. June 14, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  6. "Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division: Who Is John Demers?". AllGov.
  7. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. September 2, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017 – via National Archives.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. Wilber, Del Quentin; Viswanatha, Aruna (May 2, 2017). "Two Bush Veterans Said to Be Top Contenders for Justice Department Posts". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  9. Gerstein, Josh (March 16, 2020). "Justice Department drops plans for trial over Russian interference in 2016 U.S. election". Politico.
  10. Hsu, Spencer S. (March 16, 2020). "Justice Dept. abandons prosecution of Russian firm indicted in Mueller election interference probe". The Washington Post.
  11. Allen-Ebrahimian, Bethany (January 19, 2021). "Top DOJ official John Demers on the agency's China Initiative". Axios. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  12. Woodruff Swan, Betsy (April 7, 2020). "Inside DOJ's nationwide effort to take on China". Politico. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  13. "DOJ shuts down China-focused anti-espionage program". Politico. February 23, 2022.
  14. Katelyn Polantz and Evan Perez (June 9, 2021). "Trump administration pursued CNN reporter's records in months-long secret court battle". CNN.
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