John Wood Named Senior Investigative Counsel for the House January 6th Select Committee

Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) announced that John Wood, a former United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri and senior Bush Administration official, will serve as Senior Investigative Counsel for the January 6th Select Committee and Of Counsel to the Vice Chair. Wood is a life member of NAFUSA.

“Mr. Wood has an impressive track record working inside and outside of government, and his expertise will enhance our efforts to investigate the events surrounding January 6th and understand what led to the attack against the U.S. Capitol that day. Furthermore, his addition to the committee staff underscores the nonpartisan nature of our work. The Committee will continue to put politics aside to get answers the American people deserve about what happened and how to ensure it never happens again. We both thank Mr. Wood for serving the nation in this position and look forward to working alongside him as our investigation proceeds,” said Chairman Thompson and Vice Chair Cheney.

Mr. Wood joins the Committee after serving as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and General Counsel at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and as President of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center. During the Bush Administration, he served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, deputy associate attorney general and counselor to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, and deputy general counsel in the White House Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Wood was a partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed law firm and served as a law clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas and for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Trump U.S. Attorneys Hold Reunion in Nashville

NAFUSA’s newest class of former U.S. Attorneys- appointed during the administration of President Trump- held their first reunion in Nashville recently. They are looking forward to meeting members from other classes when we meet at the NASUSA 2022 conference in San Diego in April.

20th Anniversary of 9/11

 

 

 

Each of us vividly remember 9/11. NAFUSA member Joe Whitley shares his experience as we remember today all of those who were forever affected by this tragedy:

Twenty years ago, I represented a civilian witness in a Court Martial proceeding at Camp LeJeune on the maintenance of the newly developed Osprey aircraft. My client and I were to meet early on the morning of September 11, 2001 at my hotel in Jacksonville, NC and travel together to the nearby base. Before I left my hotel room, I received the news that my Father, a World War II veteran and retired University President, had passed away. My memory of that day remains vivid as a consequence of my Dad’s death and concerns about my client’s testimony in court. As we passed the military police at the gate, my client’s van was not inspected other than a cursory look at the sticker in the window. I asked my client why there was little scrutiny of his van and he indicated that he and his van were recognized by the military police, so there was no need for a more thorough exam. Of course, that would forever change within a few hours.

 

While in a witness room nearby, a buzz started to circulate that an airplane had accidentally flown into a World Trade Center Tower. A television was rolled into the room and it was apparent that no one at the base knew anything more about the events taking place in New York than what CNN was reporting. The news quickly changed with the report of another plane hitting the second tower. I was the only civilian in the room with no way to respond to the unfolding horror of other planes still airborne; however, I could see and feel the resolve of the Marines in the room. They all knew that their world and the America they served had drastically changed. After the proceedings, my client and I left base. At the gate, we saw a line of cars and trucks being thoroughly searched with the assistance of German shepherds.

 

All air travel had been suspended by the FAA. I spent the day driving in a rental car to my home in Georgia. It was an emotional time for me. I spoke with several of my family members about my Father’s passing. I also talked with many friends from my time in government service at DOJ about the other tragedies at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. Most expressed a wish that they could reenter government service and do something to protect our Country. I thought that such an opportunity would never come my way, until the Fall of 2002.

 

I received a call by White House Personnel and accepted the position as first General Counsel of the newly created Department of Homeland Security. I was honored to serve President Bush, Secretary Ridge and the American people. I was reminded daily of the greatness of America and the patriotism of the 2,000 men and women who made up the General Counsel’s office.

 

I realize my public service was no sacrifice. In memory of the thirteen young Americans who recently died in Afghanistan – I honor you and truly appreciate your service – Semper Fidelis. You paid the ultimate price so that I and others could be free. I am forever grateful.

 

 

Herb Stern Co-Authors Sequel to Wolf: “Sins of the Fathers”

NAFUSA life member Herbert J. Stern along with his co-author, Alan A. Winter, will soon release the sequel to Wolf (Skyhorse 2020) about Hitler’s rise to power – telling the dramatic true story of the foolish Prime Minister who delivered Czechoslovakia to Hitler, saved Hitler’s life, and paved the road to World War II. Reviews are already arriving:

“This one poses a fascinating question—could World War II have been avoided? The answer is going to shock you. Sins of the Fathers is a masterful blend of fact and fiction and will have you thinking about it long after the last page is read.”
—STEVE BERRY, New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of the Cotton Malone series

“A superb and exciting blend of intrigue and history that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.”
—WILLIAM BOYD, the Pulteney St. Survey, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

“I learned history from Barbara Tuchman, felt seat-of-the-pants tension with Robert Ludlum; however, neither one took me to that place of epiphany where an unexpected tear falls from the eye, yet Herb Stern and —Alan Winter do all three with an explosive ending as gut-wrenching as it is shocking. If this were a boxing match, it’s the punch you didn’t see coming.”
—STEVE FOREMAN, screenwriter of The Jazz Singer with Neil Diamond and author of the novels Toehold, Chasing Gideon, and Journey’

“Most people today do not realize that an anti-Nazi underground was at work to overthrow Adolf Hitler in Germany during the 1930s. Sins of the Fathers is an excellent novel, based on actual facts, about the anti-Hitler movement and its leaders, a courageous group of Germans who faced a horrible death at the hands of the Gestapo if they had been caught. If Britain had supported the underground movement, Hitler might have been overthrown and the Second World War might have been averted. I greatly enjoyed reading this book.”
—DAVID ALAN JOHNSON, author of Righteous Deception: German Officers Against Hitler

Judge Stern served as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey 1971-1974. In 1962-1965, he served as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan, participating in the investigation of the assassination of Malcolm X. He also served in the Organized Crime and Racketeering section of the U.S. Department of Justice. He was appointed by President Nixon to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, serving from 1974-1987. He has authored several books on trial advocacy; and Judgment in Berlin, later made into a film.

Judge Stern is a partner and founding member of Stern, Kilcullen & Rufolo. He earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

The book is available to pre-order. See link below:

https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/9781510769427/sins-of-the-fathers/

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Neil MacBride: Biden’s Choice for General Counsel at Treasury

On June 3, 2021, President Joe Biden announced that NASUSA member Neil MacBride is his nominee for General Counsel, Department of Treasury. MacBride is currently a litigation partner in the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell, where he serves as head of its Washington, DC office and as co-head of the Firm’s Government Investigations Practice.

Before entering private practice, MacBride spent extensive time as a government official on law enforcement, national security, and financial enforcement matters.  He served in the Obama-Biden Administration, first as an Associate Deputy Attorney General for criminal enforcement in the U.S. Department of Justice and then as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. MacBride earlier served as Chief Counsel to then-Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on the Senate Judiciary Committee and as a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  He also served on the Biden-Harris and the Obama-Biden Transition Teams.  Earlier in his career, MacBride served as General Counsel to the Business Software Alliance and practiced law at the Washington, DC law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand.  He began his public service career clerking for the Honorable Henry C. Morgan, Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

MacBride graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law and Houghton College.  He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife Christina Jackson MacBride and their three children.

Jury Trials During a Pandemic

Hon. Robert J. Conrad, Jr.

During the ongoing pandemic of 2020-2021 federal, state and local courts have struggled with the need to try jury cases. The Honorable Robert J. Conrad Jr., U.S. District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina, has been involved with a courtroom design innovation called the “Virginia Revival Model” and found it to be helpful in improving the safety of courtrooms during the age of the covid.

According to Judge Conrad, the Virginia Model’s “essential features are a center-based jury box underneath the judge, facing out; a witness box in the center of the well looking directly at the judge and jury; and counsel tables on each side. In the 18th century, the Commonwealth of Virginia county courts were intentionally designed this way to place the jury where it should be — at the center of a jury trial, as opposed to off to the side, symbolizing the jury’s shared authority with the judge.”

In an interesting article first appearing as Robert J. Conrad Jr., Jury Trials in a Pandemic Age, 104 JUDICATURE No. 3 (Fall/Winter 2020-2021), Judge Conrad describes the reconfiguration of a ceremonial courtroom to make a big jury box out of the spectator section of the court in order to continue to try jury trials during a pandemic. To date, 41 jury trials have been tried in this format. A new federal courthouse has been built in Charlotte and one of the district courtrooms has been designed on the Virginia Revival Model. The first criminal jury trial in that courtroom was successfully conducted in June.

Judge Conrad served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina from 2001 to 2004. He spoke on the Berger case and in particular Justice Sutherland’s quote on the role of a U.S. Attorney to seek justice at NAFUSA’s 2016 conference in San Diego. Click here to read the full article:

Jury Trials in a Pandemic Age

 

Making the Case Podcast Features Hal Hardin

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office has created a podcast regarding the removal of Governor Ray Blanton in 1979. It features NAFUSA life member and past president Hal Hardin, Senator Lamar Alexander, and political consultant Tom Ingram. Hardin was the United States Attorney at the time and played a critical role.

You can access Making the Case on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Just search “Making the Case” or “Tennessee Attorney General.”

AG Updates Memo on DOJ Communications With White House

On July 21, 2021, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland formally updated the Justice Department’s governing communications between DOJ and the White House.

“The success of the Department of Justice depends upon the trust of the American people,” wrote Attorney General Garland. “That trust must be earned every day. And we can do so only through our adherence to the longstanding Departmental norms of independence from inappropriate influences, the principled exercise of discretion, and the treatment of like cases alike.”

Click here to read the entire memorandum:

attorney_general_memorandum_-_department_of_justice_communications_with_the_white_house_july_21_2021

Ken Polite Confirmed by US Senate as AAG of Criminal Division

The United States Senate on July 20, confirmed NAFUSA life member Kenneth Polite to serve as the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. The vote was 56-44. He was nominated by President Biden on April 12, 2021. He served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana from 2013 to 2017, having been appointed by President Obama. Most recently he was a partner at Morgan Lewis in Philadelphia.