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Gary Grindler

Acting Deputy Attorney General (since February 2010)

(Gary Grindler (photo by Ryan J. Reilly / Main Justice).)

Why He Matters

Grindler is acting as the second-in-command at the Justice Department, having been appointed in December 2009 to replace David Ogden, whose resignation became effective in February 2010.

Described as a "lawyer's lawyer," Grindler alternated frequently between private practice and the public sector, and he held several positions in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration. He spent the Bush years in the private sector as a partner at King & Spalding before returning to the DOJ as a deputy assistant attorney general in the criminal division in 2009.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division (2009-2010); Partner, King & Spalding, LLP (2000-2009); Principal Deputy associate attorney general, Clinton Justice Department (1999-2000); Counselor to Attorney General (1998-1999); Deputy assistant attorney general, DOJ Civil Division (1995-1998)
Alma Mater: Northwestern University, B.A. 1972, J.D. 1976

DC Office: Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue
Web site

Path to Power

Grindler earned both his undergraduate and law degrees at Northwestern University. He began his legal career at the Atlanta-based firm, Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy. After working six years as a litigator, Grindler became a federal prosecutor. Between 1982 and 1984, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney, first in the renowned Southern District of New York, which covers Manhattan, and then the Northern District of Georgia.

In 1984, Grindler left the U.S. attorney's office to start his own defense firm, Chivilis and Grindler, where he specialized in civil litigation and white- collar cases. He spent just over a decade in private practice before rejoining the DOJ, this time in Washington during the Clinton administration.

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Justice Department

Grindler's first Justice posts came in the Civil Division, where he served as deputy assistant attorney general. He oversaw the federal programs branch for about two years before he headed up the office of immigration litigation.

After about 11 months in the immigration office, Grindler became a counselor to then-Attorney General Janet Reno. He also played a role in the investigations that led to the impeachment of President Clinton.

At separate times, he represented the U.S. Secret Service during the Kenneth Starr investigation and later represented President Clinton directly while he was deposed by the independent counsel. While representing the Secret Service, Grindler argued that the president's detail should not be forced to testify in the investigation against him. "Allowing them to testify would alter their role, would turn them into watchdogs and video cameras," Grindler said at the time. "The only reason that Secret Service agents can stay close to the president is that he has complete trust in them." He then raised the spector of past presidential assassinations, and said a lack of trust would impede the service's ability to protect the president.

Grindler was later promoted to principal associate deputy attorney general, a post in which he worked directly under his current boss Eric Holder, who was then deputy attorney general under Reno. His portfolio encompassed a wide range of issues, including white-collar crime, national security, money laundering and computer crimes.

Before leaving the administration in 2000, Grindler received DOJ's highest employee honor, the Edmund J. Randolph Award, named for the nation's first attorney general.

King & Spalding

In 2000, Grindler became a partner at Atlanta's oldest law firm, King & Spalding, working in its D.C.-based special matters and government investigations division. He represented a range of corporations and individuals in mostly white-collar cases across a range of legal areas, including securities and tax law, health-care regulation, insurance and federal election law. Grindler also conducted internal investigations for corporations and public companies, often presenting results to the SEC, DOJ and other federal agencies, according to his firm biography.

Among his published articles during his time at King & Spalding were analyses of white-collar criminal defense "in the post-Enron era" and a detailed interpretation of aspects of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation that reformed corporate accounting practices.

Obama Administration

With the beginning of a new Democratic presidency, Grindler returned to the Justice Department in 2009. He held the post of deputy assistant attorney general in the Criminal Division until early 2010, when he was tapped to serve as acting deputy attorney general following the resignation of David Ogden.

The Issues

'Torture' Memo Investigation

Soon after assuming the No. 2 Justice Department post on a temporary basis, Grindler was given the tricky task of testifying before Congress about a report he did not write. The report was authored by the department's Office of Professional Responsibility, and recommended that the authors of the so-called "torture memos" penned by the Office of Legal Counsel in the George W. Bush administration should be referred to their state bar associations for possible sanctions because of "professional misconduct."

The memos, penned by John Yoo and Jay S. Bybee, justified the use of enhanced interrogation methods, including waterboarding, on suspected terrorists detained by the U.S. Reviewing the OPR decision, Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis concluded that the Bush administration lawyers showed "poor judgment" and that their memos were "flawed," but he did not recommend that they be disciplined by the bar.

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The Network

Grindler's current boss, Attorney General Eric Holder, is also his former boss: he worked for Holder during his last posting in the Clinton Justice Department, serving as a deputy assistant attorney general.

Grindler has also worked throughout his career with Lanny Breuer, now the assistant attorney general in charge of the criminal division. Breuer was Grindler's direct supervisor during his first 10 months in the Obama Justice Department.

Campaign Contributions

Grindler has contributed more than $26,000 to Democratic candidates over the last 15 years, according to federal disclosure reports. Recipients of his largesse including both Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as 2004 Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.). He has also donated to congressional candidates, frequently former Sen. Max Cleland (D) of Georgia, where his law firm King & Spalding was based.

Additional Resources