The head of the National Security Division is an assistant attorney general for national security (AAG-NS) appointed by thepresident of the United States.Matthew G. Olsen, the most recent AAG-NS, was confirmed to the role with theadvice and consent of the Senate.[5] Previously,John Demers, the AAG-NS appointed under PresidentDonald Trump, continued to serve under theBiden administration, but he left the role in June 2021 in the wake of news reports that the Justice officials had seized the phone records of congressional members and staff.[6]
The National Security Division is overseen by the assistant attorney general with whom the principal deputy assistant attorney general oversees theExecutive Office - The office that administers the entire division. In assistance are four deputy assistant attorneys general, all career civil servants, whom oversee each section.
Counterintelligence and Export Control Section - Responsible for supervising investigations and prosecutions relating to espionage, or trafficking of national security information and military hardware.
Counterterrorism Section - Responsible for supporting Law Enforcement efforts, policy and strategy in combatting international and domestic terrorism.
Foreign Investment and Review Section - Responsible for investigating and mitigating foreign investment in critical U.S. infrastructure and commerce.
Office of Law and Policy - Responsible for developing national security policies and strategies within the Justice Department.
Office of Intelligence - Responsible for legal and regulatory oversight of the U.S. Intelligence Community. The office contains three sections
Operations Section - Responsible for pursuing legal authorization of U.S. Intelligence Operations and representing the government in aFISA Court.
Oversight Section - Responsible for oversight of the Intelligence Community and ensuring full legal compliance and protection of individual privacy and civil liberties.
Litigation Section - Responsible for handling information gathered from FISA-related activities and preparation of the information for litigation.
Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism - Responsible for working with terrorism victims and their families to pursue and prosecute the culprits.
DoJ National Security Division Organizational Breakdown
Assistant Attorney General for National Security
Executive Office
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Chief of Staff
Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Counter-Espionage
Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Counter-Terrorism
Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Intelligence
Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Law and Policy
Foreign Investment Review Section
Counter-Terrorism Section
Office of Intelligence
Office of Law and Policy
Counterintelligence and Export Control Section
Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism
In December 2019, Michael Horowitz, theinspector general of the DoJ released a report accusing the division of lying to theForeign Intelligence Surveillance Court in some of its applications for wiretaps.[7][8] The presiding judge of the court subsequently ordered the division to "inform the Court in a sworn written submission of what it has done, and plans to do, to ensure that the statement of facts in each FBI application accurately and completely reflects information possessed by the FBI that is material to any issue presented by the application."[9]
^On the Nomination (Confirmation: Matthew G. Olsen, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Attorney General )."Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 1st Session - Vote Summary". Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. RetrievedAugust 30, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Retrieved 30 Oct 2021
