Mike Chertoff | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| 2ndUnited States Secretary of Homeland Security | |
| In office February 15, 2005 – January 21, 2009 | |
| President | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | James Loy (acting) Tom Ridge |
| Succeeded by | Janet Napolitano |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit | |
| In office June 10, 2003 – February 15, 2005 | |
| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Morton Ira Greenberg |
| Succeeded by | Michael Chagares |
| United States Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division | |
| In office January 20, 2001 – June 10, 2003 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | James Robinson |
| Succeeded by | Christopher A. Wray |
| United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey | |
| In office 1990–1994 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Samuel Alito |
| Succeeded by | Faith S. Hochberg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1953-11-28)November 28, 1953 (age 72) Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA,JD) |
Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) is an American attorney who was the secondUnited States secretary of homeland security to serve under PresidentGeorge W. Bush. Chertoff also served for one additional day under PresidentBarack Obama. He was the co-author of theUSA PATRIOT Act. Chertoff previously served as aUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a federal prosecutor, and asAssistant U.S. Attorney General. He succeededTom Ridge as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security on February 15, 2005.
Since leaving government service, he co-founded the Chertoff Group, a risk-management and security consulting company. He has also worked as seniorof counsel at theWashington, D.C. law firm ofCovington & Burling. He is also the chair and a member of the board of trustees at the international freedom watchdogFreedom House, and sits on the bipartisan advisory board of States United Democracy Center.[1]
Michael Chertoff was born to Gershon Baruch Chertoff (1915–96), arabbi andTalmudic scholar who was the leader of Congregation B'nai Israel inElizabeth, New Jersey, and Livia Chertoff (née Eisen), aPolish–bornIsraeli American who was the first flight attendant forEl Al.[2][3] His paternal grandparents are Paul Chertoff, a rabbi and professor of Talmud,[4] and Esther Barish Chertoff.[5]
Chertoff attended theJewish Educational Center in Elizabeth as well as thePingry School. He graduated fromHarvard College with aBachelor of Arts degree in 1975. During his sophomore year, he studied abroad at theLondon School of Economics and Political Science. He then attendedHarvard Law School, where he worked as a research assistant forJohn Hart Ely on his bookDemocracy and Distrust. Chertoff received aJuris Doctor,magna cum laude, in 1978.
Following his law school graduation, Chertoff served as a law clerk to JudgeMurray Gurfein of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and later forUnited States Supreme Court JusticeWilliam J. Brennan, Jr. from 1979 to 1980.
Chertoff worked in private practice withLatham & Watkins from 1980 to 1983 before being hired as a prosecutor byRudolph Giuliani, then theUnited States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Chertoff worked onMafia andpolitical corruption–related cases. In the mid-1990s, Chertoff returned to Latham & Watkins for a brief period, founding the firm's office inNewark, New Jersey.
In September 1986, together withUnited States Attorney for the Southern District of New YorkRudolph Giuliani, Chertoff was instrumental in the crackdown on organized crime in theMafia Commission Trial.
In 1990, Chertoff was appointed by PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush asUnited States Attorney for the District of New Jersey.[6] Among his most important cases, in 1992 Chertoff achieved conviction of second-termJersey City mayorGerald McCann on charges ofdefrauding money from asavings and loan scam. McCann served two years in federal prison.[7]
In 1993, he was a prosecutor in the fraud case against Eddie Antar, founder of theCrazy Eddie electronics store chain.
Chertoff was asked to stay in his position when theClinton administration took office in 1993, at the request ofDemocratic SenatorBill Bradley.[7] He was the only United States Attorney who was not replaced due to the change in administrations. He continued to work with the U.S. Attorney's office until 1994, when he entered private practice, returning toLatham & Watkins as a partner.[7]
Despite his friendly relationship with some Democrats, Chertoff was appointed as the special counsel for theSenate Whitewater Committee studying allegations against President Clinton and his wife in what was known as theWhitewater investigation. No charges were brought against the Clintons.
In 2000, Chertoff worked as special counsel to theNew Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee, investigatingracial profiling in New Jersey. He also did some fundraising forGeorge W. Bush[8] and other Republicans[citation needed] during the2000 election cycle. He advised Bush's presidential campaign oncriminal justice issues.
Chertoff was appointed by Bush to head the criminal division of theDepartment of Justice, serving from 2001 to 2003. Chertoff was the senior Justice Department official on duty at the F.B.I. command center right after theSeptember 11 attacks.[9] He led the federal prosecution's case against suspectedterroristZacarias Moussaoui. In 2002 and 2003, Chertoff provided legal advice to the CIA on the use of coercive interrogation methods against terror suspects such asAbu Zubaydah.[10]
Chertoff also led the prosecution's case against accounting firmArthur Andersen for destroying documents relating to theEnron collapse. The prosecution of Arthur Andersen was controversial, as the firm was effectively dissolved, resulting in the loss of 26,000 jobs. The United StatesSupreme Court overturned the conviction, and the case has not been retried.
On March 5, 2003, Chertoff was nominated by President Bush to a seat on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated byMorton I. Greenberg. He was confirmed by the Senate 88–1 on June 9, 2003, with Senator Hillary Clinton of New York casting the lone dissenting vote; he received his commission the following day. Senator Clinton said that she had dissented to register her protest for the way Chertoff's staff mistreated junior White House staffers during the Whitewater investigation.[11] Chertoff served as a federal judge from 2003 to 2005.[12]
In late 2004,Bernard Kerik was forced to decline President Bush's offer to replaceTom Ridge, the outgoing Secretary of Homeland Security. After a lengthy search to find a suitable replacement, Bush nominated Chertoff to the post in January 2005, citing his experience with post-9/11 terror legislation. He was unanimously approved for the position by theUnited States Senate on February 15, 2005.[13]
Hurricane Katrina occurred while Chertoff was Secretary of Homeland Security. The Department was criticized for its lack of preparation in advance of the well-forecast hurricane; most criticism was directed toward theFederal Emergency Management Agency.[14] DHS in general, and Chertoff in particular, were criticized for responding poorly to the disaster, ignoring crucial information about the catastrophic nature of the storm and devoting little attention to the federal response to what became the most costly disaster in American history.[15]
Chertoff was the Bush administration's point man for pushing the comprehensive immigration reform bill, a measure that stalled in the Senate in June 2007.[16]
Chertoff was asked by theObama administration to stay in his post until 9 a.m. on January 21, 2009, (one day after President Obama's inauguration) "to ensure a smooth transition".[17]
Under Chertoff's leadership, the Department of Homeland Security constructed hundreds of miles of fencing along the border between the United States and Mexico. Secretary Chertoff exercised his waiver authority on April 1, 2008, to "waive in their entirety" theEndangered Species Act, theMigratory Bird Treaty Act, theNational Environmental Policy Act, theCoastal Zone Management Act, theClean Water Act, theClean Air Act, and theNational Historic Preservation Act to extend triple fencing through theTijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve near San Diego.[18] On April 8, 2008, Chertoff issued additional waivers allowing the Department of Homeland Security to "bypass environmental reviews to speed construction of fencing along the Mexican border".The New York Times reported that pursuant to the Secure Fence Act of 2006, "the department was authorized to build up to 700 miles of fencing along the 2,000-mile Southwest border, where most illegal immigrants cross". Congress had granted Chertoff waiver authority in 2005,[19] but theTimes described his actions as an expansion of his waiver authority.[20] According toTimes columnistAdam Liptak, Chertoff's action excluded the Department of Homeland Security from having to follow laws "protecting the environment,endangered species,migratory birds, thebald eagle, antiquities, farms, deserts, forests,Native American graves and religious freedom."[21] In an editorial, theTimes criticized Chertoff for his use of waiver authority, stating: "To the long list of things the Bush administration is willing to trash in its rush to appease immigration hard-liners, you can now add dozens of important environmental laws and hundreds of thousands of acres of fragile habitat on the southern border."[22]
A report issued by theCongressional Research Service, the non-partisan research division of theLibrary of Congress, said that the unchecked delegation of powers to Chertoff was unprecedented:
After a review of federal law, primarily through electronic database searches and consultations with various CRS experts, we were unable to locate a waiver provision identical to that of §102 of H.R. 418—i.e., a provision that contains 'notwithstanding' language, provides a secretary of an executive agency the authority to waive all laws such secretary determines necessary, and directs the secretary to waive such laws.[23]
On June 23, 2008, theSupreme Court of the United States declined to hear a constitutional challenge to the 2005 law that gave Chertoff waiver authority.[19]
In September 2007, Chertoff told aHouse committee that the DHS would not tolerate interference bysanctuary cities that would block the "Basic Pilot Program", which requires some types of employers to validate the legal status of their workers.[24]
In 2008 it was reported that the residential housekeeping company Chertoff had hired to clean his house employed undocumented immigrants.[25][26][27]
Since leaving government service, Chertoff has worked as seniorof counsel at theWashington, D.C. law firm ofCovington & Burling.[28]
He formed The Chertoff Group (TCG) on February 2, 2009, to work on crisis and risk management. The firm is also led by Chad Sweet; he served as the Chief of Staff of Homeland Security while Chertoff was Secretary and also had a two-year stint at the Directorate of Operations for the CIA. The firm also employsCharles E. Allen, Larry Castro,Jay M. Cohen,General Michael V. Hayden and other former high-ranking government employees and appointees.
Chertoff was also elected as Chairman ofBAE Systems for a three-year term, beginning May 1, 2012. Chertoff co-chairs theBipartisan Policy Center's Immigration Task Force.
Chertoff was part of a legal team that represented Russian/UkrainianDmitro Firtash's against extradition to the United States.[29]
Chertoff is also a member of theAtlantic Council's board of directors.[30]
From 2017 to 2019, Chertoff served as a member of theGlobal Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace and was made a co-chair of the commission in its final year.
In a July 2020 op-ed inThe New York Times, Chertoff claimed theTrump administration was hijacking the DHS for political purposes.[31]
At the Global Creative Leadership Summit in 2009, Chertoff described globalization as a double-edged sword. Although globalization may help raise the standard of living for people around the world, Chertoff claimed that it can also enable terrorists and transnational criminals.[32]
Chertoff has been an advocate of enhanced technologies, such asfull body scanners.[33] His consulting firm Chertoff Group (founded 2009) represented manufacturers of the scanners.[34][35]
Chertoff co-signed the preface to the report "National Security and the Accelerating Risks ofClimate Change" published in 2014 where he stated that "projected climate change is a complex multi-decade challenge. Without action to build resilience, it will increase security risks over much of the planet. It will not only increase threats to developing nations in resource-challenged parts of the world, but it will also test the security of nations with robust capability, including significant elements of our National Power here at home."[36]
In the2016 presidential election, Chertoff endorsedHillary Clinton.[37]
In 2024, Chertoff endorsedJon Bramnick forNew Jersey Governor.[38]
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| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey 1990–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 2003–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of Homeland Security 2005–2009 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Cabinet Member | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Cabinet Member | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Cabinet Member |
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