Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski

Brian A. Benczkowski serves as the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division. In that capacity, Mr. Benczkowski supervises the Criminal Division’s more than 600 federal prosecutors who conduct investigations and prosecutions involving organized and transnational crime, gang violence, securities fraud, health care fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, public corruption, cybercrime, intellectual property theft, money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act violations, child exploitation, international narcotics trafficking, human rights violations, and other crimes, as well as matters involving international affairs and sensitive law enforcement techniques.

Mr. Benczkowski comes to the Division with over 10 years of public service in the federal government, serving in a variety of important leadership positions both in the U.S. Department of Justice and on Capitol Hill. Mr. Benczkowski previously served as the Chief of Staff for the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General from 2008 to 2009. As the principal legal and policy advisor to the two most senior leaders of the Department of Justice, he played an integral role in overseeing the overall direction of the Department’s operational, policy, and public relations efforts. Mr. Benczkowski has also served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs, where he managed the Department’s relationship with Congress. During that time, he was responsible for directing the Department's response to congressional investigations and requests for information and documents, and preparing numerous witnesses and nominees for testimony before Congress.

Mr. Benczkowski also served as Chief of Staff at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Staff Director and Senior Counsel to the Department’s Office of Legal Policy. Mr. Benczkowski also served as a Staff Director for the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. Senate, where he was the top advisor and strategist for legislative, oversight, and nominations matters. Mr. Benczkowski is a 2008 recipient of the Department of Justice’s John Marshall Award for Excellence in Preparing and Handling Legislation, and in 2003 he was awarded the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.

Prior to his confirmation as the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, Mr. Benczkowski served as a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of a large international law firm, where his practice focused on white collar criminal defense as well as government and internal investigations, including in the areas of health care fraud, environmental enforcement, and campaign finance.

Mr. Benczkowski received his J.D. from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri, and his B.A. from the University of Virginia.