U.S. Department
of Justice
LEADERSHIP
U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei is leading the SDTX along with FAUSA Emil Kiehne, EAUSA Rob Jones, EAUSA Krystal Walker, Criminal Chief John Pearson, Civil Chief Daniel Hu, and Appellate Chief Carmen Mitchell.
Nicholas J. Ganjei
U.S. Attorney
Ganjei is a longtime federal prosecutor who previously served as acting U.S. Attorney and First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.
Ganjei joined the Department of Justice in 2008 as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) on the U.S. – Mexico border. As an AUSA, Ganjei prosecuted organized crime, immigration, narcotics, and human trafficking cases, as well as fraud, public corruption and white collar matters.
Before joining the Department, Ganjei clerked for the Honorable Richard Allen Griffin and Ralph R. Erickson of the 6th and 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, respectively. Ganjei has also taught on the subjects of civil, criminal and constitutional law at both the collegiate and law school levels.
Most recently, Ganjei was Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, where he oversaw all legal matters related to criminal justice, border security, judicial nominations, antitrust, intellectual property and religious liberty.
Learn more on the USA page.
Emil Kiehne
First Assistant U.S. Attorney
Kiehne joined the Department of Justice in 2020 as an Assistant U.S. Attorney focusing on appeals, arguing both criminal and civil cases in the 10th Circuit on behalf of the government.
Before his federal service, Kiehne served as a judge on the New Mexico Court of Appeals. Kiehne also worked as a partner in a large regional law firm, and, before then, as an Assistant District Attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
Kiehne holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, a master’s degree from the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, and his law degree from Notre Dame Law School.
Rob Jones
Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney
Arthur R. “Rob” Jones started his career in 2002 as a line Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) in the office’s Laredo Division, where he handled all aspects of border related crime. In 2011, he joined the office’s Houston-based Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces. Just prior to his appointment as Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney, Jones served as the deputy chief of the National Security and Public Corruption section.
Prior to becoming an AUSA, Rob served on active duty as a judge advocate and officer in the U.S. Air Force’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps from January 1995 to September 2002, specializing in criminal litigation. He separated from the Air Force in September 2002 to become an AUSA but continued to serve as a judge advocate in the Air Force Reserve until his retirement in February 2023.
Krystal Walker
Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney
Walker joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas in 2016 and has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions of the office. She has defended the United States and its agencies in employment discrimination, civil immigration and federal Torts Claims Act cases. She also prosecuted white collar cases while in the office’s Fraud Section. Additionally, she served on a detail assignment to the General Counsel’s Office for the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys. She previously served as an AUSA in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi.
Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Walker was a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills in the Northern District of Mississippi, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael T. Parker in the Southern District of Mississippi and U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown in the Northern District of Mississippi. Before her clerkships, she practiced insurance defense and family law in the private sector.
She holds a Bachelor of Accountancy, cum laude, from Mississippi State University and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Mississippi School of Law.
John Pearson
Criminal Chief
Pearson joined the Southern District of Texas (SDTX) in 2012 but has been with the Department of Justice (DOJ) since 2004. He joined DOJ through the Attorney General’s Honors Program, worked as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and served as a Trial Attorney in the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division as well as a Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General.
While with the SDTX, Pearson served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Major Fraud, Program Fraud and National Security & Public Corruption Sections. He also served as the deputy criminal chief of the Program Fraud and Major Fraud Sections, as well as the district’s financial crimes coordinator, health care fraud coordinator and Hurricane Harvey working group coordinator. He served as an Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney under two former U.S. Attorneys. He is a veteran of the United States Navy.
Pearson holds a B.A. from Princeton University and a J.D. with high honors from the University of Texas School of Law. After graduating from law school, he served as a clerk to the Honorable H. Emory Widener Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Daniel Hu
Civil Chief
Hu began his career with the Southern District of Texas in 1992. Since that time, he has served solely in the Civil Division as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA), but has also handled criminal cases and argued appeals at the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Federal Circuit. Prior to becoming the chief of the Civil Division in 2016, he served as its deputy chief. In 2008, Hu led the first Border Fence condemnation team which dealt with 54 miles of land.
Prior to serving as an AUSA, he was in private practice and was a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Norman W. Black.
Hu is currently the Southwest Regional Governor for the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. He was also past president of the Federal Bar Association – Southern District of Texas Chapter, past director of the State Bar of Texas and past Commissioner on the Texas Access to Justice Commission.
Hu was born in New York City, New York. He holds a B.A. and M.A. from Rice University in Houston as well as a J.D. from the University of Texas Law School.
Carmen Mitchell
Appellate Chief
Mitchell began her career with the Southern District of Texas in 2008. Since that time, she has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Appellate Division where she authored direct appeals briefs and post-conviction responses, provided trial assistance to the Criminal Division, reviewed and edited briefs, presented at least 19 oral arguments before the Fifth Circuit and conducted trainings. Before becoming the chief of the Appellate Division in 2017, she served as its deputy chief.
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she was a Harris County Assistant District Attorney in the Appellate Division in Houston for 11 years. While there, she worked on over 480 direct appeals, including eight capital murder death penalty appeals and presented more than 20 oral arguments, resulting in over 76 published opinions. She was also associate counsel on three respondent’s briefs in opposition in the U.S. Supreme Court while working at the Harris County D.A.’s Office.
Mitchell holds a B.A., cum laude, from Midwestern State University and a J.D., cum laude, from Texas Tech University School of Law.