Jeh Johnson

Jeh Johnson
4th United States Secretary of Homeland Security
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 23, 2013
President Barack Obama
Deputy Alejandro Mayorkas
Preceded by Rand Beers (acting)
Personal details
Born Jeh Charles Johnson
September 11, 1957
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Dr. Susan Maureen DiMarco (m. 1994–present)
Children Natalie Johnson
Jeh Charles Johnson, Jr.
Alma mater Morehouse College
Columbia Law School

Jeh Charles Johnson (born September 11, 1957)[1] is an American civil and criminal trial lawyer, and the current United States Secretary of Homeland Security. He was the General Counsel of the Department of Defense from 2009 to 2012 during the first Obama Administration. Johnson is a graduate of Morehouse College (B.A.) and Columbia Law School (J.D.), and is the grandson of sociologist and Fisk University president Dr. Charles S. Johnson.

Johnson's first name (pronounced "Jay") is taken from a Liberian chief, who reportedly saved his grandfather’s life while Dr. Johnson was on a League of Nations mission to Liberia in 1930.[2]

Career

Johnson served as Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 1989 to 1991. From 1998 to 2001, he was General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force under President Bill Clinton.[3] Prior to his appointment as General Counsel of the Department of Defense, Johnson was a partner at the New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, in which he was the first African American elected partner and to which he returned after his four years at the Defense Department.[4] He was elected a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2004.[3]

On January 8, 2009, he was named by President Barack Obama to be General Counsel for the Defense Department.[5] In December 2012, he resigned this position effective at the end of the year to return to private practice.[6]

Family

Johnson was born in New York City, the son of Norma (Edelin), who worked for Planned Parenthood, and Jeh Vincent Johnson, an architect.[7][8]

On March 18, 1994, Johnson married Susan Maureen DiMarco, a dentist, at Corpus Christi Church (New York City).[7] The pair grew up across the street from each other in Wappingers Falls, NY.[9] They have two children, Natalie Johnson and Jeh Charles Johnson, Jr. (Both who attended The Field School in Washington DC) [10]

Federal prosecutor

Johnson began his legal career at Paul, Weiss in the mid-1980s. In 1989 he left to serve as an assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, a position he held until 1991. In that position, Johnson prosecuted public corruption cases.

Air Force General Counsel

Johnson returned to Paul, Weiss in 1992 and was elected partner at the firm in 1994. In 1998, Johnson was appointed General Counsel of the Air Force by President Bill Clinton after confirmation by the U.S. Senate. As General Counsel, Johnson was the senior legal official in the Air Force and Governor of Wake Island, in the Pacific Ocean.[11] His tenure coincided with Operation Allied Force in 1999. He was awarded the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service for his efforts.[3]

Private practice

After his service in the Clinton administration, Johnson returned to Paul, Weiss in 2001, where he was an active trial lawyer of large commercial cases.[3]

Johnson was a member of the Executive Committee of the New York City Bar Association. From 2001 to 2004, he served as chairman of the City Bar’s Judiciary Committee, which rates and approves all federal, state and local judges in New York City. In 2007, Johnson was nominated by the New York State Commission on Judicial Nomination to be Chief Judge of New York[12] though the incumbent, Judith Kaye, was ultimately reappointed by former Governor Eliot Spitzer.

Democratic Party involvement

Johnson is active in Democratic Party politics, as a fundraiser and adviser to presidential campaigns. Johnson served as special counsel to John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign,[13] and was an early supporter of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, active as a foreign policy adviser and as a member of his national finance committee.[14][15]

General Counsel of the Department of Defense

Johnson swears in Leon Panetta as Secretary of Defense.

On January 8, 2009, President-elect Barack Obama announced Johnson's nomination as Department of Defense General Counsel.[16] On February 9, 2009, he was confirmed by the Senate.[17]

As General Counsel of the Defense Department, Johnson was a major player in certain key priorities of the Obama Administration, and he is considered one of the legal architects of the U.S. military's current counterterrorism policies. In 2009, Johnson was heavily involved in the reform of military commissions, and testified before Congress numerous times in support of the Military Commissions Act of 2009.[18] In February 2010, the Secretary of Defense appointed Johnson to co-chair a working group, along with Army General Carter Ham, to study the potential impact of a repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. In November 2010, following an extensive study, Johnson and General Ham reported that the risk to overall military effectiveness of a repeal would be low. The report was hailed as a thorough and objective analysis.[19] The Washington Post editorial page wrote:

The report is remarkable not just for its conclusions but for its honest, thorough and respectful handling of a delicate subject. It offers a clear-eyed, careful, conservative approach to implementing policy change. It doesn't play down the hurdles or denigrate the opposition. It is, in short, a document to be taken seriously, especially by those who may have lingering doubts about allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly.[20]

In August 2010, Johnson was part of the public dialogue over the WikiLeaks release of classified Pentagon documents known as the Afghan War Diary. "The Department of Defense will not negotiate some 'minimized' or 'sanitized' version of a release by WikiLeaks of additional U.S. government classified documents," he wrote in a letter to Timothy J. Matusheski, a lawyer representing the online whistle-blowing organization. In August 2012, Johnson also wrote to the former Navy SEAL who authored the book No Easy Day, a memoir by a Navy SEAL who participated in the mission that killed Osama bin Laden, and warned him of his material breach of his non-disclosure agreements with the Department of Defense regarding classified information.[21]

In January 2011, Johnson provoked controversy when, according to a Department of Defense news story, he asserted in a speech at the Pentagon that deceased civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr., would have supported the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, despite King's outspoken opposition to American interventionism during his lifetime.[22] Johnson argued that American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq were playing the role of the Good Samaritan, consistent with King's beliefs, and that they were fighting to establish the peace for which King hoped.[23][24] Jeremy Scahill of Salon.com called Johnson's remarks "one of the most despicable attempts at revisionist use of Martin Luther King Jr. I've ever seen," while Justin Elliott (also of Salon.com) argued that based on Dr. King's opposition to the Vietnam War, he would likely have opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the covert wars in Pakistan and Yemen.[25] Former assistant U.S. attorney Cynthia Kouril has defended Johnson's remarks, arguing in her blog that his speech has been misinterpreted.[26]

In a February 2011, speech to the New York City Bar Association, Johnson "acknowledged the concerns raised" about the detention of alleged WikiLeaks source Private Bradley Manning and "stated that he had personally traveled to Quantico to conduct an investigation", according to human rights attorney and journalist Scott Horton. Horton wrote that "Johnson was remarkably unforthcoming about what he discovered and what conclusions he drew from his visit."[27]

Johnson's tenure as General Counsel was also notable for several high-profile speeches he gave on national security. In a speech he delivered at the Heritage Foundation in October 2011, Johnson warned against "over-militarizing" the U.S. government's approach to counterterrorism: "There is risk in permitting and expecting the U.S. military to extend its powerful reach into areas traditionally reserved for civilian law enforcement in this country." [28] At a speech at Yale Law School in February 2012, Johnson defended "targeted killings",[29] but also stated:

[A]s a student of history I believe that those who govern today must ask ourselves how we will be judged 10, 20 or 50 years from now. Our applications of law must stand the test of time, because, over the passage of time, what we find tolerable today may be condemned in the permanent pages of history tomorrow.

Finally, at the Oxford Union in November 2012, shortly before his resignation, Johnson delivered a widely noted address entitled "The conflict against al Qaeda and its affiliates: how will it end?" in which he predicted a "tipping point" at which the U.S. government's efforts against al Qaeda should no longer be considered an armed conflict, but a more traditional law enforcement effort against individual terrorists. Johnson stated:

"War" must be regarded as a finite, extraordinary and unnatural state of affairs. War permits one man—if he is a "privileged belligerent," consistent with the laws of war—to kill another. War violates the natural order of things, in which children bury their parents; in war parents bury their children. In its 12th year, we must not accept the current conflict, and all that it entails, as the "new normal." Peace must be regarded as the norm toward which the human race continually strives.

The Oxford Union speech received widespread press attention,[30] and editorial acclaim as the first such statement coming from an Obama administration official.[31]

Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense under presidents George W. Bush and Obama, said that Johnson "proved to be the finest lawyer I ever worked with in government—a straightforward, plain-speaking man of great integrity, with common sense to burn and a good sense of humor" and that he "trusted and respected him like no other lawyer I had ever worked with."[32]

Department of Homeland Security

Johnson was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the fourth U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security in October 2013, and was subsequently confirmed on December 16, 2013, by the U.S. Senate with a vote of 78–16.[33] He was sworn in on December 23, 2013.[34] The Washington Post reported "Johnson, an African-American, would bring further racial diversity to Obama's Cabinet." Following an influx of illegal immigrants, many children, from Central America during the summer of 2014, Johnson has taken the position that most who choose to cross the border illegally "will be sent home.” This has generated some criticism that the department he oversees is not necessarily considering humanitarian cases for asylum as it is legally obliged to.[35]

References

  1. ↑ Nominations before the Senate Armed Services Committee, First Session, 111th Congress. S. Hrg. 111-362.
  2. ↑ Johnson, Charles S., Bitter Canaan: The Story of the Negro Republic Transaction Books (1987), page 1xxiii fn 171
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Jeh Johnson Biography Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP. Retrieved on March 13, 2008
  4. ↑ Lentz, Philip (1996). "Jeh Johnson – 1996 40 Under 40 – Crain’s New York Business Rising Stars". Crain’s New York Business, Retrieved on March 13, 2008
  5. ↑ "Obama names four to top Pentagon posts". Agence France-Presse. January 8, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
  6. ↑ Baldor, Lolita C. "Jeh Johnson, Pentagon's Top Lawyer, Resigns" The Huffington Post, December 6, 2012
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Weddings; Jeh C. Johnson and Susan DiMarco". New York Times. March 20, 1994. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  8. ↑ http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3431000040.html
  9. ↑ Smith Brady, Lois (April 10, 1994). "Vows; Jeh Johnson and Susan DiMarco". New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  10. ↑ http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/u2wulIeu1hP/Joe+Biden+Swears+Jeh+Johnson/pgjLRN8BxAb/Natalie+Johnson
  11. ↑ Cahoon, Ben M. (2000). "Wake Island - Governors (from 1972, U.S. Air Force General Counsels in Washington, D.C.)". World Statesmen. Retrieved May 11, 2009. 1998 - 2001 Jeh Charles Johnson
  12. ↑ John Caher, "Kaye Heads List of Candidates For Court of Appeals' Top Slot", The New York Law Journal, January 18, 2007
  13. ↑ Konigsberg, Eric, "In Clinton’s Backyard, It’s Open Season as an Obama Fund-Raiser Lines Up Donors", The New York Times, February 24, 2007. Retrieved on March 13, 2008.
  14. ↑ Horowitz, Jason, "Clinton Campaign Gets In Gloat Mode With $27 Million", The New York Observer, October 10, 2007. Retrieved on April 14, 2008.
  15. ↑ Horowitz,Jason, "The Best Place for the Rule of Law", The Boston Globe, April 12, 2008. Retrieved on April 14, 2008.
  16. ↑ Tyson, Ann Scott, "Obama Selects 4 More Senior Defense Officials", The Washington Post, January 9, 2009.
  17. ↑ U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Nominations > Nominations Confirmed (Civilian)
  18. ↑ Editorial, "Undoing the Damage," The New York Times, July 12, 2009
  19. ↑ Ed O'Keefe and Craig Whitlock, "'Don't Ask' opponents get a boost, The Washington Post, December 1, 2010.
  20. ↑ Editorial, "Ready for Change," The Washington Post, December 1, 2010.
  21. ↑ Craig Whitlock, "Author of bin Laden book is warned," The Washington Post, August 31, 2012.
  22. ↑ http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=62448
  23. ↑ "Pentagon Official: King Would Support Iraq, Afghan Wars", by Amanda Terkel, Huffington Post, January 14, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  24. ↑ "Dr. Jeh Johnson's MLK Day Speech at the Pentagon". Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Obama official: MLK would love our wars!", by Justin Elliott, Salon.com, January 13, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  26. ↑ "The Problem is, He Never Said That: The Saga of the DoD MLK Day Speech," http://my.firedoglake.com/cindykouril/
  27. ↑ Horton, Scott (March 7, 2011) Inhumanity at Quantico, Harper's Magazine
  28. ↑ Peter Finn, "Pentagon lawyer warns against over-militarizing anti-terror fight," The Washington Post, October 19, 2011.
  29. ↑ "Top Pentagon Lawyer Defends Targeted Killings," The Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2012.
  30. ↑ Julian Barnes, "Pentagon Lawyer Looks Post Terror, The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 1, 2012; Charlie Savage, Pentagon Counsel Speaks of Post-Qaeda Challenges," The New York Times, December 1, 2012; Barney Henderson, "Al-Qaeda war nearing tipping point, says US," The Daily Telegraph, Dec 1, 2012; Nick Hopkins, "War on al-Qaida drawing to a close, says Obama lawyer," the Guardian, Dec 1, 2012; Daniel Klaidman, "Will Obama End the War on Terror," Newsweek magazine, Dec 24, 2012.
  31. ↑ See, e.g., Fareed Zakaria, "Time to terminate the war on terror," Washington Post op-ed, December 6, 2012.
  32. ↑ Duty by Robert M. Gates, pp. 283 and 332 (Alfred A. Knopf, 2014)
  33. ↑ Jeh Johnson OK’d for Homeland Security
  34. ↑ Secretary Jeh Johnson | Homeland Security
  35. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/23/us/us-faces-suit-over-tactics-at-immigrant-detention-center.html?

External links

Legal offices
Preceded by
Sheila Cheston		 General Counsel of the Air Force
1998–1999 		Succeeded by
Mary Walker
Preceded by
William Haynes		 General Counsel of the Department of Defense
2009–2012 		Succeeded by
Stephen Preston
Preceded by
Rand Beers
Acting		 United States Secretary of Homeland Security
2013–present 		Incumbent
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Robert McDonald
as Secretary of Veterans Affairs		 Order of Precedence of the United States
as Secretary of Homeland Security 		Succeeded by
Denis McDonough
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Robert McDonald
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