Rachel Brand - No 3 at DOJ and likely new boss of Bob Mueller. Fun & Boring facts.

[OnDoutside]

In light of Rob Rosenstein's bizarre statement last night, his recusal is looking highly likely much sooner than later. IF/When that happens, Bob Mueller would then report to the No 3 at the DOJ, Rachel Brand. So, what do know about Brand ? Here are some facts to help us/make us concerned

Rachel Lee Brand (born May 1, 1973) is an American lawyer, academic, and government official. She was sworn in as the United States Associate Attorney General on May 22, 2017, after being nominated to the position by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the United States Senate. Brand is the first woman to serve as Associate Attorney General.[1] She served as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy in the George W. Bush administration and was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. Prior to becoming Associate Attorney General, Brand was an associate professor at Antonin Scalia Law School.

Brand, the daughter and granddaughter of Dutch dairy farmers, grew up in a small town in Iowa. A graduate of the University of Minnesota Morris and Harvard Law School, Brand clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Justice Charles Fried. Following her clerkships, Brand worked at the firm Cooper, Carvin, & Rosenthal, now known as Cooper & Kirk.

Brand served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy in the George W. Bush administration and was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. Brand served as Chief Counsel for Regulatory Litigation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Brand is the chairman of the Federalist Society's Litigation Practice Group and co-chair of the American Bar Association Administrative Law Section's Government Information and Right to Privacy Committee

On February 1, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Brand to be United States Associate Attorney General. Her appointment was confirmed 52–46 by the U.S. Senate on May 18, 2017

Wife of Jonathan Cohn, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General at DOJ

Source : Wikipedia

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/former-bush-official-rachel-brand-takes-over-no-3-position-at-justice-dept/2017/05/25/75e3aa80-40bb-11e7-8c25-44d09ff5a4a8_story.html?utm_term=.2b63ecb0fa33

Before Brand arrived, Attorney General Jeff Sessions had already sparked controversy with his actions on civil rights issues. He has begun to undo the Justice Department’s policy toward transgender students in public schools; unsuccessfully tried to pull back from a sweeping reform agreement the department has with the Baltimore Police Department; ordered officials to review other reform agreements with troubled police forces nationwide; and reversed the Justice Department’s position on a voting rights law in Texas that a federal court has found intentionally discriminatory.

snip

“The challenge of her job is that she is responsible for oversight of some of the most politically difficult issues,” said Jamie Gorelick (Hillary Clinton 2016 Supporter who is currently Jared Kushner's Personal Lawyer !!!), who served as deputy attorney general under Attorney General Janet Reno and worked with Brand at the Wilmer Hale law firm. “All of the main places where there are differences between Republicans and Democrats reside in the civil litigation divisions. I think Rachel is well prepared — she’s very smart and very thoughtful — but that’s going to be a very hard job.”

Snip

Brand then worked for the firm Cooper, Carvin & Rosenthal (now Cooper & Kirk), which is led by former Reagan administration Justice Department official Charles Cooper. Brand tinkered in politics on Elizabeth Dole’s presidential campaign, and when Bush became president, White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales hired Brand to work for him. She moved over to the Justice Department as Bush’s assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy, which develops and implements the department’s significant policy initiatives. In that position, she led the “murder boards,” sessions to prepare John G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A. Alito Jr. for their Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

Brand left the Justice Department in 2007, spent three years at Wilmer Hale and then became the vice president and chief counsel for regulatory litigation for the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center — a job that drew criticism from Democrats during her confirmation hearing.

“She carries a heavily skewed, pro-corporate agenda that would do further harm to the Justice Department and its independence,” said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.).

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Brand “has extensive experience, years of experience, fighting on behalf of the biggest and richest companies in the world.”

In response to a question about her work at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce from Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), Brand said she had spent most of her career in public service.

“When I was at the Chamber of Commerce, I had a client, the Chamber of Commerce, and, as a litigator there, my job was to file lawsuits and file amicus briefs on behalf of that client,” Brand said. “If I’m confirmed to this position, of course, I’ll have a very different role. . . . My client will be the United States, and my role will be to serve the public interest and the interest of justice, representing that client as best I can.”

On the Positive Side......

President Barack Obama appointed Brand in 2012 to be a member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an independent, bipartisan agency within the White House that advised the president on the privacy and civil liberties implications of the government’s surveillance programs.

“She’s a top-notch analytic lawyer and really good at figuring out what is the art of the possible,” said Neal Katyal, former acting solicitor general in the Obama administration who worked with Brand when she was at the Chamber. “But the big issue for everyone at the Justice Department right now is how rigorously they’re going to police the rule of law.”

[kentuck]

1. I notice that she was approved by mostly party-line vote...

...less than a month ago?

Was she put into this position for a purpose??

[OnDoutside]

2. Yes, that occurred to me too. Interesting that she seemed Republican on Business issues, but then

is touched by the Scalia Rightism. As of now, we should be nervous about her impending influence.

[Lars39]

3. Sessions mentioned new hires in his testimony,fwiw.