Kenneth A. Polite, Jr.

Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. served as the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division from July 2021 to August 2023. In that capacity, Mr. Polite supervised the 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. Polite came to the Division with prior public service at the U.S. Department of Justice. During the Obama/Biden administration, Mr. Polite served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans, where he championed prevention, reentry, and enforcement in improving public safety from 2013 to 2017. As the chief federal law enforcement officer for Southeast Louisiana, he supervised the work of approximately 55 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and was responsible for all criminal and civil matters in which the federal government was involved. Those matters included political corruption, gang violence, narcotics distribution, healthcare fraud, human trafficking, civil rights violations, tax evasion, and environmental crimes. In April 2015, Attorney General Loretta Lynch appointed Kenneth to serve on the Attorney General's Advisory Committee (AGAC) of U.S. Attorneys. The AGAC serves as the voice of the 93 U.S. Attorneys across the nation and provides advice and counsel to the U.S. Attorney General and other senior leaders at the Department on policy, management, and operational issues. In addition, he served as a member of the AGAC Subcommittees on Violent and Organized Crime, White Collar Crime, and Civil Rights, as well as the Smart on Crime Working Group. In 2007, Mr. Polite began his public service career as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted a broad range of federal offenses, including organized crime, public corruption, healthcare fraud, and identity theft. A Smart on Crime advocate, he is also a frequent speaker on criminal justice reform. A supporter and active board member of several non-profit organizations, Mr. Polite has received an honorary doctorate in recognition of his public service.

Prior to his confirmation as the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, Mr. Polite served as a partner in the Philadelphia office of a large international law firm where his practice focused on counseling executives and corporate management on complex and sensitive issues and handles internal and government investigations, white collar criminal defense, commercial litigation, appellate advocacy, and corporate compliance and governance, particularly in the energy and healthcare sectors. Before that, he served as Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New Orleans, where he led the Ethics and Compliance Department, with responsibility for fostering a culture of integrity and compliance with the company’s code of conduct. He also has served in private practice as a white-collar defense attorney in Pennsylvania, New York, and Louisiana, focusing on internal investigations and corporate compliance.

Mr. Polite clerked for the Honorable Thomas L. Ambro of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Mr. Polite received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., and his A.B. from Harvard University in Cambridge, M.A.