Statement by Attorney General Sessions on the Confirmation of Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued the following statement on the Senate’s confirmation of John C. Demers as Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division:

“Among his outstanding accomplishments in a distinguished legal career, John Demers was on the leadership team at the creation of the National Security Division, which today plays a crucial role in protecting Americans from the threat of terrorism, and protecting our national security from compromise by state-sponsored espionage, cyber intruders and the unauthorized disclosure of classified information,” said Attorney General Sessions.  “I am grateful to the Senate for confirming John and I look forward to his return to the department, where his significant experience in both the private sector and public service will most certainly benefit the American people. We look forward to the Senate quickly confirming our remaining nominees.”

The mission of the National Security Division is to carry out the Department’s highest priority: protect the United States from threats to our national security by pursuing justice through the law. The NSD's organizational structure is designed to ensure coordination and unity of purpose between prosecutors and law enforcement agencies, on the one hand, and intelligence attorneys and the Intelligence Community, on the other, thus strengthening the effectiveness of the federal government’s national security efforts.

Prior to his confirmation, Mr. Demers was Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at The Boeing Company. He has held several senior positions at the company including in Boeing Defense, Space, and Security and as lead lawyer and head of international government affairs for Boeing International.

From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Demers served on the first leadership team of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, first as Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General and then as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Law & Policy. Before that, he served in the Office of Legal Counsel. For the past eight years, he has taught national security law as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Mr. Demers worked in private practice in Boston and clerked for Associate Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He graduated from Harvard Law School and the College of the Holy Cross.