John E. Kuhn, Jr. Appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska

ANCHORAGE – Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed John Kuhn as U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska effective December 26, 2021, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 546.

Kuhn most recently served with the Executive Office for United States Attorneys since 2018 in various roles, including National Heroin and Opioid Coordinator, National Controlled Substances Coordinator, and Acting Assistant Director in the Office of Legal Programs. 

“I’m honored to serve as the United States Attorney in the great state of Alaska. The dedicated prosecutors and staff in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska are some of the best in the nation, and together we will continue to fulfill our mission, protecting the people of Alaska and the interests of the United States.” 

Before joining the Executive Office, Kuhn served as United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky for nearly three years, from December 2014 to September 2017. During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Kuhn was deeply engaged in combatting the opioid crisis, developing a number of effective initiatives and programs. Before he became U.S. Attorney, Kuhn served for more than four years as First Assistant U.S. Attorney, supervising the Criminal, Civil, Appellate, and Administrative Divisions of the Office.

Kuhn has more than 31 years of legal experience and 24 years with the Department of Justice. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in both the Civil and Criminal Divisions of the Western District of Kentucky U.S. Attorney’s Office, where he prosecuted narcotics, violent crime, and white-collar offenses. In addition to his extensive trial work, Kuhn argued appeals before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and served as a hearing officer in Washington, D.C. and New York City for the September 11^th Victims Compensation Fund, a federal program established for victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Mr. Kuhn graduated cum laude from the University of Louisville School of Law and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky.

Kuhn replaces former Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson, who served in that role since March 1, 2021. Wilson is returning to his role as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney where he has served since November 2017.  

For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ak

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