Senate Confirms Terwilliger as United States Attorney

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – G. Zachary Terwilliger has been confirmed by the United States Senate as the 62nd United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

“I am humbled, thankful, and deeply honored to be confirmed as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia,” said Terwilliger. “As a federal prosecutor who focused on complex violent crime, organized crime, fraud, and human trafficking cases for almost a decade, I have had the privilege of working with some of the best law enforcement officers, prosecutors, attorneys, and colleagues in the country. I owe a huge debt to those who took the time to teach me how to be an AUSA, and to the many AUSAs from 1789 to present who have made this district one of the best in the country.”

“I am grateful to the President for my nomination, the Attorney General for his willingness to support my prior appointment, to Senators Warner and Kaine for their recommendation and endorsement, and to my family for their constant support, patience, and understanding as I have pursued the calling of public service,” said Terwilliger.

“Since the Attorney General appointed me in late May, I have travelled to each sector of the District and engaged in substantive strategy meetings with over 100 law enforcement leaders in our Alexandria, Newport News, Norfolk, and Richmond divisions, including chiefs of police, sheriffs, commonwealth’s attorneys, and federal law enforcement officials,” said Terwilliger. “With the strong federal, state, and local collaboration that exists in the Eastern District, we are bringing impact cases and fighting violent crime, gangs, opioids, national security threats and criminal immigration offenses. In the last three months, we have charged nearly 40 illegal firearms cases, 60 defendants for trafficking illegal substances such as heroin and fentanyl, and nearly 100 criminal immigration cases that include many defendants who have committed serious, dangerous offenses in our communities. We have also continued our critical work battling espionage and terrorism, defending civil actions against the United States, its agencies, and employees, pursuing affirmative civil enforcement to recover government money lost to fraud, upholding the civil rights of the District’s citizens, protecting servicemembers’ rights, fighting fraud against vulnerable victims and our institutions, as well as prosecuting cyber intrusion, child exploitation, and trafficking offenses.”  

“This important work has been recognized by the Department, and with tremendous support from the Attorney General and our administrative staff here, I have had the great fortune to hire 25 new employees, including 15 new Assistant United States Attorneys, who will be force multipliers for our mission.”

Terwilliger began his career at EDVA as an intern in 1999. In 2008, he was hired as the Project Safe Neighborhood Special Assistant U.S. Attorney to focus on gun and gang crime. In 2010, Terwilliger was hired as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Immediately prior to his appointment as U.S. Attorney on May 25, Terwilliger served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General, and Chief of Staff in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice. In that role, Terwilliger was a principal advisor to senior Department of Justice leadership for corporate compliance, federal, state and local law enforcement cooperation, violent crime reduction, and other critical matters.

As U.S. Attorney, Terwilliger is the chief federal law enforcement officer in EDVA and supervises the prosecution of all federal crimes and the litigation of all civil matters in which the United States has an interest. Terwilliger leads a staff of over 250 prosecutors, civil litigators, and support personnel located in Alexandria, Newport News, Norfolk, and Richmond.

Terwilliger earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and graduated with the highest honors from the William & Mary School of Law. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable K. Michael Moore, currently the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. 

Terwilliger has lived in the Eastern District of Virginia for over 25 years.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.