John P. Carlin

The Honorable John P. Carlin was the Assistant Attorney General for National Security from April 2014 through October 2016.  As AAG, Mr. Carlin oversaw nearly 400 employees responsible for protecting the country against international and domestic terrorism, espionage, cyber, and other national security threats.  Under his leadership, NSD worked with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and others to:

- Prosecute the Boston Marathon bombing cases.

- Disrupt multiple terrorist plots and national security threats and bring those involved to justice.

- Oversee the efforts of the National Security Cyber Specialist Network and the National Security/Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council program.

- Investigate the attack on Sony Entertainment’s computer systems.

- Bring an unprecedented indictment against five members of the Chinese military for economic espionage.

- Secure the first federal jury conviction on charges brought under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996.

- Launch a nationwide outreach effort across industries to raise awareness of national security cyber and espionage threats against American companies and to encourage greater C-suite involvement in corporate cyber security matters.

Mr. Carlin joined NSD after serving as Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel to Robert S. Mueller, III, Director of the FBI, where he helped lead the Bureau’s evolution to meet growing and changing national security threats, including cyber threats.  A career federal prosecutor, Mr. Carlin previously served as National Coordinator of DOJ’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) program and as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the District of Columbia, where he prosecuted cases ranging from homicide and sexual offenses to cyber, fraud, and public corruption matters.

Mr. Carlin, who joined DOJ through the Attorney General’s Honors Program, earned his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School, where he received the Samuel J. Heyman Fellowship for Federal Government Service and served as Articles editor for the Harvard Journal on Legislation.  Mr. Carlin earned his Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Williams College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.