ATTORNEY GENERAL APPOINTS JEFF TAYLOR TO BE COUNSEL TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR CRIMINAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY MATTERS

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Attorney General John Ashcroft has appointed Jeff Taylor to be Counsel to the Attorney General for criminal and national security matters. Taylor replaces Dan Levin who is serving as the Chief of Staff for FBI Director Bob Mueller.

"Jeff's experience as a federal prosecutor as well as his service on the Senate Judiciary Committee make him an ideal person to person to work on these critical issues" said Ashcroft. "I welcome the opportunity to work with him and am confident that he will be a tremendous asset to the Justice Department."

Taylor was most recently an assistant U.S. Attorney in San Diego where he was assigned to the Narcotics Enforcement Section and focused on investigating and prosecuting large scale drug trafficking. He has served there since 1995 during which time he has been involved in more than 50 narcotics investigations and numerous trials including several appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

In 1999-2001, he was detailed to the Senate Judiciary Committee where he supervised the committee's Crime Unit. After that, he returned to San Diego to continue serving as an Assistant United States Attorney.

Taylor also worked at Latham and Watkins as a Litigation Associate and was a law clerk for the Honorable John C. Mowbray, Chief Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court.

He graduated from Harvard Law School, in 1991, and Stanford University in 1987.

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