Department of Justice Seal Department of Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2004
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
AG
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888

ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHCROFT NAMES KENNETH L. WAINSTEIN AS
INTERIM U.S. ATTORNEY


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorney General John Ashcroft today named Kenneth L. Wainstein as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Wainstein, currently Chief of Staff to FBI Director Robert Mueller, will replace U.S. Attorney Roscoe Howard, Jr., who resigned today.

“Ken has served our nation with distinction for years, fighting gang violence and working to keep hardened criminals off the street,” said Attorney General John Ashcroft. “As interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, he will bring to the job a high degree of professionalism, legal expertise, and practical experience.”

“Ken’s experience in two U.S. Attorneys’ Offices prosecuting high-impact cases, coupled with his work on the FBI’s transformation during a critical time, makes him uniquely suited to serve as interim U.S. Attorney,” said FBI Director Robert Mueller. “He has been a tremendous asset to my office and to the entire Bureau. His creativity and his constant pursuit of excellence will serve Washington D.C. very well.”

Prior to his promotion to Chief of Staff in March 2003, Wainstein served as the General Counsel of the FBI. From August 2001 to July 2002, he served as Director of the Justice Department’s Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, where he provided oversight and support to the 94 offices of the United States Attorneys and acted as a liaison between the U.S. Attorneys, the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, and the various components of the Department of Justice. Wainstein was the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia between April and August of 2001.

Wainstein is a 1984 graduate of the University of Virginia, and a 1988 graduate of the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. He clerked for Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before beginning his Justice Department career as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York two months later. While in the Southern District, he handled a variety of prosecutions, including fraud, narcotics, and public corruption cases.

In 1992, Wainstein transferred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia, where he served for nine years and handled a number of high profile cases, including the Starbucks murder case and a groundbreaking case that used the RICO statute against a robbery ring. As a line prosecutor and Deputy Chief of the Homicide Section between 1994 and 1999, he specialized in the prosecution of federal racketeering cases against violent street gangs. He later served as Deputy Chief of the Superior Court Division and Principal Assistant U.S. Attorney, and was awarded the Director’s Award for Superior Performance in 1997 and 2000.

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