Neil Harvey MacBride (born October 14, 1965) is an American attorney who served as the General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury in the Biden administration. He previously served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.[1] The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed MacBride's nomination as U.S. Attorney on September 15, 2009, and he took office three days later. He left office on September 13, 2013.[2]
Neil MacBride | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General Counsel of the United States Department of the Treasury | |
| In office February 22, 2022 – June 28, 2024 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Brian Callanan |
| United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia | |
| In office September 18, 2009 – September 13, 2013 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Chuck Rosenberg |
| Succeeded by | Dana Boente |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 14, 1965 Schenectady, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Houghton College University of Virginia |
Early life and education
editMacBride was born in Schenectady, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and the humanities from Houghton University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Career
editPrior to his appointment by President Barack Obama,[3] MacBride served as an associate deputy attorney general at the Department of Justice.[4]
MacBride formerly served as vice president, anti-piracy and general counsel, of the Business Software Alliance,[4] where he oversaw global anti-piracy enforcement and copyright policy. Prior to that, he served as staff director and chief counsel to Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-Del.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2001 to 2005. From 1996 to 2001, MacBride was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.[4] Before his stint in public service, MacBride practiced law with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, Chartered. He also served as a judicial law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr. in the Eastern District of Virginia.
He is a barrister with the Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court and serves on the board of advisors of the Center on Law & Security at New York University.
He was the lead prosecutor in the Megaupload controversy.[5][6][7][8][9][10]
In November 2020, MacBride was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of Justice.[11]
Nomination to be general counsel
editOn June 3, 2021, President Biden nominated MacBride to be the next general counsel of the Department of the Treasury.[12] The Senate's Finance Committee held hearings on his nomination on September 22, 2021. On December 16, 2021, the committee voted to favorably report his nomination to the Senate floor.[13] On February 9, 2022, the entire Senate confirmed MacBride's nomination by a vote of 61–33.[14] He was sworn in on February 22, 2022.[15] He resigned in June 2024.[16]
References
edit- ^ "Davis Polk Welcomes Former U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride". 2013-11-21. Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
- ^ Jennifer Koons (August 22, 2013). "Eastern Va. U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride Stepping Down". Main Justice. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014.
- ^ McCullagh, Declan (2009-01-23). "Obama picks BSA's antipiracy enforcer for high-level post | Politics and Law - CNET News". News.cnet.com. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
- ^ a b c "United States Attorney's Office - Welcome to the Eastern District of Virginia". Archived from the original on November 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Megaupload: U.S. Government Trying to Rewrite the Rules". 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
- ^ "New Zealand's High Court Steps Into Extradition Fight Over Kim Dotcom". 2012-06-15. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
- ^ "Government trying to deny Megaupload fair legal representation". 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
- ^ "Megaupload says US trying to change rules to allow prosecution". 2013-04-19. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
- ^ "Retired judge joins fight against DoJ's "outrageous" Megaupload seizures". 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
- ^ "NZ spies knew Kim Dotcom shouldn't have been spied on, did it anyway". 2013-05-19. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
- ^ "Agency Review Teams". President-Elect Joe Biden. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominations". The White House. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ "PN615 – Neil Harvey MacBride – Department of the Treasury 117th Congress (2021–2022)". US Congress. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Neil Harvey MacBride, of Virginia, to be General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury)". US Senate. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ "Neil H. MacBride". United States Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
- ^ "3 Things To Know About The US Treasury's Exiting GC". Law360. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
External links
edit Media related to Neil MacBride at Wikimedia Commons