Speaker biography

Michael Chertoff was sworn in as the second secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on February 15, 2005. He formerly served as United States Circuit judge for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Secretary Chertoff was previously confirmed by the Senate to serve in the Bush administration as assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice. As assistant attorney general, he helped trace the 9/11 terrorist attacks to the al-Qaeda network, and worked to increase information-sharing within the FBI and with state and local officials.Before joining the Bush administration, Secretary Chertoff was a partner in the law firm of Latham & Watkins. From 1994 to 1996, he served as special counsel for the U.S. Senate Whitewater Committee. Secretary Chertoff spent more than a decade as a federal prosecutor, including service as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, first assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, and assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. As a United States attorney, Chertoff investigated and prosecuted several significant cases involving political corruption, organized crime, and corporate fraud. Secretary Chertoff graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1975 and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1978. From 1979–1980 he served as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice William Brennan Jr.

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