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]
Early life and education
MacBride 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
Prior 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. 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
On 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
- ^ "Davis Polk Welcomes Former U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride". November 21, 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
- ^ 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 (January 23, 2009). "Obama picks BSA's antipiracy enforcer for high-level post | Politics and Law - CNET News". News.cnet.com. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
- ^ a b c "United States Attorney's Office - Welcome to the Eastern District of Virginia". Archived from the original on November 30, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Megaupload: U.S. Government Trying to Rewrite the Rules". July 19, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
- ^ "New Zealand's High Court Steps Into Extradition Fight Over Kim Dotcom". June 15, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
- ^ "Government trying to deny Megaupload fair legal representation". April 15, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
- ^ "Megaupload says US trying to change rules to allow prosecution". April 19, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
- ^ "Retired judge joins fight against DoJ's "outrageous" Megaupload seizures". June 14, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
- ^ "NZ spies knew Kim Dotcom shouldn't have been spied on, did it anyway". May 19, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
- ^ "Agency Review Teams". President-Elect Joe Biden. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominations". The White House. June 3, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ "PN615 – Neil Harvey MacBride – Department of the Treasury 117th Congress (2021–2022)". US Congress. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Neil Harvey MacBride, of Virginia, to be General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury)". US Senate. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ "Neil H. MacBride". United States Department of the Treasury. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
- ^ "3 Things To Know About The US Treasury's Exiting GC". Law360. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
External links
Media related to Neil MacBride at Wikimedia Commons