John Demers

Demers was born in Gubbio, Italy. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and Harvard Law School.[3]

Prior to his post in the United States Department of Justice, Demers served as the vice president and assistant general counsel at Boeing. Demers clerked for Diarmuid O'Scannlain of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States. He worked in private practice before serving in the Office of Legal Counsel. Demers was on the leadership team of the United States Department of Justice National Security Division, first as senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General and then as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Law & Policy. Demers is an adjunct professor of national security law at Georgetown University Law Center.[4][5]

In March 2020, the Justice Department dropped the indictment against Russian company Concord Management and Consulting. The indictment stemmed from Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Demers and US Attorney Timothy Shea said that while "the prosecution was properly commenced in the first place", continuing to pursue the case would "risk of exposure of law enforcement's tools and techniques". Concord lawyer Eric Dubelier who sought a trial in the case said the purpose of the indictment was "to make a political statement regarding the outcome of the 2016 election that was grossly overstated".[6][7]

Demers led the DOJ's China Initiative, an effort to counter Chinese espionage and intelligence activities in the U.S.[8][9]

• List of Chinese spy cases in the United States
• Trump–Ukraine scandal

• Biography at Boeing
• Biography at Georgetown Law