Richard Pilger (born 1965) is an American attorney and retired government official who served as the Director of the Election Crimes Branch at the Criminal Division of the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
from March 2010 to November 2020, returning to the civil service position in February 2021 through his retirement in July 2022. He is currently an unaffiliated private attorney.
Early life and education
Pilger was born in 1965. Pilger studied English and Philosophy at the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
from 1983 to 1987. In 1990, he earned a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is located on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The school is named after Michael S. "Mickey" Maurer, an Indianapolis businessman and 1967 alumnus who donated $35 million in 2008 ...
in
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...
.
Career
After law school, Pilger clerked for James T. Moody, a United States District Court Judge.
He joined the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
via the Attorney General's Honors Program.
IRS alleged targeting controversy
Pilger had previously been involved in the
IRS targeting controversy
In 2013, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS), under the Obama administration, revealed that it had selected political groups applying for tax-exempt status for intensive scrutiny based on their names or political themes. This led t ...
, after being linked to Lois Lerner. In 2013, the United States
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
(IRS) revealed that it had selected conservative political groups applying for tax-exempt status for intensive scrutiny based on their names or political themes. Pilger in his capacity as the head of the Election Crimes Branch met with Exempt Organizations Unit director
Lois Lerner
Lois Gail Lerner (born October 12, 1950) is an American attorney and former United States federal civil service employee. Lerner became director of the Exempt Organizations Unit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2005, and subsequently bec ...
in October 2010 to discuss the problems of tax exempt groups' spending in the upcoming
2010 midterm election. Subsequent congressional investigations, and a 2017 report by the
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) is an office in the United States Federal government. It was established in January 1999 in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 98) t ...
found deficient IRS management practices, but no partisan targeting misconduct.
Notable cases
Prior to assuming his duties for election crimes, Pilger directly handled investigations, prosecutions, and appeals across the complete spectrum of public corruption matters at all levels and in all branches of government. Some of his notable cases include United States v. Spargo, N.D.N.Y. (judicial extortion); United States v. Siegelman & Scrushy, et al., (M.D. Al.) (former Governor and former CEO of HealthSouth convicted of bribery and obstruction of justice); United States v. Plowman, (S.D. Ind.) (Indianapolis city council and police extortion); United States v. Zachares, (D.D.C.) (former senior congressional staffer convicted of honest services fraud involving Jack Abramoff); United States v. West, et al., (E.D. Va.) (fraud and bank theft ring operated by CIA employees); United States v. Carroll, et al., (N.D. Ill.) (first modern conviction of U.S. Foreign Service Officer for overseas bribery conspiracy); Operation Lost Trust, (D.S.C.) (legislative bribery in South Carolina); and Operation BOPTROT, (E.D. Ky.) (legislative bribery in Kentucky); United States v. Newsome, et al., (E.D. Ky.) (vote-buying conspiracy). Pilger has received numerous awards for his corruption prosecutions, including the Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award, and the Assistant Attorney General's Award for Outstanding Trial Advocacy.
2020 election and resignation
Pilger resigned as Director on November 9, 2020, after United States Attorney General
William Barr
William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump.
Born and raised in New York City, Barr ...
gave an authorization for federal prosecutors to investigate specific allegations of voter fraud in the 2020
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
, going against decades-old guidance to wait until elections were finalized to overtly investigate allegations.
Barr's authorization prompted Pilger's resignation letter which described "an important new policy abrogating the forty-year-old Non-Interference Policy for ballot fraud investigations in the period prior to elections becoming certified and uncontested."
He continued at the Department of Justice as a line prosecutor in the Public Integrity Section prosecuting corruption cases until February 2021 when he resumed his role as Director of the Election Crimes Branch and a member of the Section's leadership.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilger, Richard
United States Department of Justice officials
Living people
1965 births
University of Notre Dame alumni
Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumni