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 ...

National Security Division (NSD) handles national security functions of the department. Created by the 2005 USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization, the division consolidated all of the department's national security and intelligence functions into a single division. The division is headed by the Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

History

The National Security Division was created under Section 506 of the 2005 USA PATRIOT Act reauthorization, which was signed into law by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

on March 9, 2006. It consolidated the department's national security efforts within one unit, bringing together attorneys from the Counterterrorism Section and Counterespionage Section of the Criminal Division and from the

Office of Intelligence Policy and Review The Office of Intelligence Policy and Review (OIPR) was a staff agency within the United States Department of Justice. It was responsible for handling all Justice Department requests for surveillance authorizations under the terms of the 1978 Forei ...

(OIPR), with their specialized expertise in the

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA" , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and the collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign pow ...

and other intelligence matters. This fulfilled a recommendation of the Iraq Intelligence Commission (Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction). In 2010, its budget was $88 million.

Leadership

The head of the National Security Division is an Assistant Attorney General for National Security (AAG-NS) appointed by the President of the United States.

Matthew G. Olsen Matthew Glen Olsen (born February 21, 1962) is an American attorney who has served as the Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division since 2021. He is the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Born in Fargo ...

, the current AAG-NS, was confirmed to the role with the

advice and consent Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previ ...

of the Senate. Previously,

John Demers John Charles Demers (born September 21, 1971) is an American attorney who served as the assistant attorney general of the National Security Division. An appointee of President Donald Trump, he served under both, President Donald Trump and Presi ...

, the AAG-NS appointed under President Donald Trump, continued to serve under the incoming President Joe Biden administration, but he left the role in June 2021 in the wake of news reports that the Justice officials had seized the phone records of Congressional members and staff.

Organization

The National Security Division is overseen by the Assistant Attorney General with whom the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General oversees the Executive Office - The office that administers the entire division. In assistance are four deputy assistant attorneys general, all career civil servants, whom oversee each section. *Counterintelligence and Export Control Section - Responsible for supervising investigations and prosecutions relating to espionage, or trafficking of national security information and military hardware. *Counterterrorism Section - Responsible for supporting Law Enforcement efforts, policy and strategy in combatting international and domestic terrorism. *Foreign Investment and Review Section - Responsible for investigating and mitigating foreign investment in critical U.S. infrastructure and commerce. *Office of Law and Policy - Responsible for developing national security policies and strategies within the Justice Department. *Office of Intelligence - Responsible for legal and regulatory oversight of the U.S. Intelligence Community. The office contains three sections **''Operations Section'' - Responsible for pursuing legal authorization of U.S. Intelligence Operations and representing the government in a

FISA Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests for surveillance warrants ag ...

. **''Oversight Section'' - Responsible for oversight of the Intelligence Community and ensuring full legal compliance and protection of individual privacy and civil liberties. **''Litigation Section'' - Responsible for handling information gathered from FISA-related activities and preparation of the information for litigation. *Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism - Responsible for working with terrorism victims and their families to pursue and prosecute the culprits.

Controversies

In December 2019, Michael Horowitz, the Inspector General of the DoJ released a report accusing the Division of lying to the

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), also called the FISA Court, is a U.S. federal court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to oversee requests for surveillance warrants aga ...

in some of its applications for wiretaps. The Presiding Judge of the Court subsequently ordered the Division to "inform the Court in a sworn written submission of what it has done, and plans to do, to ensure that the statement of facts in each FBI application accurately and completely reflects information possessed by the FBI that is material to any issue presented by the application."

List of assistant attorneys general

References

External links

* {{authority control National Security Division Counterintelligence agencies Government agencies established in 2006