Anthony John Trenga (born 1949) is a Senior

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, Hampton ...

as well as a judge on 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 a ...

Education

Trenga was born in Wilmerding, Pennsylvania. He graduated from

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent selective college-preparatory boarding & day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximat ...

in 1967 and received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1971. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1974 and a LL.M from Duke University Law School. He was a law clerk to Judge Ted Dalton of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia from 1974 to 1975.

Career

From 1975 to 1987, Trenga was in private practice in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

with the law firm Sachs, Greenebaum & Tayler, becoming a partner in 1982. He was managing partner at Hazel & Thomas in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

from 1987 to 1998, and back in

from 1998 to 2008 ending as chair of the litigation department of

Miller & Chevalier Miller & Chevalier is a Washington, D.C. law firm founded in 1920. They have practices in Tax, Employee Benefits (including ERISA), International Law and Business, White Collar and Internal Investigations, Complex Litigation, and Government Aff ...

."New U.S. Judge in N.Va. Is Cited as Thorough and Fair"
by Jerry Markon with staff research by Meg Smith, ''Washington Post'', March 19, 2009. Retrieved Oct. 26, 2009. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers and a member of the American Law Institute.

Federal judicial service

Trenga is a United States District Judge of the

in Alexandria. Trenga was nominated by President

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 July 17, 2008, to a seat vacated by

Walter DeKalb Kelley Jr. Walter DeKalb Kelley Jr. (born July 28, 1955) is an American jurist who served as United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia from August 2004 to May 2008. Education and career A native of ...

He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on September 26, 2008, and received his commission on October 14, 2008. Trenga assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on June 1, 2021.

Notable cases

In October 2009, Trenga set aside the jury conviction of two top salespeople at Teach Me to Trade, a part of Whitney Information Network, which uses

infomercials An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...

and hotel seminars across the country to sell courses and software on making money in the stock market. In a 51-page ruling, Trenga said prosecutors failed to show Utah residents Linda Woolf and David Gengler had been part of any fraud scheme. On March 24, 2017, Trenga was the first federal judge to rule in favor of the

Trump administration Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...

's executive order that limits travel from six Muslim-majority countries. On September 4, 2019, Trenga ruled that the United States government's watchlist of “known or suspected terrorists” violates the constitutional rights of those listed on it. On September 24, 2019, Trenga set aside the conviction of Bijan Khan, business partner of Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, on acting as an agent for a foreign power without notifying the Justice Department. In May 2019, Trenga ordered

Chelsea Manning Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (born Bradley Edward Manning; December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower. She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage A ...

to be jailed for

civil contempt Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

for her refusal to testify before a grand jury pursuant to a subpoena. This came a week after Manning was freed after 62 days in jail for her defiance of a previous grand jury subpoena. In March 2020, Trenga rescinded his order directing the jailing of Manning, after she attempted to kill herself the day before. Trenga ordered that Manning pay $256,000 in fines that had accumulated over the course of her confinement.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trenga, Anthony John 1949 births Living people 21st-century American judges American people of Italian descent Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Judges of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Mercersburg Academy alumni People from Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania Princeton University alumni United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush University of Virginia School of Law alumni