John Larkin McKay (born June 19, 1956) is a former

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the

Western District of Washington The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (in case citations, W.D. Wash.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties of the state of Washington: Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays ...

Background

McKay, a member of a prominent Republican family in the state, attended

Seattle Preparatory School Seattle Preparatory School, popularly known as Seattle Prep, is a private, Jesuit high school located on Capitol Hill in Seattle, Washington. Curriculum Students generally pursue a traditional four-year course of study at Seattle Prep and then p ...

and the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

in 1978. After working as an aide to Congressman Joel Pritchard (R-WA) in 1978–79, McKay earned his J.D. degree at

Creighton University School of Law Creighton University School of Law, located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, is a component of the Jesuit Creighton University. According to Creighton's official 2019 ABA-required disclosures, 75% of the Class of 2019 obtained full-time, long-t ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

in 1982. He was admitted to the Washington State Bar and joined the Seattle law firm of Lane Powell Spears Lubersky in 1982, eventually becoming a litigation partner with that firm. He then joined Cairncross & Hempelmann in Seattle, leading its litigation group and serving as a member of its management committee. He was admitted to practice before the

United States District Court 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 co ...

, the

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

, and the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

Career as U.S. Attorney and dismissal

McKay was one of eight

U.S. attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

s fired by the Bush administration in 2006 which were, after the fact, publicly described as being for performance-related issues related to "policy, priorities and management."

Appointment as U.S. Attorney

McKay was appointed

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 ...

in October 2001. He had received a positive evaluation seven months before he was dismissed. Among his noteworthy achievements the successful prosecution of terrorist

Ahmed Ressam Ahmed Ressam ( ar, احمد رسام; also Benni Noris or the Millennium Bomber; born May 9, 1967) is an Algerian al-Qaeda member who lived for a time in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He received extensive terrorist training in Afghanistan. He was c ...

. Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey gave McKay the additional responsibility of overseeing a pilot program for a computer system (called Law Enforcement Information Exchange) for his success he earned the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

's highest civilian honor. The '' Seattle Times'' noted in February 2007, "One of the most persistent rumors in Seattle legal circles is that the

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

forced McKay, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, to resign to appease Washington State Republicans angry over the 2004 governor's race. Some believe McKay's dismissal was retribution for his failure to convene a federal grand jury to investigate allegations of

voter fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

in the race." On March 17, 2007, the ''Seattle Times'' reported, "Former Republican congressman Rick White, one of three candidates the Republicans have submitted to replace John McKay as U.S. attorney for Western Washington, cannot practice law in the state. White's license was suspended by the state Supreme Court in August 2003 for failure to pay his bar dues. He was reinstated to the bar in 2005 after paying a small fee, but currently holds an 'inactive' status", which is common for attorneys that are not actively practicing law. In congressional testimony,

Kyle Sampson D. Kyle Sampson (born in Cedar City, Utah) was the Chief of Staff and Counselor of United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. He resigned on March 12, 2007, amid the controversy surrounding the firing of eight United States Attorneys i ...

, chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, testified that McKay may have been fired at least in part because of his advocacy for a more-aggressive investigation into the

cold case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

murder of Assistant U.S. Attorney

Thomas C. Wales Thomas Crane Wales (June 23, 1952 – October 12, 2001) was an American federal prosecutor and gun control advocate who was the victim of an unsolved murder. In 2018, FBI investigators announced they strongly suspected the killing to have been ...

of Seattle. In 2018, the FBI reported Wales's death was likely the result of a conspiracy that included a contract killer. His pursuit of the case and subsequent firing were the subjects of an article by

Jeffrey Toobin Jeffrey Ross Toobin (; born May 21, 1960) is an American lawyer, author, blogger, and longtime legal analyst for CNN. He left CNN on September 4, 2022. During the Iran–Contra affair, Toobin served as an associate counsel on this investigation ...

in the August 6, 2007 issue of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

.'' Toobin noted that Gonzales assured Wales's family that the investigation was still a top priority of the Justice Department.

Post-U.S. Attorney career

On May 21, 2007, Getty Images announced that McKay would join the corporation as senior vice president and general counsel, based in its headquarters in Seattle. On September 17, 2007, Jonathan Klein, CEO of Getty Images, announced that McKay would be stepping down as general counsel to return to the law faculty at Seattle University where he will teach full-time. McKay was a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle. McKay left Davis Wright Tremaine in 2021. During his career as a U.S. Attorney, McKay was the prosecutor of Canadian marijuana activist

Marc Emery Marc Scott Emery (born February 13, 1958) is a Canadian cannabis rights activist, entrepreneur and politician. Often described as the "Prince of Pot", Emery has been a notable advocate of international cannabis policy reform, and has been active ...

for marijuana seed distribution from Canada. Since that time, McKay has called for reform of marijuana laws such that its sale be legally regulated and taxed.

References

External links

Official biography, U.S. Attorney's Office
* *
Train Wreck at the Justice Department: An Eyewitness Account
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, John 1956 births Living people Creighton University School of Law alumni Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy Lawyers from Seattle University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni Washington (state) Republicans United States Attorneys for the Western District of Washington Seattle University faculty