The New York Times
Biden Choice for Justice Dept. see no. 2 is seen as a consensus builder
WASHINGTON – Lisa Monaco was President Barack Obama’s leading anti-terrorism adviser when she encountered an uncompromising problem: Solve the government’s ineffective response to the abduction of Americans by Islamic State fighters, prompting calls from families of the victims without making the government’s refusal to make concessions to terrorists. According to Matthew Olsen, a former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Monaco quickly introduced a change. She ordered that the families, who were kept in the dark about the restrictions of the government and even had threats of prosecution if they paid ransoms themselves, should be brought into the kraal. Most lost confidence in the government, and she sought them out to ensure that a new hostage policy was fair and credible. “It was a lot to Lisa’s honor,” said Diane Foley. The boy, James Foley, was the first American to be beheaded by the Islamic State in 2014. The Monaco government was the first American to be beheaded in 2014. administration has adopted a policy that includes: advising families on all their options and not threatening to prosecute themselves. Obama acknowledged that the government needed to treat them as ‘trusted partners’. Subscribe to The Morning Newsletter of the New York Times Now Monaco (53), a veteran of national security roles, plans to become deputy attorney general – the official no. 2 of the Department of Justice – where she is able to mediate consensus on politically charged issues. will be tested quickly. Among other things, she is expected to be a key player in the Biden administration’s fight to combat domestic extremism, which is most evident in the Justice Department’s investigation into the January 6 fatal attack on the Capitol. by a pro-Donald Trump crowd. Her experience with cyber issues will help give her office an influential voice, as the Biden government confronts threats from countries such as Russia, which was penalized on Thursday for the intrusion of U.S. government agencies and companies and for interfering in the 2020 presidential election. Monaco will also work closely with Attorney General Merrick Garland to rebuild trust in the Department of Justice after it became a target of Trump and his allies. Her resume makes her unique in tackling the department’s biggest issues, which include not only domestic extremism but also foreign cyberattacks, a sensitive investigation into Biden’s son and an open special investigation into the roots of the Russian investigation. Monaco is also known for being careful about supporting its views. “Good ideas die all the time because people do not go to the right congressman or cabinet secretary and get shopping,” said Ken Wainstein, who was Monaco’s predecessor as head of the national security department of Justice. “It’s the kind of thing Lisa’s masterful about.” The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously backed her nomination last month, and a dual coalition of senators is expected to confirm her in the coming days. The riot investigation is an important undertaking that will be part of Monaco, she would be confirmed. “After 9/11, protecting the country from foreign and foreign influencers was a major challenge for the FBI and the Department of Justice, with respect for privacy, civil rights and civil liberties,” said Jessie Liu, a partner at Skadden. Arps, Slate, Meagher, said. & Flom and a former U.S. attorney in Washington. She worked briefly with Monaco when they were both prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington. “Today, they face a similar challenge if the department wants to counter violent domestic extremism.” Investigators and prosecutors quickly charged more people after violating the Capitol than in any other investigation in the department’s history, but they sometimes disagreed on aspects of the investigation, including whether they viewed the attack as a direct criminal investigation or had to approach a national security intelligence operation, what to do according to requests and how aggressively rioters should be charged, according to two people who are aware of the discussions. Monaco will not only judge internal disputes; she will also seize consequential and potentially politically charged decisions, such as charging rioters with rioting. Republicans may criticize such an indictment as a way to target Trump’s supporters. Democrats, who often refer to the rioters as insurgents and domestic terrorists, can get angry if there is no rioting. Senate committees intensified pressure on the department and held public hearings on the security failures that led to the attack, and House Democrats requested related intelligence from federal agencies and local law enforcers. Monaco, originally from the Boston suburbs, graduated from Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School before serving as an attorney for Janet Reno, then attorney general. She worked as a federal prosecutor in Washington and joined the Enron task force, leading the prosecution of five former Enron executives. The Enron case quickly traced her career. In 2006, she worked as an adviser and then chief of staff to the then FBI director, Robert Mueller. In 2011, he became head of the Department of National Security of Justice. Two years later, she went to the White House to serve as Obama’s leading Homeland Security adviser, where she addressed the government’s response to threats such as the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and the 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida , coordinated. considered an act of domestic terrorism. Monaco has always had the ability to anticipate the next major threat, former colleagues said. During her time as head of the department’s national security department, she made the effort to deal with Chinese cyber threats. This eventually led to the indictment in 2014 of five members of China’s Liberation Army of China on charges of theft of own information from US Steel and other companies, in a case that helped the government stop China’s efforts to steal trade secrets and using academic research, withdrawing strengthens its global position. “We need to call these malicious cyber-actors and institute costs,” Monaco said at a conference in 2018, noting that hackers in Iran, North Korea and Russia are targeting US businesses. “The Trump administration basically kept the philosophy, but rightly accelerated it.” Monaco had ample opportunity to learn more about bureaucracy under Mueller, who was under pressure to prevent a major terrorist attack and break the FBI as the government’s failures leading up to the 9/11 attacks light came. Instead, he transformed it into an agency that served two missions: both its traditional role in investigating crimes and a intelligence-gathering function that works with the intelligence community to thwart any attacks. “She was directly involved in the development and mobilization of every FBI initiative, and ensured that the bureau coordinated and integrated the work with the rest of the government, through the Chief Justice and, if necessary, the White House and legislators, “Wainstein said. Monaco has the reputation of working and preparing relentlessly. She is proportionate and shows a quiet, firm confidence, even under pressure, friends and former colleagues said. She does not raise her voice. Friends call her funny and warm and self-controlled amidst praise. When an alumni department took note of her special career, she replied, “I was very, very happy.” As Obama’s national security adviser, he has made difficult operational, policy, and legal dimensions, often involving military action. A disagreement or a challenging question can derail hours of work, and it can be difficult to get people back on track, former colleagues said. “She was a lawyer at a table with military leaders. “She had to earn their respect and lead them to the conclusion that is in line with what the president wanted from the process,” Olsen said. “She could take it off again and again.” “Her experience as a lawyer in the High Court in DC probably served her well,” Olsen said. ‘Not everything will go as planned. Your police officer will not show up to testify, and you must keep a poker face in front of the jury. ‘You manage it by staying calm’ and appealing to people’s better disposition. I saw her do it in the Situation Room in the White House, Olsen added. In 2013, the Boston Marathon bombing tested her skills and determination. The attack took place in Monaco’s hometown when her brother stood among the crowd and cheered on the runners. Her knowledge of domestic extremism and the workings of the government, her work ethic and her ability to help colleagues were crucial to helping the Obama administration respond, Olsen said. Monaco reflected in 2016 on the September 11 Boston Marathon bombing and other national security challenges, that “the terrorist threat has developed and that it has been done dramatically.” “It’s broader, more diffuse and less predictable than at any time since 9/11,” she said during an event hosted by the Foreign Relations Council. “Today, terrorism is increasingly defined by small cells or lone actors, sometimes with little or no direct contact with terrorist organizations. Those people conceded under violent extremism. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2021 The New York Times Company