Michael Chertoff Bio
Michael Chertoff (born 28 November 1953) is an American attorney and government official who served as the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush, remaining in office for one additional day under President Barack Obama. A former federal prosecutor and Assistant U.S. Attorney General who helped author the USA PATRIOT Act, Chertoff later served as a United States circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. After leaving government service he co-founded the Chertoff Group, a risk-management and security consulting firm, and has continued to advise governments and corporations on national security matters.
Early Life and Background
Michael Chertoff was born on 28 November 1953 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States. He is the son of Rabbi Gershon Baruch Chertoff, a Talmudic scholar who led Congregation B’nai Israel in Elizabeth, and Livia Chertoff (née Eisen), a Polish-born Israeli American who was the first flight attendant for El Al. His paternal grandfather, Paul Chertoff, was a rabbi and professor of Talmud, reflecting a deeply rooted family background in Jewish scholarship and religious leadership.
Chertoff attended the Jewish Educational Center in Elizabeth and later the Pingry School. He went on to graduate from Harvard College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1975. During his sophomore year at Harvard, he studied abroad at the London School of Economics and Political Science, an experience that broadened his interest in law and public policy. He then enrolled at Harvard Law School, where he worked as a research assistant for Professor John Hart Ely on the book Democracy and Distrust, earning his Juris Doctor magna cum laude in 1978.
Path to US Politics
Following his graduation from Harvard Law School, Chertoff served as a law clerk to Judge Murray Gurfein of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and later to United States Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. from 1979 to 1980. He then entered private practice with Latham & Watkins from 1980 to 1983, where he developed a strong foundation in corporate and federal law that would shape his later prosecutorial career.
Chertoff’s transition to public service began when he was hired as a federal prosecutor by United States Attorney Rudolph Giuliani for the Southern District of New York. Working on Mafia and political corruption cases, he built a reputation as a determined and effective prosecutor. In 1990, President George H. W. Bush appointed him as United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where he prosecuted high-profile cases and was asked to remain in office by the incoming Clinton administration, making him the only United States Attorney not replaced during that transition.
Michael Chertoff Career
Early Career (1978-2000)
In September 1986, Chertoff worked alongside United States Attorney Rudolph Giuliani on the prosecution of organized crime figures in the landmark Mafia Commission Trial. In 1990, President George H. W. Bush appointed him United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and in 1992 he secured the conviction of Jersey City Mayor Gerald McCann for defrauding money from a savings and loan scam. He also prosecuted Crazy Eddie electronics founder Eddie Antar in 1993 on fraud charges.
Chertoff returned to private practice at Latham & Watkins as a partner in 1994, founding the firm’s Newark, New Jersey office. He was later appointed as special counsel for the Senate Whitewater Committee, investigating allegations against President Bill Clinton and his wife, and no charges were brought against the Clintons. In 2000, he served as special counsel to the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee, studying racial profiling by the New Jersey State Police, while also advising George W. Bush’s presidential campaign on criminal justice issues.
Department of Justice Leadership (2001-2003)
President George W. Bush appointed Chertoff in 2001 to head the criminal division of the United States Department of Justice, a position he held until 2003. He was the senior Justice Department official on duty at the F.B.I. command center on September 11, 2001, helping to coordinate the federal response to the attacks. He led the prosecution of suspected terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui and provided legal advice to the Central Intelligence Agency on interrogation methods for high-value terror suspects, including Abu Zubaydah, in 2002 and 2003.
Chertoff also led the federal prosecution of accounting firm Arthur Andersen for destroying documents connected to the Enron collapse, a case that ultimately led to the firm’s dissolution and the loss of roughly 26,000 jobs. The United States Supreme Court later overturned the conviction, and the case was not retried. His time at Justice cemented his standing as a leading figure in post-9/11 national security law.
Federal Judicial Service (2003-2005)
On March 5, 2003, President Bush nominated Chertoff to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated by Judge Morton I. Greenberg. The Senate confirmed him on June 9, 2003, by a vote of 88 to 1, with Senator Hillary Clinton of New York casting the lone dissenting vote. Senator Clinton later explained that her dissent was intended to register a protest for the way Chertoff’s staff had treated junior White House staffers during the Whitewater investigation. Chertoff served as a federal judge from 2003 to 2005.
Secretary of Homeland Security (2005-2009)
Following Bernard Kerik’s withdrawal from consideration, President Bush nominated Chertoff to replace Tom Ridge as Secretary of Homeland Security in January 2005. The United States Senate unanimously confirmed him on February 15, 2005, and Chertoff led the department through some of the most demanding years in its history. The Department of Homeland Security came under intense criticism for its handling of Hurricane Katrina, with Chertoff and the department faulted for inadequate preparation and response to the storm that became the most costly disaster in American history.
Chertoff was the Bush administration’s lead advocate for comprehensive immigration reform, a measure that stalled in the Senate in June 2007. Under his leadership, the Department of Homeland Security constructed hundreds of miles of fencing along the United States-Mexico border, and Chertoff exercised broad waiver authority to bypass environmental and other laws to speed that construction. The Obama administration asked him to remain in office until 9 a.m. on January 21, 2009, one day after President Obama’s inauguration, to help ensure a smooth transition.
Post-DHS Career and Consulting (2009-Present)
Since leaving government service, Michael Chertoff has worked as senior of counsel at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling. On February 2, 2009, he founded The Chertoff Group, a risk-management and security consulting firm co-led with Chad Sweet, and the firm has employed several other former high-ranking government officials, including General Michael V. Hayden, a former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He was elected Chairman of BAE Systems for a three-year term beginning May 1, 2012, and co-chairs the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Immigration Task Force.
Chertoff serves as chair of the board of trustees of the international freedom watchdog Freedom House, sits on the bipartisan advisory board of States United Democracy Center, and is a member of the Atlantic Council’s board of directors. From 2017 to 2019, he served on the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, becoming co-chair in its final year. He has also advocated for enhanced security technologies such as full-body scanners, represented clients in extradition matters, and contributed to public debates on climate change as a national security issue.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among the defining moments of Michael Chertoff’s career were his role in the post-9/11 legal response as Assistant U.S. Attorney General, his confirmation as the second Secretary of Homeland Security, and the controversial use of waiver authority to build hundreds of miles of border fencing while bypassing environmental statutes. His 88-to-1 confirmation to the federal bench, his public criticism of the politicization of the Department of Homeland Security in a 2020 New York Times op-ed, and his endorsement of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election have also marked his public profile as a Republican-aligned figure willing to break with his party on key issues.
Michael Chertoff Family
Family Background and Lineage
Michael Chertoff was raised in a family deeply rooted in Jewish religious scholarship. His father, Rabbi Gershon Baruch Chertoff, served as the leader of Congregation B’nai Israel in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and was a respected Talmudic scholar. His paternal grandfather, Paul Chertoff, was a rabbi and professor of Talmud, while his mother, Livia Chertoff (née Eisen), was a Polish-born Israeli American notable for being the first flight attendant for El Al Israel Airlines.
Personal Life
Michael Chertoff has been married to Meryl Justin since 1988. The couple has maintained a relatively private personal life, and public details about children, residence, and other family matters are not widely documented in verified sources.