A new First Assistant U.S. Attorney was named today to take the place of David Rivera, former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, according to a press release from the Attorney’s office in Nashville.
Jack Smith, former head of the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity department, will vacate his current position at the end of February and move into the Nashville office.
“We are most fortunate to be gaining someone with such exceptional talent and experience in leading the prosecution of an array of criminal cases including violent criminal enterprises, white collar crimes, international crimes and public corruption,” said U.S. Attorney David Rivera. “Jack’s leadership ability and prosecutorial experience will greatly enhance our current staff of exceptional prosecutors the office.”
Smith has been the Chief of the Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C. since 2010, where he lead a team of 30 prosecutors in litigating complex public corruption cases throughout the United States, including the conviction of former CIA Officer Jeffrey Sterling for illegally disclosing national defense information and obstructing justice. Smith’s unit also recently secured bribery and extortion convictions of former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell and racketeering, bribery and extortion convictions of former Arizona U.S. Representative Rick Renzi.
Before taking the helm of the Public Integrity Section, Smith served as the investigation coordinator for the Office of the Prosecutor with the International Criminal Court, where he lead the investigative teams conducting international investigations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Smith previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York from 1999-2008, where he held increasing responsible positions including Chief of the Criminal Litigation Unit. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office he was a prosecutor in the New York County District Attorney’s Office for five years. Smith is a 1994 graduate of Harvard Law School.
“I have had the extraordinary privilege of working for the American people in a variety of offices and alongside some of the most dedicated public servants,” Smith said. “I look forward to beginning the next chapter and serving the people of the Middle District of Tennessee as we continue the great work of this office in seeking justice for our constituents.”
Smith will assume the role as First Assistant on Feb. 9.
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