Michael Chertoff

Michael Chertoff, born on November 28, 1953, is an American attorney who served as the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2005 to 2009 and briefly under President Barack Obama for one day. Prior to his cabinet appointment, he held a variety of federal legal positions, including United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, chief of the criminal division at the Department of Justice, and judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. After leaving government service, Chertoff co‑founded the Chertoff Group, a risk‑management and security consulting firm, and has worked as senior counsel at Covington & Burling while also serving as chair and board member of Freedom House.

Early life and career

Michael Chertoff was born in New Jersey to Gershon Baruch Chertoff, a rabbi and Talmudic scholar who led Congregation B’nai Israel in Elizabeth, and Livia Eisen, a Polish‑born Israeli American who became the first flight attendant for El Al. His paternal grandparents were Rabbi Paul Chertoff, a professor of Talmud, and Esther Barish Chertoff.

Chertoff received his early education at the Jewish Educational Center in Elizabeth and at the Pingry School before attending Harvard College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1975. During his sophomore year he studied abroad at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He returned to Harvard for law school, working as a research assistant on John Hart Ely’s *Democracy and Distrust*, and graduated with a Juris Doctor magna cum laude in 1978.

Immediately after law school, Chertoff clerked for Judge Murray Gurfein of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then for Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. from 1979 to 1980. He entered private practice with Latham & Watkins (1980‑83) before joining the office of Rudolph Giuliani, then United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In that role he worked on organized‑crime and political corruption cases, including a significant contribution to the Mafia Commission Trial crackdown in 1986.

In 1990 President George H.W. Bush appointed Chertoff as United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. While serving there, he secured convictions in high‑profile cases such as that of former Jersey City mayor Gerald McCann on fraud charges (1992) and the fraud case against Eddie Antar, founder of Crazy Eddie electronics stores (1993). When the Clinton administration took office in 1993, Chertoff was asked to remain by Democratic Senator Bill Bradley; he became the only U.S. attorney who continued after the change of administrations. He left the federal prosecutor’s office in 1994 and returned to Latham & Watkins as a partner.

Chertoff later served as special counsel for the Senate Whitewater Committee, investigating allegations against President Clinton and his wife, though no charges were brought. In 2000 he acted as special counsel to the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee on racial profiling issues, and also advised George W. Bush’s presidential campaign on criminal‑justice matters while contributing to fundraising efforts.

From 2001 to 2003, Chertoff headed the criminal division of the Department of Justice under President Bush. He was the senior DOJ official at the FBI command center immediately following the September 11 attacks and led the federal prosecution against suspected terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui. In 2002‑03 he provided legal advice to the CIA regarding coercive interrogation methods used on terror suspects, including Abu Zubaydah. He also oversaw the prosecution of Arthur Andersen for document destruction related to the Enron collapse; the conviction was later overturned by the Supreme Court.

On March 5, 2003 President Bush nominated Chertoff to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, filling a vacancy left by Morton I. Greenberg. The Senate confirmed him with an 88‑1 vote on June 9, 2003; he received his commission the following day and served as a federal judge until his resignation in 2005.

Cabinet tenure

In January 2005 President Bush nominated Chertoff to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security. He was unanimously approved by the Senate on February 15, 2005, becoming the second individual to hold that office after Tom Ridge. During his term (2005‑2009), he oversaw the Department of Homeland Security’s response to major events, most notably Hurricane Katrina in 2007. The department faced criticism for its lack of preparedness and coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the disaster.

Chertoff also served one additional day under President Barack Obama, a brief continuation that extended his tenure beyond the Bush administration. Throughout his cabinet service he was involved in shaping post‑9/11 homeland security policy and coordinating federal counterterrorism efforts, drawing on his prior experience with terror legislation such as the USA PATRIOT Act, which he helped co‑author while serving in earlier roles.

Legacy

Michael Chertoff’s career spans significant periods of American legal history, from prosecuting organized crime to shaping national counterterrorism policy. His tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security coincided with a transformative era for U.S. homeland security infrastructure, and his leadership was instrumental in the department’s early development following its creation.

As a federal judge on the Third Circuit, Chertoff contributed to appellate jurisprudence during a period marked by high‑profile cases involving terrorism, corporate fraud, and civil liberties. His judicial service is noted for its brevity but for the breadth of issues addressed, reflecting his extensive background in both prosecution and defense.

After leaving government office, Chertoff founded the Chertoff Group, applying his expertise to risk management and security consulting for private and public clients. He also joined Covington & Burling as senior counsel, continuing to influence legal practice through advisory roles. His involvement with Freedom House—serving as chair and board member—demonstrates a continued commitment to monitoring international freedom and civil liberties.

Chertoff’s legacy is characterized by his transition from federal prosecutor to judge to cabinet secretary, illustrating a career dedicated to public service across multiple branches of government. His work on counterterrorism legislation and policy has had lasting effects on the United States’ approach to homeland security, while his post‑government activities reflect an ongoing engagement with legal and civil society issues at both national and international levels.