President Biden has nominated Chris Fonzone, General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), for Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice.
Fonzone serves as ODNI’s chief legal officer and provides advice and counsel to the Director of National Intelligence and other senior leaders on the full range of issues affecting the Intelligence Community. Prior to the Biden-Harris Administration, Fonzone was a partner in Sidley Austin’s Washington D.C. office. During the Obama-Biden Administration, Fonzone served as Deputy Assistant and Deputy Counsel to President Obama and Legal Adviser to the National Security Council.
Previously, he also served as a Member of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, Special Counsel to the General Counsel at the Department of Defense, and also served at the Department of Justice in the Office of Legal Counsel and on the Civil Appellate staff. He also clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer of the United States Supreme Court and Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Fonzone attended Cornell University and Harvard Law School.
“On behalf of the Intelligence Community (IC), I wish to congratulate the Honorable Christopher C. Fonzone on President Biden’s intent to nominate him to lead the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel as Assistant Attorney General. Each day since he was sworn in as my General Counsel in June 2021, I have relied on Chris for his expert legal advice. He works tirelessly on a host of complex issues, including institutional matters that will position the IC for years to come regarding data, privacy, civil liberties, and oversight of our vital national security mission,” Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said.
“Pending his nomination and confirmation, I have no doubt Chris will have a similarly outsized impact on the critical work of the Department of Justice. His integrity, intellect, and approach are beyond reproach, and the IC is better because of his service.”
