[[Category:Articles needing additional references from August

2007]]

Michael Chertoff
2nd United States Secretary of Homeland Security
Incumbent
Assumed office  February 15, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Tom Ridge
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	November 28, 1953 (1953-11-28) (age 53) Elizabeth, New Jersey
Political party	Republican
Religion	Jewish

Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) is the current United States Secretary of Homeland Security. He previously served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals, as a federal prosecutor, and as assistant U.S. Attorney General. He was nominated to succeed Tom Ridge as Secretary of the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]] by [[President of the United States|President]] George W. Bush on January 11, 2005. His nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 15, 2005, in a unanimous 98-0 vote, and Chertoff was sworn into office the same day (although a ceremonial swearing-in presided over by Bush took place on March 3). Speculation that Chertoff may be a possible successor to [[U.S. Attorney General]] Alberto Gonzales has been consistent since the the controversy over the dismissal of U.S. attorneys received national attention in March 2007.^[1][2] The speculation has grown since Gonzales's announcement on August 27, 2007, that President Bush had accepted his resignation, to be effective September 17, 2007.^[3][4][5] Chertoff is Jewish and is married to Meryl Justin. They have two children and live in Potomac, Maryland. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 411 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (2400 × 3500 pixel, file size: 1. ... The United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the body concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. ... For the ecclesiastical office, see Incumbent (ecclesiastical). ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 27, 1945 near Pittsburgh, USA) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives (1983–1995), Governor of Pennsylvania (1995–2001), Assistant to the President for Homeland Security (2001–2003), and the first United States Secretary of Homeland... is the 332nd day of the year (333rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Union County Court House Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, in the United States. ... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America, along with the Democratic Party. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... is the 332nd day of the year (333rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the body concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. ... The United States courts of appeals (or circuit courts) are the mid-level appellate courts of the United States federal court system. ... Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an Assistant Attorney General. ... Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 27, 1945 near Pittsburgh, USA) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives (1983–1995), Governor of Pennsylvania (1995–2001), Assistant to the President for Homeland Security (2001–2003), and the first United States Secretary of Homeland... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Alberto Gonzales (born August 4, 1955), is the 80th and current Attorney General of the United States. ... The dismissal of U.S. Attorneys controversy is an ongoing political dispute initiated by the unprecedented dismissal of seven United States Attorneys by the George W. Bush administrations Department of Justice (DOJ) on December 7, 2006, and their replacement by interim appointees under provisions of the 2005 Patriot Act... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... Potomac is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. ...

Early history

Chertoff was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the son of Rabbi Gershon Baruch Chertoff, the former leader of the B'nai Israel Congregation in Elizabeth, and El Al flight attendant Livia Chertoff (née Eisen). His paternal grandfather, Rabbi Paul Chertoff, emigrated from Russia. His grandfather was a noted Talmudic scholar. Chertoff went to The Pingry School. He later attended [[Harvard University]], where he was a research assistant on John Hart Ely's Democracy and Distrust, graduating in 1975. He then graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1978, going on to clerk for appellate judge Murray Gurfein for a year before clerking for United States Supreme Court justice William Brennan from 1979 to 1980. He worked in private practice with [[Latham & Watkins]] from 1980 to 1983 before being hired as a prosecutor by Rudolph Giuliani, then the U.S. attorney for Manhattan, working on Mafia and political corruption-related cases. In the mid 1990s, Chertoff returned to Latham & Watkins for a brief period, founding the firm's office in Newark, New Jersey. Union County Court House Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, in the United States. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy. ... El Al Boeing 777-200ER El Al Israel Airlines (‎, skyward) (TASE: ELAL) is the flag carrier and largest airline of Israel. ... The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... The Pingry School is a private college preparatory day school for K-12 education with two campuses in New Jersey. ... John Hart Ely John Hart Ely (December 3, 1938 - October 25, 2003) is one of the most widely-cited legal scholars in United States history, ranking just after Richard Posner, Ronald Dworkin, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. ... Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. ... Harvard Law School (colloquially, Harvard Law or HLS) is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. ... Murray Irwin Gurfein (November 17, 1907 - December 16, 1979) was a federal judge in the United States. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... William Joseph Brennan (April 25, 1906 - July 24, 1997) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ... Rudolph William Louis Rudy Giuliani III, KBE (born May 28, 1944) served as the Mayor of New York City from January 1, 1994 through December 31, 2001. ... For other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation). ... This article is about the criminal society. ... World map of the Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. Blue colors indicate little corruption, red colors indicate much corruption In broad terms, political corruption is the misuse by government officials of their governmental powers for illegitimate... Nickname: Map of Newark in Essex County County Essex Founded/Incorporated 1666/1836 Government  - Mayor Cory Booker, term of office 2006–2010 Area [1]  - City 67. ...

Public service

In September 1986 as Assistant U.S. Attorney, Michael Chertoff together with U.S. Attorney for the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]], Rudolph Giuliani were instrumental in putting the American (Italian) Mafia on trial. Mafia Don John Gotti served a prison sentence without bail since May 1986, only a few months after he allegedly took control of the Gambino gang following the murder of the previous boss, Paul Castellano. It was the start of the cleanup of that generation of Italian Mafia in New York City and [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]]. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,145082,00.html "Hitting the Mafia", ED MAGNUSON, Sep. 29, 1986 issue of TIME magazine] Gotti died of throat cancer at 12:45 p.m. on June 10, 2002 at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, where he had been transferred once the cancer was diagnosed. Rudolph William Louis Rudy Giuliani III, KBE (born May 28, 1944) served as the Mayor of New York City from January 1, 1994 through December 31, 2001. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Constantino Paul Castellano (June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985), better known as Paul Castellano (or PC to his family), was a mafia boss in New York. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

Chertoff was appointed by President George H. W. Bush in 1990 as United States Attorney for New Jersey. In 1992 Chertoff put 2nd term Jersey City Mayor [[Gerald McCann]] in federal prison for over two years on charges of defrauding money from a savings and loan scam. McCann, an Irish born Jersey native, inflamed and insulted the leading prosecutor: "It will become obvious that they were insane to bring this case in the first place. And we are going to send Mr. Chertoff back to preparing [[Will (law)|wills]]. Maybe I can find him a job driving a sanitation truck in Jersey City." McCann never was able to run for office again being a convicted felon. [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0375758704/ Five-Finger Discount: "A Crooked Family History", Helene Stapinski, (c)2002, page 203][http://www.hudsonreporter.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13801477&BRD=1291&PAG=461&dept_id=523586&rfi=6 Jersey City Reporter, "McCann - no holds barred", Ricardo Kaulessar 01/21/2005] Chertoff was asked to stay in his position when the Clinton administration took office in 1993, at the request of Democratic Senator Bill Bradley; he was the only U.S. attorney not replaced. Chertoff stayed with the U.S. Attorney's office until 1994, when he entered private practice, returning to Latham & Watkins as a partner. Despite his friendly relationship with some Democrats, during the Whitewater scandal investigation of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Chertoff was special counsel for the Senate Whitewater Committee studying allegations against the Clintons. When Chertoff faced Senate confirmation in 2003 for a federal judgeship, [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]], then a Senator from New York, cast the lone dissenting vote against Chertoff's confirmation. She explained that her vote was in protest of the way junior White House staffers were "very badly treated" by Chertoff's staff during the Whitewater investigation. Chertoff is the co-author, along with Viet Dinh, of the [[USA PATRIOT Act]], signed into law October 26, 2001. As head of the Justice Department's criminal division, he advised the Central Intelligence Agency on the outer limits of legality in coercive interrogation sessions. In 2000, Chertoff worked as special counsel to the [[New Jersey Senate|New Jersey State Senate]] Judiciary Committee, investigating racial profiling in New Jersey. He also did some fundraising for George W. Bush and other Republicans during the 2000 election cycle and advised Bush's presidential campaign on criminal justice issues. From 2001 to 2003, he headed the criminal division of the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]], leading the prosecution's case against terrorist suspect Zacarias Moussaoui and against accounting firm Arthur Andersen for destroying documents relating to the Enron collapse. His prosecution of Arthur Andersen was controversial, resulting in the collapse of the firm and the loss of employment by its 26,000 employees. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction and the case has not been retried. At the DOJ, he also came under fire as one of the chief architects of the Bush Administration's legal strategies in the War on Terror, particularly regarding the detainment of thousands of Middle Eastern immigrants. Chertoff was nominated to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit]] in Philadelphia by Bush on March 5, 2003, and was confirmed by the Senate 88-1 on June 9. George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) was the 41st President of the United States, serving from 1989 to 1993. ... United States Attorneys (also known as federal prosecutors) represent the U.S. federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. ... Location of Jersey City within New Jersey. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Latham & Watkins LLP is one of the most prestigious and largest international law firms in the world, currently employing more than 1,900 attorneys based in the U.S., Europe and Asia. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Senate Whitewater Committee was a special committee convened by the United States Senate during the Clinton administration to investigate the Whitewater scandal. ... “NY” redirects here. ... For other uses, see White House (disambiguation). ... External links Viet D. Dinh Professor of Law; Co-Director, Asian Law & Policy Studies Program at Georgetown Law School Biography of Viet D Dinh by the Institute for Corean-American Studies Testimony of Viet Dinh Professor of Law Georgetown University Law Center before the House Subcommittee on the Constitution America... Racial profiling, also known as ethnic profiling, is the inclusion of racial or ethnic characteristics in determining whether a person is considered likely to commit a particular type of crime (see Offender Profiling). ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... For the U.S. Supreme Court case commonly known as Arthur Andersen, see Arthur Andersen LLP v. ... Enron Corporation (Former NYSE ticker symbol: ENE) was an American energy company based in Houston, Texas. ... The war on terrorism or war on terror (abbreviated in U.S. policy circles as GWOT for Global War on Terror) is an effort by the governments of the United States and its principal allies to destroy groups deemed to be terrorist (primarily radical Islamist organizations such as al-Qaeda... Nickname: Motto: Philadelphia maneto - Let brotherly love endure Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: , Country Commonwealth County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Government  - Mayor John F. Street (D) Area  - City 369. ... This article is about the day. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ...

Michael Chertoff is sworn-in by George W. Bush

In late 2004, after the controversial Bernard Kerik was forced to decline President Bush's offer to replace the outgoing Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, a lengthy search ensued to find a suitable replacement. Citing his experience with post-9/11 terror legislation, Bush nominated Chertoff to the post in January 2005. He was unanimously approved for the position of Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security by the Senate on February 15, 2005. Most recently Chertoff has managed the [[Federal Emergency Management Agency|FEMA]] response to Hurricane Katrina. On September 3, 2005, several days after the initial strike of the hurricane many (including the New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin) indicated severe dissatisfaction with the response from Washington, citing the delay between the general knowledge of the storm's likely impact and any effective federal response. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco declared a state of emergency on August 26 [1]; a week later, New Orleans remained in a state of chaos. While defending the federal government's response in a September 3, 2005 press conference, Chertoff asserted "That 'perfect storm' of a combination of catastrophes exceeded the foresight of the planners, and maybe anybody's foresight." Warnings of the levee's vulnerability to Cat 4 and above hurricanes had in fact come for years from experts in the private sector as well as government agencies at all levels, including FEMA itself, who had identified a disaster such as this as one of the three most likely catastrophes to strike the US. CNN: [2] Houston Chronicle: [3]. It is true that disaster plans did not contemplate the particular confluence of events: exposure to Cat 3 winds and storm surge that did not overtop the levees but nevertheless resulted in a major breach. Furthermore, plans that contemplated a Cat 4 or worse storm were inadequate and relied primarily on evacuation. Chertoff was the Bush administration's point man for pushing the comprehensive immigration reform bill, a measure that stalled in the Senate in June 2007.[4] On August 27, 2007 with the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales imminent, it is widely rumored that President George W. Bush will nominate Chertoff to be the next [[United States Attorney General]].[5] The liberal talk radio network Air America occasionally has had announcers call Chertoff Skeletor, after the cartoon character whom they imply he resembles. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... Bernard Kerik Bernard Bailey Kerik, CBE , (born September 4, 1955 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American law-enforcement officer. ... Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 27, 1945 near Pittsburgh, USA) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives (1983–1995), Governor of Pennsylvania (1995–2001), Assistant to the President for Homeland Security (2001–2003), and the first United States Secretary of Homeland... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the Atlantic hurricane of 2005. ... Clarence Ray Nagin, Jr. ... This is a list of Governors of [[Louisiana== First French Era == Sauvole de la Villantry 1699-1701 Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville 1701-1713 Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac 1713-1716 Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville 1716-1717 Jean-Michel de Lepinay 1717-1718 Jean... Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (born December 15, 1942) is a Democratic politician from and the current governor of Louisiana. ... In most common law jurisdictions, the Attorney General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. ... Alberto Gonzales (born August 4, 1955), is the 80th and current Attorney General of the United States. ... Skeletor is a fictional character in the Masters of the Universe franchise, where he is the arch-enemy and main antagonist of He-Man. ...

References

1. ^ [http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0307/3202.html Mike Allen, White House Seeks Gonzales Replacements, Politico, March 20, 2007]
2. ^ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2003626767_attorneys20.html Ron Hutcheson and Greg Gordon, White House hunting for Gonzales successor, Seattle Times (McClatchy Newspapers), March 20, 2007]
3. ^ Gonzales, Alberto R.. "Letter of Resignation", (via Talking Points Memo Document Collection), Talking Points Memo, August 26, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-27. 
4. ^ [http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=3529363 Rick Klein, Gonzales' Departure Sets up Confirmation Battle, ABC News, August 27, 2007]
5. ^ [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/27/politics/politico/thecrypt/main3209723.shtml Daniel W. Reilly, Gonzo Redux, Politico (via CBS News), August 27, 2007]

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 239th day of the year (240th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Official

• [http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/biography_0116.shtm Department of

Homeland Security biography]

Nomination

• [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050111-2.html

President Nominates Michael Chertoff as Secretary of Homeland Security transcript]

• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4165507.stm Bush names new US

security chief]

• Homeland Security by the Colors

Hurricane Katrina

• [http://www.realcities.com/multimedia/nationalchannel/news/KRT_Packages/archive/katrina/memo_to_cabinet_members.pdf

Memo from Chertoff to other federal agencies issued on August 30]

• [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4828771 U.S. Aid

Effort Criticized in New Orleans]

Other news reports

• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4165507.stm Michael

Chertoff's Profile in BBC]

v • d • e United States Secretaries of Homeland Security
Ridge • Chertoff

v • d • e Current members of the United States Cabinet
Bodman | Boltena | Busha | Chao | Cheneya | Chertoff | Gates | Gonzales | Gutierrez | Jackson | Johanns | Johnsona | Kempthorne | Leavitt | Nicholson | Paulson | Peters | Portmana | Rice | Schwaba | Spellings | Waltersa (a) Attends Cabinet meetings but not a member of the Cabinet itself

[[Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third is the 332nd day of the year (333rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Union County Court House Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, in the United States. ...

Circuit]]