Jeannie Hae Rhee (born July 25, 1972) is an American lawyer who served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General during the Obama administration.[1] In 2017, she was appointed by special counsel Robert Mueller to join the 2017 special counsel team to investigate Russia's intervention into the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[2]
Early life and family
Rhee's parents grew up in Korea and they immigrated to the United States early on in her childhood having minimal knowledge of English language or culture. She received exceptional marks throughout high school and was named valedictorian at Gateway HS outside Pittsburgh, attended the Pennsylvania state championships for HS Varsity debate, and was accepted as early admission to Yale University where she was a member of the prestigious Scroll and Key Secret Society.[3] Rhee's husband, Christopher Sclafani Rhee, formerly Christopher Sclafani, served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and later on, as a partner at Arnold and Porter law firm. Jeannie and Chris are currently living in Washington D.C., with their two children.[4]
Education
Rhee graduated from Yale University for her Bachelor's and graduated summa cum laude. Rhee received her Juris Doctor (JD) from Yale Law School.[5]
Career
In 2000, Rhee served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.[6] In 2006, Rhee joined Wilmer Hale. From 2009 to 2011, Rhee served as a deputy assistant attorney general and provided counsel to the former Attorney General Eric Holder. Rhee rejoined Wilmer Hale in 2011 as a partner in the Litigation/Controversy Department.[7]
Rhee specializes in cybersecurity and data breach investigation, and she is currently aided by a score of assisting experts provided by the FBI in aiding the investigation.[8] Upon receiving the special counsel appointment from Mueller in 2017, Rhee resigned from the WilmerHale law firm and joined Mueller's special counsel team.[9]
Previously, Rhee represented Hillary Clinton during the 2015 lawsuit regarding her private emails.[10] Rhee also represented ex-Obama National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes and the Clinton Foundation in a 2015 racketeering case.[11]
References
- ^ Johnson, Carrie. "Special Counsel Mueller Lets His Actions Do The Talking: 15 Hires, More to Come". NPR. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
- ^ Barrett, Devlin; Zapotosky, Matt; Vitkovskaya, Julie; Granados, Samuel. "Who's who in Mueller's Investigation into Russia Ties". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
- ^ "Jeannie Rhee". Diversity Journal. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
- ^ "New Law Could Make Brangelina Mr. and Mrs. Brad Jolie". ABC News. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
- ^ "Jeannie Rhee". Bloomberg LP. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
- ^ Shabad, Rebecca; Tillett, Emily; Guild, Blair; Watson, Kathryn (20 September 2017). "These are the lawyers on Robert Mueller's special counsel team". CBS News. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
- ^ "Former DOJ Counsel Jeannie Rhee Rejoins WilmerHale". WilmerHale. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
- ^ Oliver, Sharon. "Jeannie Rhee: The Female Powerhouse In Robert Mueller's Justice League". She Prevailed. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
- ^ Mark, Michelle. "Meet the all-star team of lawyers Robert Mueller has assembled for the Trump-Russia investigation". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- ^ Noble, Andrea. "Mueller's all-star legal team in Russia probe signals direction of investigation". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
- ^ Singman, Brooke. "More Clinton ties on Mueller team: One deputy attended Clinton party, another rep'd top aides". fox News. Retrieved 2018-12-11.