# Douglas Letter

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{{Short description|American lawyer (born 1953)}}
{{Infobox person
|name               = Doug Letter
|birth_name         = Douglas Neal Letter
|birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1953|9|27}}
|birth_place        = 
|death_date         = 
|death_place        = 
|education          = [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts))<br>[University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley) ([JD](/source/Juris_Doctor))
}}
'''Douglas Neal Letter''' is an American attorney. He was general counsel to the [United States House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) from 2018 to 2022.<ref name="dbn"/>
<ref name="politico23">{{cite news
| last         = Cheney
| first        = Kyle
| author-link  = Kyle Cheney (journalist)
| date         = 21 January 2023
| title        = The House's legal lieutenant in its Trump wars speaks out — about Jan. 6 and more
| url          = https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/21/democratic-attorney-house-vs-trump-00078845
| work         = Politico
| access-date  = 23 January 2023
}}</ref> He is now chief legal officer for [Brady: United Against Gun Violence](/source/Brady%3A_United_Against_Gun_Violence).<ref name="politico23"/> From 1978 to 2018, he was an attorney in the [United States Department of Justice](/source/United_States_Department_of_Justice), ultimately serving as director of the appellate staff for the Civil Division.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Carrie |title=40 Years Of Experience Walks Out The Door Of The Justice Department |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/03/12/592937719/40-year-justice-official-quits-says-hes-concerned-about-future-of-department |accessdate=July 9, 2019 |work=[National Public Radio](/source/National_Public_Radio) |date=March 12, 2018}}</ref><ref name="dbn">{{cite news |last1=McNamara |first1=Audrey |title=Nancy Pelosi Appoints Douglas Letter New General Counsel of the House |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/nancy-pelosi-appoints-douglas-letter-new-general-counsel-of-the-house |accessdate=July 9, 2019 |work=[Daily Beast](/source/Daily_Beast) |date=December 28, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ruger |first1=Todd |title=Unassuming House counsel is a key player in Trump-Congress fights |url=https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/unassuming-house-counsel-key-player-trump-congress-fights |accessdate=July 9, 2019 |work=Roll Call |date=June 10, 2019}}</ref><ref name="at">{{cite news |last1=Mullin |first1=Joe |title=DOJ admits its lawyer misled appeals court during oral argument |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/11/doj-admits-its-lawyer-misled-appeals-court-during-oral-argument/ |accessdate=July 9, 2019 |work=[Ars Technica](/source/Ars_Technica) |date=November 13, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Reason">{{cite news |last1=Tuccille |first1=J.D. |title=Justice Department Lied in Court About National Security Letters |url=https://reason.com/2014/11/14/justice-department-lied-in-court-about-n |accessdate=July 9, 2019 |work=[Reason](/source/Reason_(magazine)) |date=November 14, 2014}}</ref>

During a 2014 hearing before a federal court in which Letter was representing the United States Government in a lawsuit brought by the [Electronic Frontier Foundation](/source/Electronic_Frontier_Foundation), he made headlines after providing erroneous information to judges regarding the legality of [National Security Letter](/source/National_Security_Letter)s.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sledge |first1=Matt |title=Government Admits 'Misstatement' In Key Surveillance Lawsuit |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/national-security-letters_n_6152634 |accessdate=July 9, 2019 |work=[Huffington Post](/source/Huffington_Post) |date=November 13, 2014}}</ref><ref name="at"/><ref name="Reason"/> The Justice Department later issued a written apology to the court for Letter's statement.<ref name="at"/>

Letter received his undergraduate degree from [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_College_(New_York)) in 1975 and his J.D. from [UC Berkeley School of Law](/source/UC_Berkeley_School_of_Law) in 1978.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Article One Oversight and Executive Power: A Virtual Townhall with Douglas N. Letter, 75'CC, JD UC Berkeley '78|url=https://www.college.columbia.edu/events/event/article-one-oversight-and-executive-power-virtual-townhall-douglas-n-letter-75cc-jd-uc|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724132733/https://www.college.columbia.edu/events/event/article-one-oversight-and-executive-power-virtual-townhall-douglas-n-letter-75cc-jd-uc |archive-date=2020-07-24 |access-date=July 24, 2020|website=Columbia College}}</ref>

==See also==
*[Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (2019–2020)](/source/Timeline_of_investigations_into_Trump_and_Russia_(2019%E2%80%932020))

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Letter, Douglas}}
Category:Columbia College, Columbia University alumni
Category:Living people
Category:UC Berkeley School of Law alumni
Category:United States Department of Justice lawyers
Category:United States House of Representatives lawyers
Category:1953 births

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Douglas Letter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Letter) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Letter?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.