# Phil Carter

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{{short description|American lawyer}}
{{Other uses|Phillip Carter (disambiguation){{!}}Phillip Carter}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name          = Phil Carter
| image         = Phil Carter official photo.jpeg
| office        = [Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Policy](/source/Deputy_Assistant_Secretary_of_Defense_for_Detainee_Affairs)
| term_start    = April 27, 2009
| term_end      = December 2009
| president     = [Barack Obama](/source/Barack_Obama)
| 1blankname    = {{Nowrap|Secretary}}
| 1namedata     = [Robert Gates](/source/Robert_Gates)
| predecessor   = [Sandra Hodgkinson](/source/Sandra_Hodgkinson)
| successor     = [William K. Lietzau](/source/William_K._Lietzau)
| party         =
| other_party   = 
| spouse        = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States))
| education     = [University of California, Los Angeles](/source/University_of_California%2C_Los_Angeles) (B.A., J.D.)
| occupation    = 
| branch        = [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army)
| service_years = 1997-2006<ref name="LP">{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillipcarter|title=LinkedIn Profile}}</ref>
| rank          = [Captain](/source/Captain_(United_States_O-3))
| battles       = [Iraq War](/source/Iraq_War)<br>[War in Afghanistan](/source/War_in_Afghanistan_(2001%E2%80%93present)) 
}}
'''Phillip Eugene Carter'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.martindale.com/attorney/phillip-eugene-carter-27751059/|title=Phillip Eugene Carter Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com|website=www.martindale.com}}</ref> is an American lawyer, writer, and former officer in the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army).<ref name=MiamiHerald2009-04-30>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/guantanamo/story/1024992.html
| title=Critic of detainee policy takes a top job at Pentagon
| date=April 30, 2009
| author=Carol Rosenberg
| author-link=Carol Rosenberg
| newspaper=[Miami Herald](/source/Miami_Herald)
| archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240524091036/https://www.webcitation.org/5gUN37xIr?url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/guantanamo/story/1024992.html
| url-status=dead
| archivedate=May 24, 2024
}}</ref><ref name=UclaMag>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/depts/style/phillip-carter/
| title=Renaissance Soldier: Phillip Carter
| date=January 1, 2007
| author=Brad Greenberg
| publisher=[UCLA Magazine](/source/UCLA_Magazine)
| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928060250/http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/depts/style/phillip-carter/
| url-status=live
| archivedate=September 28, 2008
}}</ref>
Carter was a founding member of [Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America](/source/Iraq_and_Afghanistan_Veterans_of_America), and he also served as a principal of the [Truman National Security Project](/source/Truman_National_Security_Project).{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} He was senior fellow and counsel at the Center for a New American Security, and director of the CNAS research program on the Military, Veterans & Society. Beginning September 2018, he served as the director of the Personnel & Resources Program at the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center in [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.)<ref name="LP" /> Carter now works as corporate counsel for [Google](/source/Google), supporting the company's public sector business, and teaches as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center.

==Education==
Carter attended the [University of California, Los Angeles](/source/University_of_California%2C_Los_Angeles), earning a [Bachelor's Degree](/source/Bachelor's_Degree) there in 1997, and his [Juris Doctor](/source/Juris_Doctor) in 2004.<ref name=UclaMag/> Carter also received the [Harry S. Truman Scholarship](/source/Harry_S._Truman_Scholarship) in 1996.

==Legal career==
Carter practiced law as an associate at [McKenna Long & Aldridge](/source/McKenna_Long_%26_Aldridge), first in Los Angeles, and later in [New York City](/source/New_York_City).<ref name=MiamiHerald2009-04-30/><ref name=bio>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.mckennalong.com/attorney-profile-781.html |title=Biography |publisher=McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP |accessdate=March 10, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306063205/http://www.mckennalong.com/attorney-profile-781.html |archivedate=March 6, 2009 }}</ref>
He specialized in government contracts and national security law there, including representation of leading defense and aerospace contractors.
He contributed to [amicus brief](/source/amicus_brief)s for [FAIR v. Rumsfeld](/source/FAIR_v._Rumsfeld) and [Hamdan v. Rumsfeld](/source/Hamdan_v._Rumsfeld).  Carter took a leave of absence from his law firm in 2005–06, after being called to active duty by the Army, to serve in Iraq.

In June 2008, Carter took a leave of absence to join the [Barack Obama](/source/Barack_Obama) campaign as its national veterans director.<ref name=NYTimes2008-10-28>{{cite news
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/us/28soldier.html?pagewanted=all
| newspaper=New York Times
| date=October 28, 2008
| title=Back From War, and Increasingly Into the Political Fray
| accessdate=March 10, 2009
| author=Damien Cave
}}</ref> He returned to his position at McKenna Long & Aldridge in 2010<ref name= "Phillip Carter McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP">{{cite web |url=http://www.mckennalong.com/professionals-1272.html |title=Phillip Carter McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP |date= |accessdate=April 5, 2011}}</ref><ref name= "Phillip Carter McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP2">{{cite web |url=http://www.mckennalong.com/news-1644.html |title=McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP Welcomes Back Phillip Carter To Its Top Tier Government Contracts Practice |date= |accessdate=July 13, 2011}}</ref> after resigning as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Policy.

In 2011, Carter left McKenna to join Caerus Associates, a strategy and design consulting firm in Arlington, Virginia, as the company's Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel.<ref>{{citation|url=http://caerusassociates.com/team/phillip-carter/|title=Phillip Carter bio|publisher=Caerus Associates|accessdate=May 28, 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107230421/http://caerusassociates.com/team/phillip-carter/|archivedate=November 7, 2012}}</ref>

In 2013, Carter left Caerus to join [CNAS](/source/CNAS), a defense policy think tank in Washington, as senior fellow and counsel.  At CNAS, Carter directed the Military, Veterans, and Society research program, and also served as the think tank's counsel. In 2018, Carter left CNAS to join the [RAND Corporation](/source/RAND_Corporation), where he directed RAND's personnel and resources research program for the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center, the federally-funded research and development center (FFRDC) that supports the [Department of Homeland Security](/source/Department_of_Homeland_Security).

In 2020, Carter left RAND to practice law as senior corporate counsel for [Tableau](/source/Tableau_Software), a Salesforce company, where he worked from 2020 to 2023. He now serves as corporate counsel for [Google](/source/Google), supporting Google's public sector business. In addition to this work, Carter also teaches at [Georgetown University](/source/Georgetown_University) Law Center as an adjunct professor.

==Writing career==
He wrote the "Intel Dump" blog beginning in 2002.  In 2008, he began writing this blog for ''[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)'', and edited the Convictions [legal blog](/source/Law_blog) for [Slate magazine](/source/Slate_magazine).<ref name=WashingtonPost2009-02-19>
{{cite news
| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/18/AR2009021803149.html
| title=Until We Have a Playoff System, Bush Is Stuck at No. 36
| date=February 19, 2009
| author=Al Kamen
| author-link=Al Kamen
| newspaper=[Washington Post](/source/Washington_Post)
| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204194651/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/18/AR2009021803149.html
| url-status=live
| archivedate=February 4, 2011
}}</ref><ref name=WashingtonPostPCarterBio>
{{cite news
| url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/inteldump/2008/04/about_phillip_carter.html
| date=April 4, 2008
| title=About Phillip Carter
| newspaper=[Washington Post](/source/Washington_Post)
| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724151221/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/inteldump/2008/04/about_phillip_carter.html
| url-status=live
| archivedate=July 24, 2008
}}</ref>
Carter's articles have appeared in many other publications, including the ''[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times)'', ''[Washington Monthly](/source/Washington_Monthly)'', ''[Wall Street Journal](/source/Wall_Street_Journal)'', and ''[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)''.  In 2006, he won an award (with [Dahlia Lithwick](/source/Dahlia_Lithwick) and [Emily Bazelon](/source/Emily_Bazelon)) for a feature on torture that appeared in ''[Slate](/source/Slate_(magazine))''.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2078017/#awards|title=Awards|journal=Slate|date=February 12, 2003|publisher=Slate.com|accessdate=March 10, 2009}}</ref>

==Government service==
In November 2020, Carter was named a volunteer member of the [Joe Biden presidential transition](/source/Presidential_transition_of_Joe_Biden) Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the [United States Department of Veterans Affairs](/source/United_States_Department_of_Veterans_Affairs).<ref>{{cite web |title=Agency Review Teams |url=https://buildbackbetter.com/the-transition/agency-review-teams/ |website=President-Elect Joe Biden |accessdate=November 10, 2020}}</ref>

===United States Army service===
Carter served on active and reserve duty for nine years in the U.S. Army as a [Military Police](/source/Military_Police_Corps_(United_States_Army)) and [Civil Affairs](/source/Civil_Affairs) officer.<ref name=bio/>  He served from 1997 to 2001, including assignments in Korea, Texas and the Mojave Desert. From October 2005 to September 2006, he was an embedded adviser with the Iraqi police in [Baqubah](/source/Baqubah), the capital of Iraq's [Diyala province](/source/Diyala_Governorate).<ref name=NYTimes2009-01-30>
{{cite news
| title=Pentagon Memo — After Campaign Push, Obama Cultivates Military
| newspaper=[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times)
| author=Elizabeth Bumiller
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/us/politics/31memo.html
| accessdate=March 10, 2009
| date=January 30, 2009
}}</ref>
His team's work was profiled by ''The Wall Street Journal'' in a June 13, 2006, front-page story, and by NPR as well.

===Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Policy===
The Washington Post reported in February 2009 that Carter was slated to be the new [Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs](/source/Deputy_Assistant_Secretary_of_Defense_for_Detainee_Affairs), following speculation on Pentagon blogs about his appointment.
<ref name=MiamiHerald2009-04-30/><ref name=WashingtonPost2009-02-19/><ref name=ForeignPolicy2009-20-18>
{{cite magazine
| url=http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/02/18/names_pentagon
| title=Names: Pentagon
| date=February 18, 2009
| magazine=[Foreign Policy](/source/Foreign_Policy)
| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425031120/http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/02/18/names_pentagon
| url-status=live
| archivedate=April 25, 2009
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite news
| url=http://washingtonindependent.com/30684/more-counterinsurgents-join-the-obama-pentagon
| title=More Counterinsurgents Join the Obama Pentagon
| author=Spencer Ackerman
| date=February 18, 2009
| accessdate=March 10, 2009
| publisher=The Washington Independent
| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709065922/http://washingtonindependent.com/30684/more-counterinsurgents-join-the-obama-pentagon
| url-status=live
| archivedate=July 9, 2009
}}</ref>  The Pentagon formally announced Carter's appointment on May 6, 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.defense.gov/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021116122331/http://www.defense.gov/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 16, 2002|title=U.S. Department of Defense|website=U.S. Department of Defense}}</ref>
Carter was the fourth official to be appointed to this post, replacing career diplomat [Sandra Hodgkinson](/source/Sandra_Hodgkinson).

In November 2009 Carter announced his resignation, effective in December 2009, for personal reasons.<ref name=WallStreetJournal2009-11-24>
{{cite news
| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125910765578263219?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories
| title=Point Man on Detainees Quits 
| newspaper=[Wall Street Journal](/source/Wall_Street_Journal)
| date=November 24, 2009
| first = Jess
| last = Bravin
| author-link=Jess Bravin
| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205013325/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125910765578263219.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories
| url-status=live
| archivedate=February 5, 2011
}}</ref>
The exact date he submitted his resignation was not made public.<ref name=MiamiHerald2009-11-24>
{{cite news
| url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1350400.html
| title=Detainee policy appointee quits Pentagon post
| newspaper=[Miami Herald](/source/Miami_Herald)
| date=November 24, 2009
| author=Carol Rosenberg
| author-link=Carol Rosenberg
| archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240524190607/https://www.webcitation.org/5lXNKTfnx?url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1350400.html
| url-status=dead
| archivedate=May 24, 2024
}}</ref>
In his position, he traveled frequently to Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan.  Carter was the chief architect of the Obama administration plan to close Guantanamo Bay, and bring detainees to a maximum security prison in Northwest Illinois.  His last official trip was to [Thomson, Illinois](/source/Thomson%2C_Illinois), the site of a prison the Obama administration has decided to use to house some captives currently held in [detention](/source/Detention_(imprisonment)) in [Guantanamo](/source/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp), in Cuba.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/10413 Video (and audio) conversation/debate with Carter and Eli Lake] on [Bloggingheads.tv](/source/Bloggingheads.tv)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Phillip E.}}
Category:Living people
Category:United States Department of Defense officials
Category:New York (state) lawyers
Category:United States Army officers
Category:United States Army personnel of the Iraq War
Category:Civil affairs of the United States military
Category:UCLA School of Law alumni
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

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