Ex-Trump Acting Attorney General Rosen Joins Cravath’s DC Office

Jeffrey Rosen, the former Trump Justice Department official who declined to pursue false claims of a stolen election, has joined Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

Rosen has taken an of counsel role in the venerable Wall Street law firm’s 13-month old Washington outpost. He’ll be advising clients on investigations, enforcement, and regulatory compliance matters, Cravath said.

Rosen’s perspective “will be invaluable to our clients navigating business-critical enforcement and litigation matters, and we are delighted to welcome him to Cravath,” Faiza Saeed, the firm’s presiding partner, said in a statement.

Rosen was acting attorney general for a short stint that ended in less than a month—he was installed in the post Dec. 24, 2020 and left Jan. 20. It was packed with drama, as Trump repeatedly alleged his presidential election loss was “rigged” and demanded that his top legal advisers sign on in his remaining days in office.

Rosen reportedly refused to sign a letter from then-DOJ attorney Jeffrey Clark falsely claiming that election fraud had occurred in several states. Clark was later sanctioned by the DC Bar for making false statement.

Rosen, a former Kirkland & Ellis partner, held several high-ranking government posts before assuming the top job at the Justice Department, including serving as deputy attorney general, and as deputy transportation secretary.

More recently, he’s taken posts with the Administrative Conference of the United States, and as a board member with a special purpose acquisition company, Good Works II Acquisition Corp.

“With its well-known commitment to excellence, Cravath is consistently on the front lines of the most complex, high-impact corporate, investigative and litigation work happening today,” said Rosen in the statement. “I look forward to working with the tremendous team in Washington, D.C.”

Rosen and two Cravath spokespeople did not respond to questions for comment.

Cravath opened its DC office just over a year ago, the third office for the firm that long had been largely rooted in New York. Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Jelena McWilliams was joined by two prominent former US Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys initially to staff the DC office.

Cravath’s DC office now houses 11 lawyers including five partners, Rosen and two other of counsel, as well as three associates, according to the firm’s website.