John L. Brownlee

{{Multiple issues|

}}

{{ Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = John Brownlee

| honorific-suffix =

| image =

| caption =

| office = United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia

| appointer = George W. Bush

| term_start = October 12, 2001

| term_end = May 16, 2008

| preceded = Robert P. Crouch, Jr.

| succeeded = Tim Heaphy

| birthname = John Leslie Brownlee

| birth_date = January 31, 1965

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| restingplace =

| party = Republican

| spouse = Lee Ann Necessary

| children =

| father = Les Brownlee

| mother = Nancy Long

| residence =

|education = James Madison University
Washington & Lee University (BS)
College of William & Mary (JD)

| profession = Attorney

| allegiance = {{flag|United States}}

| branch = United States Army

| unit = Infantry Branch
J.A.G. Corps

| serviceyears = 1987–1991
1997–2007

|rank= 18px Major

| commands =

| battles =

| awards =

}}

John Leslie Brownlee is an American lawyer. He was the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia from 2001 to 2008.{{cite news | last = Craig | first = Tim | title = Ex-U.S. Prosecutor Enters Attorney General Race | newspaper = The Washington Post | date = May 21, 2008 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/20/AR2008052001250.html?nav=E8 | accessdate = April 8, 2023}}

United States attorney

= Investigation of Purdue Pharma =

In a case against Purdue Pharma, under pressure from Purdue lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Brownlee agreed to modify the prosecution so that Purdue Pharma's holding company, Purdue Frederick, would plead to a single misbranding charge so that Purdue Pharma would not have a criminal conviction on their name, which would prevent them from doing business with the U.S. Government. Brownlee also gave Purdue Pharma immunity from further prosecution up to and for future offenses after this plea deal, continuing until 2007.{{cite news|author=Chris McGreal|title=Rudy Giuliani won deal for OxyContin maker to continue sales of drug behind opioid deaths| work=The Guardian|date=May 22, 2018|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/22/rudy-giuliani-opioid-epidemic-oxycontin-purdue-pharma|accessdate=November 30, 2019}}

Despite this outcome, on July 31, 2007, Brownlee testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee regarding his investigation of Purdue and its executives."{{Citation |title=John L. Brownlee |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3agE5i5psE |access-date=2023-04-28 |language=en}} Ben Cardin stated that Brownlee's work "will have a major impact on corporate conduct in our country."{{cite news |author=Barry Meier and Eric Lipton |title=Under Attack, Drug Maker Turned to Giuliani for Help |work=The New York Times |date=December 28, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/28/us/politics/28oxycontin.html?pagewanted=all |accessdate=May 21, 2009}}

= National security investigation =

In March 2007, after a six-year investigation, ITT Corporation, the 12th largest supplier of sophisticated defense systems to the United States military, pleaded guilty to violating the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). ITT was convicted of illegally transferring classified and controlled night vision technology to foreign countries, including China, and agreed to pay $100 million in penalties. Brownlee was the first federal prosecutor to convict a major defense contractor of violating the ITAR.{{cite news |author=Leslie Wayne |title=ITT Guilty of Revealing Classified Military Data |work=The New York Times |date=March 28, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/business/28vision.html?pagewanted=all |accessdate=May 21, 2009}}

The investigation and prosecution of ITT Corporation created important industry reaction. Global Watch, a web based Newsletter of the International Import-Export Institute called the convictions "record breaking" and "precedent setting" and claimed that Brownlee's work would have a "significant long-term impact on the trade compliance community worldwide." The Wall Street Journal wrote that Brownlee's "ITT case is bound to send shivers through the U.S. defense industry, which increasingly views international trade as vital for long-term growth."{{cite news |author=Evan Perez and Jonathan Karp |title=U.S. to Probe Outsourcing After ITT Case |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=March 28, 2007 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117500552140350392 |accessdate=May 21, 2009}}

= Use of the Violence Against Women Act =

In 2005, Brownlee charged Brent Simmons with two counts of using a firearm during the commission of the violent crime of interstate stalking, made criminal by the 1996 Violence Against Women Act. After a 2-week trial in February 2005, the jury convicted Simmons of the two murders but was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty. Simmons was immediately sentenced by the trial court to life in prison without the possibility of parole.{{cite news |author=Jeff Casale |title=Guilty: Now, Jury Will Decide If Simmons Should Die|publisher=Daily News-Record |date=February 15, 2005 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/harrisonburg-daily-news-record/2005-02-16/?pagewanted=all |accessdate=May 21, 2009}}Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. "Brownlee, Whitmore receive Outstanding Contribution to Law Enforcement Awards." August 13, 2008. [https://archive.today/20130416065122/http://www.vachiefs.org/news/item/brownlee_whitmore_receive_outstanding_contribution_to_law_enforcement_award/]

= First federal death penalty verdict in Western District of Virginia =

In 2007, Brownlee and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Giorno prosecuted a federal inmate for committing a violent prison murder. The jury imposed the death penalty, the first federal death penalty conviction in the Western District of Virginia.The Roanoke Times. "Death penalty for strangling fellow inmate." February 14, 2007. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100607122810/http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/xp-104433]

= ''United States v. Frank Cassell'' =

On November 2, 2006, a federal Grand Jury charged 20 defendants for their roles in a racketeering conspiracy that included the distribution of illegal drugs, theft of drugs and firearms under the custody of the Henry County Sheriff's Office, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. Thirteen of the twenty defendants were current or former employees of the Henry County, Virginia Sheriff's Office. Eighteen of the defendants, including the sheriff, were convicted of felony offenses, and two were placed on pre-trial diversion.{{cite news |author=Lindsey Nair |title='Disgraceful Corruption,' Prosecutor Says|publisher=The Roanoke Times |date=November 3, 2006 |url=http://www.roanoke.com/webmin/news/disgraceful-corruption-prosecutor-says/article_18f0e76e-0aad-561c-bed7-f87315830326.html |accessdate=May 21, 2009}}{{Cite web |title=Sheriff, 12 Deputies Among Those Arrested On Drug, Racketeering Charges In Southern VA County |url=https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2006/11/02/sheriff-12-deputies-among-those-arrested-drug-racketeering-charges |access-date=March 23, 2023 |website=www.dea.gov |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Wray |first=Ginny |title=Henry County Sheriff's Office under investigation; 20 indicted |url=https://martinsvillebulletin.com/news/local/henry-county-sheriffs-office-under-investigation-20-indicted/article_f9b35f3a-05bf-5c29-980f-a3bea7614393.html |access-date=March 23, 2023 |website=Martinsville Bulletin |date=November 2, 2006 |language=en}}

= ''United States v. Carl B. Hutcherson'' =

In May 2005, Carl B. Hutcherson, the mayor of Lynchburg, Virginia, was convicted of defrauding two social security disability recipients and a charitable organization, making false statements to bank officials and federal investigators and obstruction of justice.{{cite news |author=Jim Kouri |title=Lynchburg Mayor Convicted of Defrauding Jerry Falwell Ministries and Others |publisher=The National Ledger |date=May 12, 2006 |url=http://www.nationalledger.com/news-tech/lynchburg-mayor-convicted-of-d-238747.shtml?pagewanted=all |accessdate=May 21, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905070133/http://www.nationalledger.com/news-tech/lynchburg-mayor-convicted-of-d-238747.shtml?pagewanted=all |archive-date=September 5, 2012 }}

= Dismissal during U.S. attorneys controversy =

Brownlee was included on the list of the second set of U.S. attorneys who were fired in 2006. He testified before the Senate that his placement on the list was related to his refusal of a request by his superiors at the DOJ to delay settlement of the Purdue Pharma case in 2006. Ultimately, he was not dismissed.U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Testimony of The Honorable John Brownlee, July 31, 2007, https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Brownlee%20Testimony%20073107.pdf{{Cite news |title=U.S. Attorney Became Target After Rebuffing Justice Dept. |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/31/AR2007073102163.html |access-date=April 28, 2023 |issn=0190-8286}}

Later life

=2009 election=

In 2008, Brownlee announced that he was running for Attorney General of Virginia. At the May 30, 2009, Republican Convention, he yielded the nomination to Ken Cuccinelli.{{cite news |first=Anita |last=Kumar |title=LIVE: The GOP Convention |newspaper=Washington Post |date=May 30, 2009 |accessdate=May 31, 2009 |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2009/05/the_gop_convention.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606144042/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2009/05/the_gop_convention.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2012 }}

=Private practice=

On July 17, 2013, it was announced that Brownlee had been retained to represent Virginia Governor and former fellow JAG Corps officer Robert F. McDonnell, with regard to a federal Grand Jury investigation.{{cite news |author=Olympia Meola|title=Brownlee joins, Flood leaves McDonnell's private legal team |publisher=Richmond Times-Dispatch |date=July 17, 2013 |url=http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/brownlee-joins-flood-leaves-mcdonnell-s-private-legal-team/article_c70cd4f2-a396-5d9e-aa2e-8022ad4a1e28.html |accessdate=May 21, 2009}}