FBI Director Announces Appointment of Charles M. Steele As New Chief of Staff

Washington, D.C. – Director Robert S. Mueller, III, today announced that Charles M. Steele will serve as his Chief of Staff.

Mr. Steele is returning to the FBI from the law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where he has served as Special Counsel in the firm’s Business Fraud and Complex Litigation Group since August 2003. From 1999 to 2003, Mr. Steele served as Deputy General Counsel in the FBI’s Office of the General Counsel (OGC), where he provided legal, policy and ethical advice to senior FBI and Department of Justice officials on law enforcement, national security, and policy matters.

Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Steele served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. Before that, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Director Mueller said, “I am pleased to welcome Charlie back to the FBI. He will bring extensive legal experience, management expertise, and outstanding leadership to the job. I look forward to working with Charlie again, and I am confident he will be an invaluable asset to the FBI as it moves forward to meet new challenges.”

Mr. Steele graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Economics. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center. He is a member of the Arizona State Bar, the Maryland State Bar, and the District of Columbia Bar.