ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – United States Attorney John C. Anderson, 45, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, has announced his resignation effective 11:59 pm on Jan. 2, 2021. After his resignation, he plans to join a private law firm in the Santa Fe area.
Mr. Anderson was nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney in November of 2017 and was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Feb. 15, 2018.
“John Anderson has performed his duties as U.S. Attorney in a manner that has brought great credit upon the Department and himself,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “John’s leadership has been defined by his commitment to the rule of law and his unwavering dedication to the Department’s principal mission of securing the safety and welfare of the people of the United States. In the District of New Mexico, this has included promoting state and local partnerships, while spearheading the cause of building long-term, sustained efforts to take violent criminals off the streets of Albuquerque. John has been resolute in his commitment to fighting for justice on behalf of victims of crime throughout New Mexico, including in our Indian communities. I am deeply appreciative of the many different facets of John’s service.”
Prior to his appointment as U.S. Attorney, Mr. Anderson had been with the law firm of Holland & Hart in Santa Fe since 2013, where his legal practice focused on complex litigation and government investigations. Mr. Anderson previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Mexico from 2008 to 2013, primarily focusing on the investigation and prosecution of white-collar crime. Before serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mr. Anderson was a litigation associate at the New York City law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP from 2004 to 2008, where his practice focused on antitrust, securities and general commercial litigation.
Mr. Anderson received his A.B. from Bowdoin College and his J.D. cum laude from Fordham University School of Law in New York City. Mr. Anderson clerked for Judge Paul J. Kelly, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Santa Fe, N.M., from 2003 to 2004.
Mr. Anderson has provided the following statement:
Serving as United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico has been the highest honor of my career. I am deeply grateful to the President, to Attorneys General Sessions and Barr, and to Senators Udall and Heinrich, for their support and confidence in entrusting me with the solemn responsibility of serving as United States Attorney. I am also exceptionally thankful for my family, without whose constant love and support I would never have been able fulfill the obligations of this office. Perhaps most of all, I am indebted to the career men and women of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico who work tirelessly to promote public safety and ensure that justice is done. It has been a privilege to call them my colleagues.
I am undeniably proud of what this Office has accomplished over the last three years. Through increasing federal involvement and the deployment of federal resources, we have made significant strides toward reducing violent and dangerous crime in Albuquerque. In doing so we have forged ever stronger partnerships between federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement. I am hopeful that these partnerships will endure and flourish long after I am gone.
We have redoubled our commitment to the cause of justice in New Mexico’s tribal communities, where violence remains an unacceptably common reality of life for too many Native Americans. I am grateful to have been able to increase the number of prosecutors dedicated to pursuing justice for victims of crimes in Indian Country and continually amazed at the selflessness and dedication of our victim-witness advocates. I am similarly proud that New Mexico has taken a leading role in addressing the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons, including through the addition of a contractor dedicated to developing and implementing national and local protocols to address this issue.
At the same time, we have significantly increased our efforts to combat transnational organized crime, especially on our southern border with Mexico. The flow of illegal drugs into the United States, and the illegal export of firearms from the United States into Mexico, make for a deadly combination on both sides of the border, and the callous business of cross-border human trafficking similarly endangers innocent lives. I am honored to have been a part of a sustained effort to combat these pernicious and illegal endeavors.
In each these areas, our efforts would be for naught without the selfless dedication of our federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. To all of them, I offer my deepest admiration and gratitude.
Within our Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has acted with diligence and commitment to ensure the integrity of federal programs and the just resolution of civil claims.
Finally, during my tenure I have been privileged to hire 34 Assistant United States Attorneys. More than any other achievement or accomplishment, they will inform my legacy. I have the utmost confidence in every one of them. From my new vantage as a private citizen, and with a quiet pride, I will watch their careers progress, cheer their successes, and celebrate their achievements.
Much work, of course, will remain for my successors. Violent crime continues to represent a stubborn impediment to New Mexico’s ability to realize its full potential, and the increasing flow of mass-produced methamphetamine across our southern border promises only to exacerbate that challenge. At the same time, too many in our Native American communities live in fear of violence, and without adequate law enforcement resources.
Nonetheless, I leave the U.S. Attorney’s Office optimistic for its future and confident that it will continue to pursue justice with vigor, while remaining faithful to its enduring principles and those of the Department of Justice.
