Joshua Geltzer
Executive Editor (2017-Jan. 2021)
Dr. Joshua Geltzer (LinkedIn) is a partner in WilmerHale’s Defense, National Security and Government Contracts Practice. He focuses his practice on a wide array of cutting-edge national security issues, including artificial intelligence, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), crisis management, cybersecurity and national security-related litigation. As the former top national security lawyer for the White House, Dr. Geltzer offers both strategic counsel and practical legal advice to clients navigating the statutory and regulatory issues associated with emerging technologies across all sectors.
Dr. Geltzer joined the firm after serving as Deputy Assistant to the President, Deputy White House Counsel, and Legal Advisor to the National Security Council (NSC), providing legal counsel to the President and White House leadership on matters of national defense, intelligence and foreign relations. Before that, he was Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor, where he advised on counterterrorism, election security, migration management, and the release of US hostages and wrongful detainees. Dr. Geltzer also served as Special Assistant to the President and Special Advisor on Countering Domestic Violent Extremism, overseeing the development and implementation of the country’s first-ever National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism.
Prior to his roles in the Biden Administration, Dr. Geltzer was the executive director and visiting professor of law at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law Center, where he built and directed the institute, engaging in complex public interest litigation at all levels of the federal and state courts.
Before joining Georgetown Law, Dr. Geltzer began his government service immersed in complex national security legal and policy issues, serving as Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the NSC, Deputy Legal Advisor to the NSC and Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Department of Justice.
Dr. Geltzer clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer of the US Supreme Court and Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Articles by this author:
The Just Security Podcast: Trump’s AI Strategy Takes Shape
by Joshua Geltzer, Brianna Rosen and Maya Nir
Apr 17th, 2025
Good Governance Paper No. 10: Addressing Foreign Election Interference—An Overdue To-Do List
Oct 27th, 2020
The Baseline: How a Functional Executive Would Have Handled the Russian Bounty Operation
by Joshua Geltzer, Ryan Goodman and Dani Schulkin
Jul 2nd, 2020
Specific Questions for Congress (and News Media) to Ask Attorney General Barr
by Joshua Geltzer, Ryan Goodman and Asha Rangappa
Jun 22nd, 2020
Don’t Let Trump Say the “American Carnage” of 2020 is What He Claimed in 2016. It’s Not.
Jun 1st, 2020
When the Abnormal Becomes Typical: Clinging to Memories of Normalcy Three Years into the Trump Administration
Mar 3rd, 2020
The Friday Night Massacre’s Broader Context: Trump’s Redesign for American Democracy
by Joshua Geltzer and Ryan Goodman
Feb 10th, 2020
Three Things to Look For in the 2020 “Worldwide Threat Assessment” from the U.S. Intelligence Community
by Joshua Geltzer and Ryan Goodman
Jan 15th, 2020
The US Mission Tied to Syrian Oil Fields May Prove the Worst of All Strategic Options
Nov 12th, 2019
Trump Goes Full Putin—Capitulation Inside the Oval Office
by Joshua Geltzer and Jake Sullivan
Sep 30th, 2019
The Pattern and Practice of Trump’s Assaults on the Intelligence Community
by Joshua Geltzer and Ryan Goodman
Sep 3rd, 2019
Expert Summaries of Mueller Report: A Collection
by Just Security, Kate Brannen, George T. Conway III, Jennifer Daskal, Kristen Eichensehr, Joshua Geltzer, Ryan Goodman, Elie Honig, Harry Litman, Renato Mariotti, Barbara McQuade, Asha Rangappa, Mimi Rocah, Paul Seamus Ryan, Rita Siemion, Joyce Vance and Andy Wright
Aug 20th, 2019
“Virtual Iowa Caucuses” Demand Cybersecurity Attention: 2020 Election Security Can’t Wait Till 2020
Jul 29th, 2019
35 Questions for Congress to Ask Robert Mueller (+ Questions from Readers)
by Joshua Geltzer, Ryan Goodman and Asha Rangappa
Jul 22nd, 2019
Asking the Right Question on Iran, Al-Qaeda and the AUMF
by Joshua Geltzer, Ryan Goodman and Luke Hartig
Jun 21st, 2019
Trump’s Preference for Acting Officials Puts National Security at Risk
by Carrie Cordero and Joshua Geltzer
May 20th, 2019
What Congress Should Ask Bill Barr When He Testifies
by Joshua Geltzer, Ryan Goodman and Asha Rangappa
Apr 30th, 2019