Mary B. McCord

Member of the Board of Editors

Mary B. McCord is Executive Director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) and a Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center.  At ICAP, McCord leads a team that brings constitutional impact litigation at all levels of the federal and state courts across a wide variety of areas including First Amendment rights, immigration, criminal justice reform, and combating the rise of private paramilitaries.

McCord was the Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2016 to 2017 and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security from 2014 to 2016.

Previously, McCord was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for nearly 20 years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  Among other positions, she served as a Deputy Chief in the Appellate Division, overseeing and arguing hundreds of cases in the U.S. and District of Columbia Courts of Appeals, and Chief of the Criminal Division, where she oversaw all criminal prosecutions in federal district court.

McCord is a statutorily designated amicus curiae for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review.  McCord served as legal counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Task Force 1-6 Capitol Security Review appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.  McCord also served on the Columbus Police After Action Review Team tasked with evaluating how the Columbus, Ohio, Police Department responded to the 2020 summer protests.

McCord holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law School.

Articles by this author:

The Supreme Court Cannot Ignore the National Security Implications of the So-Called ‘Jawboning’ Case

by

Mar 17th, 2024

The Just Security Podcast: Toward a Goldilocks Deal on 702 Surveillance Reform

by , , , , , and

Dec 5th, 2023

Anticipating Jim Jordan’s Judiciary Committee Hearing with FBI Director Wray

by

Jul 11th, 2023

Stewart Rhodes Should Get No Leniency For Leading Anti-Government Paramilitary Group

by and

May 24th, 2023

Video: January 6th Investigators Speak About Ongoing Threats of Violent Extremism

by and

Feb 27th, 2023

January 6th Report Exposes Ongoing, Converging Threat of Anti-Democracy Schemes and Paramilitary Violence

by and

Jan 6th, 2023

The Government Was Right to Charge Seditious Conspiracy

by

Dec 7th, 2022

Congress Can and Should Address the Threat from Unauthorized Paramilitary Activity

by

Jan 24th, 2022

Lessons from Benghazi: Accountability for the U.S. Capitol Attack

by , and

Jan 14th, 2021

Top Experts Analyze Inspector General Report Finding Problems in FBI Surveillance

by , , and

Apr 27th, 2020

Bill Barr’s Dangerous New Powers

by and

May 28th, 2019

New Approach After Charlottesville Violence Protects Public Safety While Preserving Rights

by

Jan 2nd, 2019