News

Former prosecutor here named to top Justice Department post

By Lightning Reports, Published: September 13, 2019

WASHINGTON — Corey F. Ellis, a former Henderson County prosecutor who raised his family in Hendersonville, has been named acting director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), Attorney General William P. Barr announced on Friday.

Ellis is filling the position that has been held since December 2017 by James A. Crowell IV, who was nominated by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as a judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

“Jim Crowell has provided exemplary leadership to EOUSA and the United States Attorneys’ community,” said Attorney General Barr. “Jim’s commitment to ensuring justice is served for everyone has been the hallmark of his distinguished career. The Department’s loss is very much the Judiciary’s gain.”

Prior to this appointment, which is effective Sept. 16, Ellis served in several positions in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, including Chief of Staff to Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein. He relocated to Washingtonin early 2018 to take the Justice Department post.

Before joining the Deputy Attorney General's office, Ellis was the First Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, where he began as an Assistant United States Attorney in 2005. A native of East Tennessee, Ellis received a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and law degree from the University of Memphis with awards in trial advocacy and tax law. After graduation, he served for eight years as a prosecutor in the 29th District under District Attorney Jeff Hunt.

During his tenure in the Asheville office of the U.S. Attorney, Ellis handled a range of cases including organized crime, computer hacking and intellectual property, international money laundering, public corruption, violent crimes, financial fraud and capital crime cases.

“I look forward to continuing to work with Corey in his new role as Director of EOUSA,” Barr said in a news release. “As a career prosecutor with a stellar record, he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge about the United States Attorneys’ community to the job, and I am confident he will help continue to build upon our many successes in enforcing the rule of law, deterring crime, and bringing criminals to justice.”