Wednesday, May 21, 2008

John Brownlee Announces Campaign for Attorney General


Roanoke, VA -- Former United States Attorney John Brownlee, a conservative Republican and former Army Ranger, announced his candidacy for Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

“I am running for Attorney General because every Virginian deserves to live in a safe, secure and prosperous community,” said John Brownlee. “As Attorney General, I will work hard to ensure that all Virginians live in neighborhoods that are free from violent crime, drug dealers, child predators, criminal illegal aliens, and those who prey on our most vulnerable citizens”
John Brownlee has spent the last 20 years serving the citizens of Virginia and the United States. As a young military officer, John volunteered for the Infantry and successfully graduated from the Army’s rigorous Airborne and Ranger programs.

In 2001, President Bush appointed John as United States Attorney. As the top federal law enforcement official, John successfully prosecuted some of our nation’s most corrupt corporations and dangerous criminals. As one of Virginia’s leading crime fighters, John has earned the reputation as a tough prosecutor who knows how to keep our communities safe from violent criminals and drug dealers.

Said Brownlee, “From personally prosecuting criminals including some of the most violent offenders, to running the United States Attorney’s office for over half our Commonwealth for seven years, to working closely with Attorney General Bob McDonnell to make Virginia safer, I have the experience needed to serve effectively as Virginia’s Attorney General.”

Brownlee is the son of hard working and dedicated public servants. John’s mother served as a public school teacher for over 40 years – the last 17 in Fairfax County, Virginia. John’s father was a decorated Army officer and Vietnam veteran who was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat and earned two Silver Stars for valor. John’s father retired in 2004 as the acting Secretary of the Army. John’s sister, Tracy Carney, and her husband and daughter live in Falls Church, Virginia.

Said Brownlee, “What drives me to work for a better Virginia is the same as many of you -- my family and two young children, and my faith in God and belief in the values of faith and service. I have been honored to serve my country as a soldier and my Commonwealth as its United States Attorney. As Attorney General, I will work for a safer, more secure and prosperous Virginia.

I am a pro-life candidate. I believe that life begins at conception and that our government has a duty to respect and protect all innocent human life. As a hunter, I also am a strong defender of the Second Amendment and will defend our right to keep and bear arms,” continued Brownlee.
John attended Robinson High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, where he was a member of the National Honor Society and received three varsity letters in football. After high school, Brownlee attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, on a ROTC scholarship.

At Washington and Lee, Brownlee received a B.S. degree in Business Administration and Accounting, earned three varsity letters in football, and earned honors as a distinguished military graduate. In 1991, Brownlee entered law school at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, graduating in 1994. After graduation, he served as a judicial law clerk for U.S. District Judge Sam Wilson. From 1997 through 2001, John served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Since 2005, John has taught trial advocacy at the University of Virginia School of Law.

In January 2005, Brownlee convicted defendant Brent Simmons for the 1996 murders of two James Madison University students. Simmons had traveled from Florida to Harrisonburg and then shot and killed the two students. After a mistrial in state court, Brownlee developed a novel legal theory by using the Violence Against Women Act, which had been enacted only 13 days before Simmons killed the students, to bring the case into federal court. Brownlee convicted the defendant of both murders, and the jury sentenced Simmons to life imprisonment with no chance of release.

Two years later, John convicted a defendant for committing a violent prison murder. The jury imposed the death penalty, and Brownlee became the first federal prosecutor in over 30 years to successfully prosecute a capital murder case in his judicial district.

In May 2007, after a five year investigation, Mr. Brownlee and Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell convicted the maker of the pain medication OxyContin of intentionally misbranding their highly addictive and dangerous drug. The company and executives were convicted of misbranding OxyContin and paid over $634 million in fines. The criminal fine was one of the largest financial penalties ever imposed on a drug company. Mr. Brownlee also served on Attorney General Bob McDonnell’s task force that helped toughen Virginia’s penalties against child predators.

Graduating from Washington and Lee in 1987, Brownlee entered the U.S. Army and volunteered for the Infantry. John was selected for the Commandant’s List from his Infantry Officer Basic Course, and successfully completed the Airborne, Ranger and Air Assault training programs. Brownlee was assigned to the 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard) at Ft. Myer, Virginia, where he lead an infantry rifle platoon. In 1997, Brownlee transferred to the Judge Advocate General Corps (USAR) where he served for 10 years. Brownlee received an honorable discharge in 2007 at the rank of major.

John is married to the former Lee Ann Necessary of Millers Creek, North Carolina. They attend, along with their daughters Thompson Ann and Catherine Harris, Grandin Court Baptist Church in Roanoke.

John's website

No comments: