Tristan Leavitt Explained

Tristan Leavitt
Office:Member of the United States Merit Systems Protection Board
Term Start:March 4, 2022
Term End:February 28, 2023
Predecessor:Susan Tsui Grundmann
Successor:Henry Kerner
President:Joe Biden
Birth Place:Idaho Falls, Idaho, U.S.
Party:Republican Party
Education:Brigham Young University (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)
Children:5

Tristan Leavitt is an American attorney who is the president of Empower Oversight as of March 2023. He formerly served in several roles at the Merit Systems Protection Board, including member, acting chair, and general counsel.

Early life and education

Originally from Idaho Falls, Idaho, Leavitt earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Brigham Young University in 2007.[1] At BYU, he was student body vice-president.[1] [2] He later earned a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University.

Career

Early career

After graduating from BYU, Leavitt was hired as an intern in the office of Congressman Bill Sali, where he later was promoted to staff assistant.[1] He then interned at Human Rights Without Frontiers before working on the staff of the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and as principal deputy special counsel and acting special counsel at the United States Office of Special Counsel.[3] [4]

Merit Systems Protection Board

In October 2018, Leavitt was appointed general counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board.[5] On February 28, 2019, the term of the only remaining member of the three-person MSPB expired, leaving the board with no members. Leavitt then assumed unitary control of the board's non-exclusive functions in accordance with continuity of government plans the board had enacted the last time it had members.

On September 2, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Leavitt to serve as a member of the MSPB.[6] Leavitt was confirmed on March 1, 2022 and took office three days later on March 4. He served until the expiration of his term on February 28, 2023.[7]

At the time of Leavitt's departure, Acting Chair Cathy Harris evaluated Leavitt's time with the MSPB as "a really great asset to the board. He came with a lot of experience in whistleblower law. He also held down the fort during the lack of quorum".[8]

Empower Oversight

In March 2023, Leavitt was hired as president of Empower Oversight, which describes itself as a "non-profit anti-corruption organization" and, according to the New York Times, is a "small group mostly composed of Republican lawyers with deep experience in Capitol Hill investigations" who spent years as aides to Senator Charles E. Grassley, the Republican senator from Iowa.[9] [10] Empower Oversight was founded on July 2, 2021.[11] Clients represented by Empower Oversight include Federal Bureau of Investigation agents who raised concerns about the treatment of rioters who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack and Internal Revenue Service agents who alleged that President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, was receiving preferential treatment from federal prosecutors.[12] [13]

Hunter Biden has since sued the IRS, alleging that two of Leavitt's IRS clients, Greg Shapley and Joe Ziegler, illegally shared his personal tax information.[14] [15]

Leavitt has worked closely with Kash Patel, a close associate of Donald Trump, who donated thousands of dollars to some of Leavitt's FBI clients.[16] Stephen Friend, an FBI client represented by Empower Oversight, now works for the Center for Renewing America, a conservative think tank that employs Patel. The FBI suspended Friend in August 2022 for his objecting to using a SWAT team to arrest armed members of the “Guardians of Freedom,” a group which adheres to the ideology of the “Three Percenters,” a far-right extremist organization.[17] The arrestees were at the U.S. Capitol illegally on January 6, 2021, according to the FBI.[17]

2023 West Virginia legislative election

In April 2023, Leavitt announced he intended to run for the West Virginia House of Delegates in the 53rd legislative district.[18]

Personal life

Leavitt is married and has five children.[1] [19] [5] He met his wife while both were attending BYU.[20]

In 2013, he served as president of the BYU Political Affairs Society, a networking group of BYU alumni sponsored by the BYU department of political science.[21]

Notes and References

  1. News: Bandes . Jillian . "Be All You Can Be" on Capitol Hill . December 23, 2020 . . August 10, 2007.
  2. News: Living A BYUSA Lifestyle. . December 23, 2020 . November 28, 2006.
  3. Web site: Tristan Leavitt . wm.edu . . December 23, 2020.
  4. Web site: OSC Welcomes New Principal Deputy Special Counsel. U.S. Office of Special Counsel. en. 20 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171129235827/https://osc.gov/News/pr17-19.pdf. 2017-11-29.
  5. Web site: MSPB Announces Appointment of New General Counsel . mspb.gov . . December 23, 2020.
  6. Web site: President Biden Announces Two Key Nominations . whitehouse.gov . 2 September 2021 . . September 3, 2021.
  7. Web site: Member Leavitt Departing MSPB . February 27, 2023 . Merit Systems Protection Board . 2023-03-02.
  8. News: Temin . Tom . A progress report from the Merit Systems Protection Board . March 26, 2023 . . March 6, 2023.
  9. Web site: Empower Oversight Announces New President . empowr.us . March 2023 . Empower Oversight . March 26, 2023.
  10. News: Broadwater . Luke . Former Republican Aides Shepherd Whistle-Blowers Through Congress . September 18, 2023 . . September 18, 2023.
  11. Web site: Year in Review: On the Anniversary of Empower Oversight’s Launch, a Look Back at the First Year . empower.us . Empower Oversight . 20 September 2023.
  12. News: Inside Jim Jordan’s Disastrous Search for a ‘Deep State’ Whistleblower . 20 September 2023 . Rolling Stone . 2 March 2023.
  13. News: Who are the Hunter Biden IRS whistleblowers? Joseph Ziegler, Gary Shapley testify at investigation hearings . 20 September 2023 . CBS News . 19 July 2023.
  14. Web site: Hunter Biden sues the IRS over tax disclosures after agent testimony before Congress . Associated Press . 3 December 2023.
  15. News: Broadwater . Luke . Former Republican Aides Shepherd Whistle-Blowers Through Congress . September 18, 2023 . . September 18, 2023.
  16. Web site: Democrats question Hunter Biden whistleblower’s claim of nonpartisanship . NBC News . 1 December 2023.
  17. Web site: Jim Jordan’s first FBI whistleblowers face scrutiny from skeptical Democrats . CNN . 1 December 2023.
  18. News: Katz . Eric . Appeals Panel for Feds No Longer Whole As Former Board Member Runs for Office . September 18, 2023 . . April 7, 2023.
  19. News: Ogrysko . Nicole . How one small agency is grappling with the concept of 'reopening' . June 29, 2020 . . December 23, 2020.
  20. News: Office Romances Don't Have to Hurt Business . December 23, 2020 . . October 19, 2006.
  21. News: BYU Political Affairs Society to Kick-Off Inaugural National Conference this Week . December 23, 2020 . UtahPolicy.com . May 13, 2013.