ATF Executive Staff
ATF Acting Director B. Todd Jones
President Barack Obama formally nominated B. Todd Jones for the position of United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota on June 4, 2009, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 7, 2009. United States Attorneys serve as the nation's principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General, and each is the chief federal law enforcement officer of the United States within his or her particular jurisdiction.
In September 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Jones to serve as Chair of the Attorney General Advisory Committee (AGAC). This body, consisting of representative United States Attorneys from around the country, is responsible for advising the Attorney General on a broad array of Department of Justice policy issues.
After serving in that capacity for two years, the President appointed Jones the Acting Director for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in September of 2011. He has continued to serve as both Acting Director and U.S. Attorney since that time.
Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney in 2009, Jones was a partner with a major national law firm in Minneapolis, where his practice focused on complex business litigation. He represented a number of organizations and individuals in criminal and civil regulatory matters. Jones is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He also has served as special counsel to various boards of public and privately held companies. In that capacity, he led internal investigations and provided guidance on compliance and governance issues.
This is the second time Jones has held the position of United States Attorney. President Clinton appointed him in 1998, and he served until January 2001. Earlier in his career, Jones also was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Minnesota. During his initial tenure as a federal prosecutor, he conducted grand jury investigations and was the lead trial lawyer in a number of federal prosecutions that involved drug trafficking, financial fraud, firearms, and violent crime.
Jones received his Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1983 and his B.A. from Macalester College in 1979. Following admission to the Minnesota bar, he went on active duty in the United States Marine Corps, where he was an infantry officer with the First Marine Division and, subsequently, both a trial defense counsel and prosecutor in a number of court martial proceedings. In 1989, he left active duty and returned to Minnesota with his family. He was recalled to active duty in 1991, during Operation Desert Storm where he was stationed at Camp Pendleton California until the cessation of hostilities.
ATF Deputy Director Thomas E. Brandon
Thomas E. Brandon was appointed Deputy Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives in October 2011. As the Deputy Director, Mr. Brandon is responsible for leading an agency of men and women charged with carrying out laws and regulations related to firearms, explosives, arson, and alcohol and tobacco trafficking. Explosives and firearms are frequently used in the commission of crimes of violence. ATF is well-known for combating violent crime and protecting the public.
A member of the Senior Executive Service and a seasoned law enforcement professional, Mr. Brandon began his ATF career as a Special Agent in 1989, with Detroit as his first office assignment. Rising through the ranks at ATF, he served in many management positions which included Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division; Supervisory Special Agent of the Detroit Arson and Explosives Enforcement Group; Special Agent with the Office of Inspection in Washington, DC; Supervisory Special Agent of the Achilles Enforcement Group in Los Angeles, California; and as the Division Intelligence Officer with the Phoenix, Arizona, Field Division. Brandon previously held the position of Chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' National Academy, and as the Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Division.
When appointed as Deputy Director, Mr. Brandon was serving as the Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division. In that role, Mr. Brandon directed the Field Operations activities for ATF in Arizona and New Mexico. He was responsible for supervising ATF’s law enforcement and industry operations. Special agents under his leadership investigated violations of the Federal firearms, explosives, arson, alcohol, and tobacco laws, and industry operations investigators regulated the firearms and explosives industries.
Mr. Brandon is a member of several professional organizations including the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, in 1987.
Mr. Brandon proudly served in the United States Marine Corps from 1978 to 1982, where his assignments included Embassy duty in Rome, Italy, and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Mr. Brandon is a native of New Jersey.