WASHINGTON (AP) – When President Donald Trump fired the acting attorney general last year for refusing to defend his controversial travel ban, Dana Boente stepped into the job.
When Trump abruptly ousted dozens of Obama-era federal prosecutors, Boente was tasked with letting them know.
And when Republicans released a politically explosive memo last week on the monitoring of a Trump campaign adviser, Boente was revealed as one of the officials who signed off on the surveillance.
The unassuming career federal prosecutor keeps finding himself in the middle of Trump’s political storms. But while some relatively obscure Justice Department veterans have sparked Republican rage for their roles in high-profile investigations, Boente has thus far emerged largely unscathed.
In fact, his profile continues to rise. FBI Director Christopher Wray recently chose him as general counsel, plunging him into the bureau’s inner machinations during an especially tumultuous time.