Jonathan A. Ophardt has been appointed as the interim Chief Federal Law Enforcement Official of the District of Vermont, taking over in the Office of the United States Attorney by virtue of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. He has been assigned to be the temporary replacement of the outgoing U.S. Attorney Christina A. Nolan. The latter is being expected to resign on February 28, 2021, at the request of President-elect Joe Biden. Acting U.S. Attorney General Monty Wilkinson provided the instruction for the remaining 55 Trump-appointed U.S. Attorneys to vacate their posts during an all-U.S. Attorney call last February 9, 2021. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt will officially be named as Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont on March 1, 2021, and shall perform duties as the Top Federal Prosecutor of the district for the next 300 days, or until the position has been filled with a new U.S. Attorney nominated and confirmed by the Biden Administration.
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Appointment
Temporary replacement for the highest position in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont has been announced. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt will become the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont, taking over as first-in-command in the Office of the United States Attorney, following the departure of U.S. Attorney Christina A. Nolan on February 28, 2021. The adjustment made in the Office is a part of the process of transitioning into a new presidential administration, wherein a new set of Top Federal Prosecutors for the 94 districts across the United States will be named. All of the remaining 55 United States Attorneys appointed and confirmed by the Senate under the Trump administration, including U.S. Attorney Nolan, have been instructed to tender their letter of resignation to President-elect Joe Biden on or before the end of February 2021. On behalf of the Department of Justice, this announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney General Robert M. “Monty” Wilkinson last February 9, 2021, during an all-U.S. Attorney call. Pursuant to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt will be officially named as Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont on March 1, 2021, and will remain to hold the title for a maximum of 300 days or until such time that President-elect Joe Biden has nominated a new U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont, who the Senate shall then confirm.
Educational Background, Publications, and Bar Admission
Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt is a graduate of the Duke University School of Law, earning his Juris Doctorate in 2010. In the same year, he published one of his works entitled: Cyber Warfare and the Crime of Aggression: The Need for Individual Accountability on Tomorrow’s Battlefield, published in the Duke Law & Technology Review in the month of February. U.S. Attorney Ophardt also took part in the April 2010 Law, Ethics, and National Security Conference, where he participated in the Panel IV: Terrorism and Use of Force discussion along with other authors. Following his graduation from law school in 2010, Acting U.S. Attorney Jon Ophardt was granted admission into the North Carolina State Bar.
Legal Career
Having dedicated more than eight years of his legal career to serving in the Department of Justice, Acting U.S. Attorney Ophardt has been developing expertise and showcasing his practical skills and knowledge on investigating and prosecuting criminal cases. He spent the first few years of his career with the Department of Justice in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Nevada and the past six years performing duties as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont. In 2017, upon the appointment of former U.S. Attorney Christina A. Nolan, Acting U.S. Attorney Jon Ophardt began serving as First Assistant U.S. Attorney to then U.S. Attorney Nolan. As first and second-in-command in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont, they secured justice, promoted public safety, and vindicated victims’ rights on behalf of Vermonters and the American people.
Notable Prosecutions
U.S. Attorney Jon Ophardt has handled a wide variety of cases, including the 2014 Cybercrime that a vast criminal organization had carried out to steal personal information in an online marketplace; the 2015 massive credit card and identity theft scheme in a worldwide online marketplace that involved a multiagency federal investigation; and the 2013 Operation Open Market.
Office Jurisdiction
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont is currently being led by Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt through the enforcement of the federal criminal laws of the United States. Furthermore, the Office is responsible for representing the interest of the United States in all civil litigation and criminal prosecutions that are within the jurisdiction of the district, as well as ensures the public safety needs of the community via constantly strengthening the relationship of the Office with the state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies in the district. The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont handles a wide variety of criminal cases, with emphasis on prosecution of crimes against children, civil rights, cybercrime, drug trafficking, fraud and identity theft, immigration and human trafficking, national security, public corruption, terrorism, and violent crimes.
Contact Details
Full Name: Jonathan Allen Ophardt
District/State: Vermont
Public email ID: jon.ophardt@usdoj.gov
Burlington Office
United States Courthouse and Federal Building
Post Office Box 570
11 Elmwood Avenue, 3rd Floor
Burlington, VT 05402-0570
(802) 951-6725
Main
(802) 951-6540
Fax
(802) 652-1140
TTY/TTD
Rutland Office
United States Courthouse and Federal Building
Post Office Box 10
151 West Street, 3rd Floor
Rutland, VT 05702-0010
(802) 773-0231
Main
(802) 773-0214
Fax
(802) 652-1140
TTY/TTD
Social Media Profiles of Jonathan Ophardt
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YouTube
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Username: U.S. Attorney VT
Tag: @USAO_VT
URL: https://twitter.com/usao_vt
Updated: July 9, 2021
Nikolas P. Kerest is the next State’s Attorney for the District of Vermont.
Updated: May 10, 2023