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U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas Stephen J. Cox
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas announced May 26 the United States Attorney Joseph D. Brown resigned, effective May 31. On the heels of the announcement, the district welcomed a new U.S. Attorney to the recently vacated position.
Stephen J. Cox has taken the oath of office to become the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas. Cox was appointed to the position by Attorney General William P. Barr pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 546. Cox took the oath of office June 1 from U.S. District Judge Michael Truncale.
“I am grateful to the Attorney General for appointing me to serve as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District,” said U.S. Attorney Cox. “That I will be working alongside the talented and dedicated men and women of this office and our partners in law enforcement is a distinct privilege. I look forward to leading the office during these challenging times, as we endeavor to protect the safety and security of our community while promoting and defending the rule of law.”
Cox, 42, of Houston, is the chief federal law enforcement official in the Eastern District of Texas, which includes 43 counties stretching from the Oklahoma border to the Gulf of Mexico. The district includes six fully staffed offices in Beaumont, Plano, Tyler, Sherman, Texarkana, and Lufkin with 120 employees, including 55 prosecutors. Cox is responsible for the prosecution of federal criminal offenses in the district, and will represent the United States in all civil litigation in the district.
Before being appointed as U.S. Attorney, Cox served as Deputy Associate Attorney General and Chief of Staff within the Department’s Office of the Associate Attorney General. In this role, Cox spearheaded numerous policy reforms relating to corporate enforcement and regulatory reform, as well as overseeing several Department matters relating to financial fraud and healthcare fraud. He also served as vice chair of the Deputy Attorney General’s working group on corporate enforcement and accountability, and as executive director of the Department’s regulatory reform task force.
Previously, Cox served on the William H. Webster Commission on the FBI, Counterterrorism, Intelligence, and the Events of Fort Hood, and as a senior advisor to the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Cox has also spent time in private practice, dealing with white collar investigations, ethics and compliance, and regulatory matters.
Cox has a Bachelor of Science from the Texas A&M University and J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center. He is a member of the Texas and District of Columbia bars. Cox and his family will make their home in Beaumont.
For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, visit www.justice.gov/usao-edtx.