UBER Uber Technologies Inc

By Dylan Tokar 

Matt Olsen, Uber Technologies Inc.'s chief trust and security officer and a veteran of Washington's national security circles, is expected to be nominated to serve as head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, according to people familiar with the matter.

The White House plans to nominate Mr. Olsen in the coming days, one of the people said, to the division that oversees sensitive national security cases, including those involving terrorism, counterintelligence threats and export controls violations. He would lead the division as it confronts extremist violence, foreign interference in U.S. elections and ransomware cyberattacks, which the DOJ sees as rising threats.

If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Olsen would become an assistant attorney general of the National Security Division. He would replace John Demers, a former Boeing Co. vice president and assistant general counsel and one of the few remaining Trump appointees still in office.

The White House and Uber didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Mr. Olsen also didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The National Security Division under Mr. Demers oversaw a number of sensitive investigations and matters, including certain aspects of cases stemming from an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the U.S. election of 2016.

The division played a key role in the Trump administration's approach to China, bringing a series of indictments in which prosecutors described in detail allegations of Beijing's aggression, including cyber theft of valuable intellectual property and defense technology from high-tech companies and contractors, as well as other forms of espionage.

While lawmakers from across the political spectrum have supported aspects of the Justice Department's aggressive approach toward China, some of those efforts have been controversial. The division's crackdown on researchers in the U.S. accused of hiding their ties to the Chinese government, for example, has prompted some critics to argue it is driving talent away from the U.S.

National security officials in the Biden administration have said they plan to continue using elements of Mr. Trump's approach in developing their own stance toward China.

The division will also be involved in a new task force aimed to curtail the proliferation of ransomware cyberattacks, a threat that has taken on new urgency after last week's attack on Colonial Pipeline Co. by criminal hackers who caused the company to shut down the country's largest conduit of fuel.

The division is also expected to play a major role in efforts to combat domestic extremism, which Attorney General Merrick Garland has described as one of his top priorities in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot. In March, another senior department official told federal prosecutors around the country to alert the national security division and work more closely with them on any such investigations.

Mr. Olsen previously served for nearly two decades in the DOJ, where he held a variety of positions. Under the Obama administration, he also served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center and as general counsel for the National Security Agency.

Before that, he oversaw the Justice Department's Guantanamo Review Task Force, which President Obama created to explore ways to close the controversial detention facility in Cuba.

Mr. Olsen also served in the Justice Department under President George W. Bush, who appointed him to serve as a deputy assistant attorney general for the National Security Division in 2006.

In addition to his job at Uber, he is also currently a lecturer at Harvard Law School and an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia School of Law.

--Aruna Viswanatha and Sadie Gurman contributed to this article.

Write to Dylan Tokar at dylan.tokar@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 17, 2021 19:26 ET (23:26 GMT)

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