Served as Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer in Western Washington
U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes announced that she is stepping down from the U.S. Attorney post on Jan. 17, 2019, when Brian T. Moran is sworn in as the Senate confirmed, politically appointed U.S. Attorney. U.S. Attorney Hayes became Acting U.S. Attorney on Oct. 1, 2014. She was subsequently appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder, and then the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington to serve on an interim basis as U.S. Attorney until a presidentially appointed U.S. Attorney was confirmed by the Senate.
“As my tenure as U.S. Attorney comes to a close, I want to reiterate what an honor it has been to lead an office of dedicated public servants focused on seeking justice and protecting the public," said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “Whether it was dismantling complex drug trafficking organizations, taking dangerous guns off our streets, bringing cyber criminals to justice, protecting civil rights, or a host of other impactful work, this office has worked tirelessly with our federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners to protect our Western Washington communities, and the nation as a whole. I am pleased to turn over the helm of the office to its next leader, Brian T. Moran."
Under U.S. Attorney Hayes’s leadership, the office successfully prosecuted multiple international cyber intrusion cases including obtaining the conviction at trial of Russian hacker Roman Seleznev. The office also prosecuted public corruption cases including that of an IRS agent soliciting bribes from a marijuana business owner, and the fraud case against former state Auditor Troy Kelley. The office expanded its work in Indian Country, using new legal tools to prosecute habitual domestic abusers and increasing resources to combat the opioid epidemic. The office also continued to grow its efforts to enforce civil rights laws and provide alternative paths for protecting public safety, including supporting district-wide prisoner reentry efforts and our innovative federal drug court. In addition, as U.S. Attorney, Hayes worked closely with state and local counterparts to secure funding for programs to take guns out of the hands of dangerous felons, and combat violent gangs and drug trafficking organizations.
During her tenure, U.S. Attorney Hayes also was a member of several Attorney General Advisory Subcommittees focused on addressing issues of concern to the Department as a whole and the U.S. Attorney community in particular. From 2014 through early 2017, she was one of the co-chairs of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee Working Group on Marijuana. In addition to other assignments, throughout her tenure as U.S. Attorney, she was a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee Native American Issues Subcommittee, Border and Immigration Subcommittee, and Cyber and Intellectual Property Subcommittee.
Annette L. Hayes joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1997 as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division. She prosecuted a range of drug cases including large-scale, international trafficking and cartel related cases. In 2002, she became the Deputy Supervisor of the Complex Crimes Unit where she prosecuted cyber hacking and intellectual property cases while working with law enforcement on outreach to the private sector. In 2005, she became one of the supervisors of the General Crimes Unit where she worked closely with, and trained many new attorneys on a range of federal crimes including child exploitation, drug, fraud, identity theft, immigration and violent crimes cases. In 2010, Ms. Hayes became the First Assistant U.S. Attorney serving as second-in-command in the U.S. Attorney’s Office responsible for - among other things - overseeing and managing the criminal, civil, appellate and administrative divisions in the office.
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Hayes spent her first six years as an attorney handling a variety of civil litigation matters at international law firms in Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
Ms. Hayes is a graduate of Cornell Law School and Williams College.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
