Mark D. Agrast
Mark David Agrast is an American lawyer who was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice, overseeing criminal and national security matters for the department's Office of Legislative Affairs. In October 2014, he became the executive director of the American Society of International Law.
Early life and education
Agrast earned a bachelor's degree in 1978 from Case Western Reserve University. He attended the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar from 1978 until 1981, and then earned a J.D. degree from Yale Law School in 1985.Professional career
Early in his career, Agrast was a senior legislative aide to U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds. In 1993, Agrast helped to form the Lesbian and Gay Congressional Staff Association. Agrast served as the legislative director for Studds' successor, U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt, from 1997 until 2003. In 2003, Agrast joined the liberal Center for American Progress public policy research and advocacy organization as senior vice president for domestic policy. He later became a Senior Fellow at the Center.Work in the Obama administration
On July 1, 2009, Agrast was appointed a Deputy Assistant Attorney General for criminal and national security matters in the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legislative Affairs.In September 2009, Agrast was reported to have told activists that the Obama administration would not be pursuing or supporting new legislation to detain terrorism suspects and that it has all the current detention authority that it needs.