Meet J.P.
Commitment to Community
Best known as one of the lead prosecutors in Jack Smith’s Special Counsel’s Office, J.P. Cooney was raised by a single mom in Arlington, Virginia, educated at the University of Notre Dame and UVA Law School, was a federal prosecutor for almost 18 years, and is a long-time Arlington community volunteer and youth baseball coach.
Described by the Washington Post as “a bold prosecutor who took on big cases,” The New York Times as a prosecutor “known for his aggressive approach,” and by Business Insider as a “top public corruption prosecutor,” Cooney served as a supervisor in the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section and as Chief of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. before joining Jack Smith’s Special Counsel’s Office to help lead the investigations and prosecutions of President Donald Trump.
Taking On Powerful Politicians and Special Interests
Throughout his career as a prosecutor, Cooney fought to make citizens safer and government more fair and honest. Starting in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., Cooney prosecuted murders and other violent crime. In 2012, he transferred to the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, where he held corrupt politicians of both parties accountable. Ultimately, Cooney returned to the D.C. United States Attorney’s Office to build its corruption and civil rights practice, and from there he took on Roger Stone and, in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol and its aftermath, supervised prosecutions of the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, Steve Bannon, and Peter Navarro. Cooney won hard-fought convictions and Talking Points Memo reported how Cooney distinguished himself as “a veteran federal prosecutor with a deep distaste for corruption.”
Talking Points Memo reported how Cooney was described as “fearless” by former colleagues and was known for “a willingness to take on high-level power players” no matter their political party. ABC News reported how even a senior Justice Department official during President Trump’s first administration described Cooney as a "nonpartisan career prosecutor" who is “focused on integrity.”
As Principal Deputy to Special Counsel Jack Smith, Cooney was a lead prosecutor in both criminal prosecutions of President Trump for retention of classified documents and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Rooted in Integrity and Service
Bipartisanship is a hallmark of Cooney’s life and career. As President of the College Democrats at Notre Dame, Talking Points Memo reported how “Cooney’s Democratic club strove to make its events ‘bipartisan’ and they often incorporated participation from their Republican counterparts.”
Growing up in a two-bedroom Arlington home with his single mom and sister (and with the loving support of his father, who ran a small business in New Jersey), Cooney developed a lifelong commitment to Arlington Babe Ruth Baseball. After playing Little League himself, Cooney’s first job was as a youth umpire, where he first developed his passion for enforcing fair play. As an adult, Cooney has served as a long-time coach and ABR president.
After graduating law school, Cooney started in public service as a law clerk to Judge Robert G. Doumar in the Eastern District of Virginia. After Cooney worked for a brief time in corporate law, his wife, Maureen, reminded him that his parents had sacrificed so that Cooney could prioritize service over money. So, Cooney took a 75% pay cut to work as a prosecutor. Now in his own small, service-oriented law practice and as a candidate for Congress in Virginia’s newly drawn 7th Congressional District, Cooney lives in the house he grew up in with Maureen and their three children, who all attend Yorktown High School — the same public school from which Cooney graduated.
