Politics
Ex-U.S. Attorney Found Dead At 43 Just Two Months After Leaving Office
Jessica Aber, a former U.S. Attorney who was appointed to run the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) by ex-President Joe Biden, was found dead in Northern Virginia on Saturday, according to a statement from the Alexandria Police Department. She was 43-years-old.
Police responded to reports of an unresponsive woman at 9:18 a.m. on Saturday, where they found Aber deceased. “As a matter of protocol, an investigation is underway surrounding the circumstances of her death,” the APD said in its statement. “The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia will determine the cause and manner of death.”
According to Aber’s Department of Justice biography, she began her legal career after graduating from William and Mary Law School in 2006. She began her tenure with the EDVA as an assistant U.S. attorney in 2009. She also served on a detail assignment as counsel to the assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice from 2015 to 2016. Aber later served as the deputy Chief of EDVA’s criminal division.
In 2021, Aber was nominated by then-President Joe Biden to serve as U.S. Attorney for the EDVA and was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate soon after. As part of her role, Aber oversaw more than 300 employees across four divisions located in Norfolk, Richmond, Newport News and just over the river from the nationals capital in Alexandria.
Aber resigned from her position on January 20, the day President Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term. She described her tenure as U.S. attorney as “an honor beyond measure.”
“I am deeply grateful to senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and to President Biden for the opportunity to lead this office and to Attorney General Garland for his steadfast leadership,” Aber said after leaving office. “I am proud of the work we have done with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to enforce the law and build community trust.”
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U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert, Aber’s successor, said he was “heartbroken” to learn of his former colleague’s death. “She was unmatched as a leader, mentor and prosecutor, and she is simply irreplaceable as a human being,” Siebert said. “We remain in awe of how much she accomplished in her all-too-brief time in this world. Her professionalism, grace and legal acumen set the standard.”
The circumstances of Aber’s death are currently under investigation.
