Joey Russell George (October 8, 1963 – January 1, 2024) was an American attorney who served as the

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) is an office in the United States Federal government. It was established in January 1999 in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 98) ...

at the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

from 2004 until his death in 2024.

Early life and education

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on October 8, 1963, George attended public schools, including

Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is a public specialized high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is on ...

. He then received his Bachelor of Arts degree from

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

and

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

Career

After graduating from law school, George worked as a prosecutor. He then served as Assistant General Counsel in the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

. He later served as Associate Director for Policy in the

Corporation for National and Community Service AmeriCorps ( ; officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer wor ...

before returning to New York City and practicing law at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel. In 1995, George began serving as the Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the

United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one o ...

and of the Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Financial Management and Intergovernmental Relations, then chaired by Representative

Steve Horn John Stephen Horn (May 31, 1931 – February 17, 2011) was President of California State University, Long Beach and later a five-term Republican United States Congressman from California from 1993 to 2003. Early life Horn was born on May 31, 19 ...

. George was nominated to serve as Inspector General of the Corporation for National and Community Service by

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

in 2002. In 2004, he became the

, and subsequently served under four presidents. In 2013, George testified before Congress in the

IRS targeting controversy In 2013, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS), under the Obama administration, revealed that it had selected political groups applying for tax-exempt status for intensive scrutiny based on their names or political themes. This led to ...

Death

J. Russell George died on January 1, 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:George, J. Russell 1963 births 2024 deaths IRS scandal American civil servants Brooklyn Technical High School alumni Harvard Law School alumni Howard University alumni Lawyers from New York City