Sigal Pearl Mandelker (born 1971) is an American lawyer and former government official who served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence from 2017 to 2019. In October 2019, she stepped down from the position to pursue opportunities in the private sector. Following her position with the US Treasury Department, Sigal Mandelker joined Silicon Valley investment firm Ribbit Capital as a General Partner.

Early life and education

A child of Holocaust survivors, Mandelker was born in Chicago, Illinois. She received her B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1993 and her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2000.

Career

Mandelker was a law clerk for Edith Jones at the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * Mi ...

and Clarence Thomas at the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. She worked in the

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan. Establishe ...

as Assistant U.S. Attorney before becoming Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General, where she worked on

national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...

and

counterterrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that Government, governments, law enforcement, business, and Intelligence agency, intellig ...

. She was Counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security before she worked in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice as

Deputy Assistant Attorney General The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

Department of Justice

In 2008, while in the criminal division of the Department of Justice, Mandelker was part of the team of high ranking DOJ officials who agreed not to pursue federal charges against sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. The deal allowed Epstein to spend only about a year in jail and plead guilty only to state crimes, avoiding federal charges entirely. Victims have long claimed that federal agreement not to prosecute Epstein violated their rights by not informing them of the plea deal. This matter is currently pending appeal before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2019, Epstein was later brought up on federal charges and charged with sexually abusing dozens of children.

Private Practice

Mandelker was a partner at Proskauer Rose before leaving in 2017.

Under Secretary of the Treasury

In March 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Mandelker for the position of Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. She was confirmed by the United States Senate with a vote of 96–4 on June 21, 2017. Mandelker played a significant role in the Trump administration's Iran policy, overseeing the implementation of financial sanctions against Iran and financial crime enforcement against Iran. Mandelker was one of the Trump administration's "most hawkish members on Iran." Mandelker drew bipartisan praise for her work applying new authorities given to the Treasury Department, through The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, to sanction individuals and entities responsible for human rights violations or acts of significant corruption. Included in these sanctions were those applied in 2017 and again in 2018 against billionaire

Dan Gertler Dan Gertler (born 23 December 1973) is an Israeli billionaire businessman in natural resources and the founder and president of the DGI (Dan Gertler International) group of companies. He has diamond and copper mining interests in the Democrati ...

and his companies as a result of his “opaque and corrupt” mining and oil deals in the Congo. These sanctions severely limited his global business acumen as he was refused access to the US banking system and other financial institutions concerned with violating American law. In October 2019, Mandelker stepped down from this position and was succeeded by

Justin Muzinich Justin George Muzinich (born November 5, 1977) is an American businessman and former Donald Trump administration official who served as the United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, from December 2018 to January 2021. Muzinich previously s ...

as acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Mandelker announced plans to pursue opportunities in the private sector.

Memberships

Mandelker is a member of the New York City, New York State, and American Bar Associations, as well as the Federalist Society. She is also a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council.

Personal life

Mandelker lives in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

References

External links

Treasury Department biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mandelker, Sigal Living people American lawyers University of Michigan Law School alumni University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni United States Department of Justice lawyers Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States United States Department of Homeland Security officials United States Department of the Treasury officials Federalist Society members Trump administration personnel Proskauer Rose partners Jewish American government officials 1971 births