Trump Nominates Craig Missakian as San Francisco’s top federal prosecutor

· May 19, 2025

A Southern California lawyer who worked on the Republican-led committee that investigated the 2012 Benghazi attack has been tapped as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, The Standard has learned.

Craig Missakian, who was an assistant U.S. attorney during the 2000s, has been leading a private practice in Pasadena, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He will start in the new role May 27, according to a source.

The Department of Justice confirmed Missakian’s appointment.

Between 2014 and 2016, Missakian worked as deputy chief counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives. While there, he worked with the select committee on Benghazi spearheaded by former Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy.

The committee famously interviewed then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2015 about her alleged role in the attacks on a U.S. consulate in Libya that resulted in the death of the ambassador. The hearing launched repeated Republican talking points about Clinton’s use of a private email server during her time as secretary of state.

Missakian would be subject to Senate confirmation.

“Craig really feels like people have to take responsibility for their actions. That’s a tough position,” Jack DiCanio, an attorney and friend of Missikian, said in 2009.

As an assistant U.S. Attorney, Missakian prosecuted terrorism, public corruption, and cyber crimes, according to a fraternity alumni biography.

As a private attorney, Missakian has defended public-sector employees accused of wrongdoing, including a Los Angeles-area water district manager and police officer. He also represented a former Glendale cop who allegedly worked for the Mexican Mafia before making a plea deal, details of which were published in the L.A. Times. Missikian took the newspaper to court in an attempt to have the details of his client’s plea deal removed from print.

Missakian, an Armenian American and graduate of Georgetown Law School, ran in 1996 for the Republican nomination for the 43rd Assembly District seat, according to the L.A. Times. He began his political career as an intern under then-Sen. Pete Wilson, who served as California governor from 1991 to 1999.

In addition to the San Francisco Bay Area, the Northern District covers Del Norte County to the north and Monterey County to the south. The office prosecutes violations of federal law and acts as the attorneys for the federal government in the district.