John F. Walsh is an American attorney who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado from 2010 to 2016. Walsh was nominated by President Barack Obama on April 14, 2010 and sworn in on in on August 16, 2010. When he stepped down in 2016, Walsh was the longest-serving U.S. attorney in Colorado history.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Walsh served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, where he headed the office’s major frauds section. Walsh was involved in high-profile prosecutions of securities fraud, investment schemes that targeted seniors, and insurance fraud. He was a member of the team that prosecuted Charles Keating for his role in the savings and loan crisis. Walsh led the federal investigation that resulted in the indictment and resignation of Governor Fife Symington of Arizona. Walsh helped prosecute Norwalk Assemblyman Bruce E. Young, who was sentenced to eighteen months in prison in what the Los Angeles Times called “one of the few successful political corruption prosecutions ever mounted against a California legislator.” In 2004, Walsh ran for Denver District Attorney. The Denver Post endorsed Walsh, arguing that his “excellent combination of outlook, experience and skills” made him the best choice for the job.
On April 14, 2010, Walsh was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as United States Attorney for the District of Colorado. Walsh was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on August 5, 2010, and was sworn in on August 16, 2010. Attorney General Eric Holder attended Walsh’s formal investiture on January 12, 2011 in Denver.
Record
Walsh pursued legal action against Citibank for misconduct that contributed to the Great Recession. His office won $4 billion dollars in fines and $2.5 billion in consumer relief. The $7 billion resolution was the largest settlement in the history of the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s office. Walsh co-chaired the Department of Justice’s Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, a team of 55 attorneys, agents and analysts tasked with seeking criminal charges against individuals who committed mortgage fraud and contributed to the financial crisis. Walsh prosecuted the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline for misconduct in the marketing of its products. GSK pled guilty and paid a $3 billion penalty, the largest health care fraud fine in history.
Resignation
Walsh stepped down as U.S. Attorney on July 29, 2016. Upon his resignation, the Department of Justice praised Walsh for concluding “the largest federal penalty cases in Colorado’s history, collecting literally billions of dollars on behalf of American taxpayers and the United States Treasury.”
Private Practice
On January 9, 2017, Walsh joined the law firm WilmerHale as a partner in their Denver Office. In early 2019, the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network announced that Walsh and a team of WilmerHale attorneys will be honored with the Network's 2019 Pro Bono Service Award. Walsh’s team represented immigrant parents and relatives detained and separated from their children under the Trump administration's family separation policy.
Return to politics
On March 18, 2019, Walsh stepped down from his job at WilmerHale to run for the United States Senate seat currently held by Republican Cory Gardner. Walsh said he would make a decision on his Senate run by the end of April 2020.
Personal life
Walsh lives in Denver with his wife, Lisa. Walsh serves on the board of directors of Invest in Kids, a Colorado nonprofit focused on early childhood education and health. He has previously served on the boards of directors of the Colorado Lawyers Committee, the Faculty of Federal Advocates, the Leadership Denver Alumni Association, and the United States-Mexico Law Institute.
