{"id":59244,"date":"2019-05-14T09:29:07","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T13:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?p=59244"},"modified":"2020-07-09T16:00:29","modified_gmt":"2020-07-09T20:00:29","slug":"prosecuting-the-big-cases","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2019\/prosecuting-the-big-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Prosecuting the Big Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

Robert Khuzami (\u201983) to speak at School of Law Convocation.<\/h2>\n

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\nAs a federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, Robert Khuzami remained resolute no matter what type of defendant he was prosecuting\u2014whether a terrorist mastermind or President Trump\u2019s personal lawyer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose decisions take place in the context of an institution with a history of objectivity, independence, and pursuing the evidence where it may lead\u2014and not being intimidated,\u201d Khuzami (LAW\u201983) says from his home in Washington, D.C. \u201cThe US Attorney\u2019s office for the Southern District of New York has a long history of that, so you draw great comfort from those around you and from the institution and its legacy. It\u2019s not like you are out there on your own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khuzami, who will speak at the School of Law Convocation on Sunday morning, May 19, served a second stint as deputy US attorney and second-in-command for the <\/span>Southern District<\/a> from January 2018 until April 12.<\/p>\n

Given his family background, his journey to the podium of a law school graduation was not the likeliest career path. His parents were ballroom dancers who ran an <\/span>Arthur Murray studio<\/a> <\/span>in New York City, and his brother and sister were in the arts as well. \u201cThe most basic and probably most accurate explanation is, I didn\u2019t have a damn bit of artistic talent,\u201d says Khuzami.<\/p>\n

But he did find his own calling\u2014a pursuit of justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn overwhelming majority of citizens are law-abiding folks who go about their lives playing by the rules, and there\u2019s an obligation on the part of society to acknowledge those people and make sure they\u2019re not fools or dupes for following the rules,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd one way you do that is to make sure that those who violate the rules, who violate the social contract, are held accountable. Because if you don\u2019t do that, it undermines and corrodes the principles of democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the approach Khuzami took over the last year as he supervised the prosecution of President Trump\u2019s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who reported to prison this month, convicted of campaign finance violations for arranging secret hush-money payments to two women to benefit the president\u2019s 2016 campaign. Khuzami also led the US Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement from 2009 to 2013, overseeing its restructuring in the wake of the 2008 financial meltdown and the Bernie Madoff scandal.<\/p>\n

\"Read<\/a><\/p>\n

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