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Kendra Wharton is an American attorney who specializes in white-collar criminal defense, federal and congressional investigations, and regulatory enforcement. She served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2025 and previously represented former U.S. President Donald J. Trump in multiple criminal proceedings. She is the founder of Wharton Law PLLC.

Wharton earned her Bachelor of Science degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Louisville and her Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center.^[1]

Wharton began her career as a legislative staffer for Senator Mitch McConnell, then Senate Republican Leader. She advised on banking, tax, and financial-services policy during the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent congressional recovery efforts.^[1]

Wharton spent nearly a decade as Special Counsel at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in Washington, D.C. She worked in the firm's Global Litigation Group and White Collar Defense & Investigations Practice, focusing on multinational investigations, regulatory compliance, internal corporate investigations, and representation before federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.^[1]

Wharton served as a senior attorney on the legal team defending former President Donald J. Trump in several high-profile criminal cases. She worked on federal prosecutions brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith in the District of Columbia and the Southern District of Florida, involving allegations relating to obstruction, classified documents, and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.^[1]

Her responsibilities included coordinating defense strategy, managing discovery, drafting motions, and advising on constitutional and procedural arguments. She also contributed to the defense in People v. Trump in New York State Court, assisting with witness preparation and coordination between state and federal defense teams.^[1]

Wharton has worked on several major matters throughout her career, including:

• United States v. Donald J. Trump (D.D.C.) – Federal prosecution concerning efforts to overturn the 2020 election, where Wharton contributed to constitutional and procedural defense strategy.^[1]
• United States v. Donald J. Trump (S.D. Fla.) – Classified documents case involving national-security issues and compliance with the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA).^[1]
• People v. Trump (New York) – State prosecution involving alleged falsification of business records.^[1]
• Corporate foreign-bribery investigations – Led or supported multinational FCPA-related internal investigations for global corporations.^[1]
• Congressional investigations – Represented corporations and executives responding to subpoenas and testimony requests from congressional committees.^[1]

Wharton joined the Department of Justice in January 2025 as an Associate Deputy Attorney General. In this role, she advised the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General on enforcement policy, legal oversight, and interagency coordination. Her portfolio included oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Office of the Inspector General.^[2]

Wharton also served as one of DOJ’s senior ethics officials, overseeing conflict-of-interest reviews, recusal determinations, and professional-responsibility matters. Her appointment followed the resignation of a career ethics official who expressed concern about political appointees assuming expanded ethics authority within DOJ.^[3]

Her role generated public discussion among former DOJ officials, some of whom questioned the shift from career to political oversight in ethics matters, while others cited her experience in investigations and compliance as sufficient qualification.^[3]

As Associate Deputy Attorney General, Wharton participated in interagency meetings on criminal-justice policy, oversight of federal law enforcement, national-security matters, and regulatory initiatives. She worked with the White House Counsel’s Office and other agencies on issues including prison reform and federal-oversight mechanisms.^[2]

In June 2025, Wharton announced she would leave DOJ effective July 2025 to return to private practice. According to reporting, her departure coincided with the completion of several oversight initiatives and her intention to resume her work in white-collar defense at her law firm.^[4][2]

Following her departure from DOJ, Wharton resumed work at Wharton Law PLLC, where she represents corporations, executives, public figures, and institutions in white-collar criminal matters, federal investigations, and congressional inquiries.^[1]

Wharton was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch in White-Collar Criminal Defense from 2021 through 2025.^[1]

She has served as Global Co-Chair of the Young Professionals Committee of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA).^[1]

Wharton is admitted to practice in Florida, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. She is also admitted before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.^[1]

• United States Department of Justice
• White-collar crime
• Congressional investigations in the United States