During her tenure at the Justice Department, Brand was tangentially involved in the controversy surrounding Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's dismissal of several United States Attorneys. She was floated by the department's leadership as a top candidate to replace Margaret Chiara, who was ousted as part of the purge.[18] Brand ultimately declined the position, however, and resigned from the Department of Justice in June 2007.[19]
Brand dissented from several recommendations included in the PCLOB's 2014 report on NSA's bulk metadata collection program under section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act. She declined to join in the Board's view that the program was illegal as a statutory matter and argued that, in policy terms, it struck a justifiable balance between privacy and national security and, as such, should not be discontinued.[23] The Board, for its part, had recommended the program's termination.[24]
The reauthorization of the 702 section of the surveillance law was a job assignment of the subject according to CNN.[27] Combating human trafficking was one of Brand's stated priorities as Associate Attorney General.[28][29] At the Department of Justice, Brand authored a memorandum entitled "Limiting Use of Agency Guidance Documents In Affirmative Civil Enforcement Cases," which was called the "Brand memo". The document forbade DOJ litigators from bringing enforcement actions based on unenforceable guidance documents.[30]
On February 9, 2018, The New York Times reported that Brand, along with her assistant Currie Gunn, had resigned from the Justice Department. The New York Times reported that Brand oversaw "a wide swath of the Justice Department" and helped lead the department's effort to extend Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act that "authorizes the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance program."[3][31]
Walmart
On February 12, 2018, NBC News reported that Brand quit the Justice Department over fear she might be asked to oversee the Russia probe and had taken a position with Walmart as executive vice president of global governance and corporate secretary.[2][32] As executive vice president of global governance, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary, Brand is in charge of the legal department, global ethics, compliance, and investigations.[29][33]
Brand formerly served as the chairman of the Federalist Society's Litigation Practice Group and as co-chair of the American Bar Association Administrative Law Section's Government Information and Right to Privacy Committee.[36]
^Ernst, Joni (March 7, 2017). Introduction of Rachel Brand (Speech). Hearing on Rod Rosenstein and Rachel Brand Nominations before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Washington, DC. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017.
^ abcdBrand, Rachel L. (May 12, 2005). Biographical Information (Public)(PDF) (Speech). Confirmation Hearing on the Nominations of Rachel L. Brand, Alice S. Fisher, and Regina B. Schofield to be Assistant Attorneys General (Hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 109th Congress, 1st Session). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Archived(PDF) from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
^Brand, Rachel (June 22, 2004). Testimony of Rachel Brand(PDF) (Speech). Hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security: "Tools to Fight Terrorism: Subpoena Authority and Pretrial Detention of Terrorists". Washington, DC. Archived(PDF) from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
^Brand, Rachel (January 23, 2014). "Annex A: Separate Statement by Board Member Rachel Brand"(PDF). Report on the Telephone Records Program Conducted under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and on the Operations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (Report). pp. 209–13. Archived(PDF) from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.