Son of Southeast Texas soars as Eastern Texas' top prosecutor

He carries with him a pedigree of prosecuting Taliban militants and their financial supporters while working out of the Afghan capital’s U.S. Embassy during the nation’s longest war, bookending that endeavor with stints as a lawyer for the Eastern District of Texas Department of Justice – an office the Jefferson County native now leads.

A graduate of the 1979 class of Thomas Jefferson High School, U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston proudly hails from Port Athur, where he matriculated from a young man into a seasoned, 10-year veteran of the city’s police force.

He propelled himself from that position into the federal spotlight, joining the DOJ office he now leads back in 1996. The Examiner sat down with Featherston on the anniversary of his appointment to the position by Attorney General Merrick Garland to discuss his ascension to the top prosecutor in Eastern Texas’ 43 counties and his enduring endeavor to toil for justice’s sake.

“Basically, 16 miles of North Downtown Dallas starts the Eastern District of Texas. That is a different crime set than we have down in Beaumont,” Featherston mulled when asked about the varying challenges that crop up in his jurisdiction’s swath of the state. “There’s probably close to 2 million people in that kind of location, so you get a lot more white-collar crimes. But, then there’s also similarities. There’s drug crime, and every community has violent crimes – less so in the northern part of the district, but they have it, too.”

In the spring of 2022, judges in the Eastern District of Texas voted to keep Featherston in the position he was assigned to Nov. 16, 2021, effectively sealing his role until the President chooses to appoint a new lawyer.

“I’ve been doing it for quite a while, and I’ve done it on a few occasions – this is my second stint as the U.S. Attorney,” he said. “So, only time will tell what’s going to happen in two years. You know, we’re two years into this presidency, and we haven’t had a nomination. There is the possibility that the President could nominate someone tomorrow.

“I’m a civil servant, and, if you count Port Arthur, I’ve been in government service since 1981. So, way too long,” chuckled the veteran prosecutor, replying, “Oh, yeah,” immediately when asked whether he was prepared to continue his role for the foreseeable future.

“I love it. I love the district; this is my home,” he continued. “It’s an honor to be able to serve the community I grew up in.”

Justice Attaché in a foreign embassy

During his tenure as Justice Attaché for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afhghanistan in 2018, Featherston had to dodge mortar fire and other perils while prosecuting drug dealers, those who supported terrorists – whether through finances or supplies – as we as actual terrorists, themselves.

“Of course, so much has changed in Afghanistan. Afghanistan was very important in my life, and I enjoyed that assignment working for the State Department – and working with the Afghans there in Kabul,” Featherston supplied when asked about his work in the war-torn nation. “So, it really saddens me to see what has transpired in Afghanistan.”

Recalling the occasion matter-of-factly when probed about notable stories from his Kabul-based job, Featherston replied, “There was the occasional bombing of the U.S. Embassy. On occasion, fairly frequently, you would get mortared by the Taliban. So the alarms would go off, and you could see the mortars flying. When they hit, you can feel it.”

Remembering a particularly frightful night, Featherston shared, “On Christmas Eve 2018, there was a big attack right next to the U.S. Embassy, and it was … quite interesting. I was actually in a coffee shop on the military base that adjoins the U.S. Embassy when the attack happened. So, that actually was no more than 500 yards from where (the attack) was.

“We could see it transpiring, and, of course, we had to take cover in the coffee shop. Now, there were times we had to get into the bunkers. There were bunkers next to nearly all the facilities. It was about 15 degrees, and it had snowed – so, it was a little chilly. We’d sneak over into the coffee shop to warm up, drink coffee, and go back.

“That lasted about 12-15 hours … on Christmas Eve, right before coming back. So, that was my send-off before coming back.”

“The Marines and security group that protects those bases – you feel pretty secure. We’re all armed,” he said, adding that he carried a .40-caliber Glock and an M4 with him at all times in Afghanistan – even to business meetings where he’d don a suit. “It was a crazy time. War had been going on for 20 years at that time, and there was a group of Afghans who really wanted a democratic process and really loved the Americans and us being there trying to help. Then, there was a group who didn’t really care for our presence. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out – nation-building is a very difficult thing to do.”

Admitting that he was, to some extent, always “on edge” during his Middle-Eastern pursuit of justice, Featherston said he always had protection with him – whether he was slicing through the arid air on his helicopter commute or driving through the mountainous cityscape. The air was often safer, Featherston revealed, as terrorists would employ explosive-encumbered mopeds in an effort to kill American government officials like himself.

“If they see a vehicle they perceive is from the International Core, the West, these guys on mopeds would ride up and put a magnetic IED bomb on the vehicles,” he explained, saying it happened to an Australian convoy while he was there.

“It was exciting, it was something new and different.”

As a prosecutor in a hostile environment like Afghanistan, people in Featherston’s position were in danger of becoming targets of such aggression. That said, Featherston told the publication his trials were held near the U.S. Air Force base in Bagram, which offered more protection and anonymity than the capital of Kabul.

Tragedy-inspired destiny

Like countless fellow justice-seekers, Featherston’s involvement punishing terrorists hiding in the Middle East dates back to Sept. 11, 2001. On the day of the United States’ most infamous terrorism memory, Featherston was actually in Washington, D.C., and when the Pentagon’s western wall became a fiery kaleidoscope of debris, his wife was quite literally across the street.

“My wife was in a vehicle right next to the Pentagon when the plane hit,” he recalled. “So, I was in downtown D.C., and the Pentagon is just over the (Potomac) River. I was working in Washington, D.C. at the time. She had just moved there and was looking for a grocery store with our two-year-old at the time.

“Back then, the western side of the Pentagon – anybody could pull in. As a matter of fact, my two-year-old had ridden her tricycle around the west side of the parking lot of the Pentagon the day before.

“(His wife) was looking for the Harris Teeter, and she just missed it. She’s sitting there, (and then) she feels the concussion. She feels the van move. My daughter started screaming. She sees all the debris raining down. She thought the building had just blown up. She knew there was an explosion, but, in her mind she thought bomb, not plane. So, she shoved it in drive and took off and flew out of the parking lot.”

Featherston said his wife then had to walk their toddler up 13 flights of stairs to their apartment about a block away from the wreckage, saying the power was out. The couple then sat on the roof of their high-rise apartment, watching the United States’ defense headquarters burn.

“That was probably, initially, my first interest in working overseas; it was cultivated out of 9/11,” said the prosecutor, inspired by one of the most collectively traumatic days in the nation’s history.

More stringent punishments

When posed with the question of whether he feels some crimes aren’t punished severely enough, Featherston responded without hesitation, “Absolutely. I’m no different than you or any citizen out there. There are certain crimes I wish were punished more harshly, especially crimes against vulnerable populations – like children and the elderly.

“We operate under the law, and I agree to operate under that system we have,” he said. “So, I’m happy when we get a result like Pieper (a man who earned 40 years in federal prison for child pornography production). That was as good as a result as we could get out of it.”

While Featherston is bound by the facts of a given case and the matching punishments spelled out by lawmakers, he revealed his position in the judicial branch of government doesn’t leave him totally bereft of the power to affect change at the legislative level.

“Congress consistently asks us and polls us about specific things, such as crimes,” he explained, saying his feedback is considered when elected officials discuss changes to the country’s punitive practices. “I’m forbidden under Department of Justice rules to lobby or push for certain laws – whether it be state or federal. I’m the enforcement side.”

Heightened awareness for fairness

In the midst of doling out justice to the Eastern District of Texas’ worst malefactors, Featherston joined what he calls an unfortunate club after his beloved-by-all teenage son, Ben, died of an unidentified disease. It’s a story The Examiner has followed since it first gripped Southeast Texans November 2021, and Featherston agreed the “unfair” loss has amplified his prosecutorial awareness for fairness.

When asked whether seeking fair outcomes for victims is more present on his mind in the wake of what many parents would view as an unwittingly unfair situation, Featherston contemplated the question with a furrowed brow for a few moments before offering, “In the job I have, I would hope that I have a very good sense of fairness.

“We have a lot of discretion within our job, and that comes with a lot of responsibility that has to be handled appropriately. That’s why I keep good people around me – because I’m constantly bouncing things off them, asking, ‘Alright, is this fair? Are we where we should be on this issue?’ Determining that action, we take that as a very heavy burden before we charge anyone. We realize what a heavy burden on anyone’s life that can bring. There’s lots of crimes in the books. We can’t prosecute every single crime; we have to prioritize. So, empathy, fairness and grace has to be a part of that determination.”

While Featherston is powerless to prosecute any person for the unidentified, “criminal” disease which claimed his 19-year-old son’s life, seeking fair outcomes for victims in the Eastern District of Texas is. Featherston admitted fairness and empathy have a heavier presence on his mind after his son lost his life at such a young age.

“It definitely heightens that awareness,” he said, revealing that watching the sorrow with which victims and their families speak is harrowing. “I can relate. Everybody is different, but, unfortunately, I can relate to the loss of a child. I know some of the pain that some of those people are going through – it never ends.”

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Featherston at a glance 

 

Brit Featherston started his career in law enforcement in 1981 as a Port Arthur police officer and detective. In November of 2021, Featherston became the Attorney General appointed U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, after returning from Baghdad, Iraq, where he held the position of Department of Justice Attaché and worked on national security matters at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.

Featherston joined the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) of the Eastern District of Texas in 1996. He has been the Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney since January 2019. In 2018, Featherston held the position of Justice Attaché at the U.S. Embassy, Kabul, Afghanistan. Previously, he has held the positions of Acting U.S. Attorney, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, and other positions in the USAO. Out of district, he has held the position of Crisis Management Coordinator for the Department of Justice, and Legal Advisor for the General Counsel’s Office, in Washington, D.C. Previous jobs include police officer and detective, and assistant district attorney. Featherston coordinates special programs, and manages business affairs, for the District.

Featherston, a graduate of Lamar University in Beaumont and Baylor University Law School, worked his way through undergraduate school as a police officer and detective in Port Arthur. After graduating from law school, he joined the Houston law firm of Funderburk & Funderburk, LLC., practicing insurance defense work before returning to his law enforcement roots at the Brazoria County District Attorney’s Office. There, he prosecuted misdemeanor and felony cases before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 1996.

Featherston was one of three federal prosecutors assigned to prosecute the three individuals charged with the 1999 infamous dragging death of James Byrd Jr. After obtaining three convictions, Featherston and the prosecution team received the Attorney General’s highest Award for Exceptional Service.

Featherston, along with the FBI, established the primary command post, and led the criminal investigation response for the space shuttle crash in 2003. In 2010, he was appointed Counsel for Critical Incident Response for all U.S. Attorney’s Offices and worked on the 2011 National Level Exercise as the Department of Justice representative. In 2018, he was awarded a Department of Justice Director’s Award for his efforts during Hurricane Harvey and, in 2019, he received a Department of Justice commendation for outstanding service for his work as the 2018 Justice Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.