Margaret Harker comes to NCLA with significant experience in government investigations and litigation, having served in the three branches of our government. Most recently, Margaret led complex Congressional investigations and conducted oversight of dozens of federal agencies. She worked on three Congressional committees—the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the House Select Committee on China, and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs—in various capacities, including as Senior Advisor, General Counsel, Deputy Chief Counsel for Investigations, and Senior Investigative Counsel.

Prior to her time on Capitol Hill, Margaret served for nearly a decade in the U.S. Department of Justice. As an Assistant United States Attorney in both the Eastern District of Tennessee and the Eastern District of Virginia, she practiced defensive civil litigation and affirmative civil enforcement. As a trial attorney in the National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, Margaret practiced civil and criminal law, with a focus on the administration and enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Margaret clerked for the Honorable Henry E. Hudson, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Honorable Randolph A. Beales, Court of Appeals of Virginia.

Earlier in her career, Margaret studied for a year in Beijing, China, and worked on the China Team at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She earned her undergraduate degree from Santa Clara University and her law degree from University of Richmond School of Law, where she was president of the Federalist Society.  During law school, she interned for the Honorable William B. Traxler, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the Honorable Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Supreme Court of Virginia. She is admitted to practice in Virginia.