Richard R. Barker
Acting United States Attorney // Eastern District of Washington
Rich Barker currently serves as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. He held the position of First Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2023 to 2025 and, before that, worked as the District’s Tribal Liaison and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Coordinator. As First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Rich oversaw the office’s litigating divisions, managed media relations, led community outreach efforts, and collaborated closely with law enforcement and Tribal leaders to address public safety issues across Eastern Washington.
Rich joined the Department of Justice in 2014 as an Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C., where he worked in the Homicide Section, handling hundreds of violent crime prosecutions. In 2019, he transferred to the Eastern District of Washington, where he has prosecuted cases involving violent crimes, homicides, large-scale drug trafficking, and cyberstalking, among others.
Before his tenure with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Rich clerked for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. He also worked as a litigation associate at Davis Polk’s Washington, D.C. office. Rich earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the University of Utah, with a double major in Economics and Russian. He then graduated with the highest honors from Brigham Young University (BYU) Law School, finishing at the top of his class.
Outside of his work at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Rich is an adjunct professor at Gonzaga University School of Law, where he teaches courses in Trial Advocacy and Conflicts of Law. He also serves as a Lawyer Representative for the Judicial Conference of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. When not prosecuting cases or teaching law students, Rich enjoys exploring the natural beauty of Eastern Washington with his family and friends.
Dates of Service: 2026 – Present
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