Earl G. Matthews is an American government official and attorney who held senior positions within the Department of the Army and at the White House during the administration of President Donald Trump. Matthews was a member of Trump's Department of Defense transition team and was appointed as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, James N. Mattis on January 20, 2017.[1][2][3] Matthews was subsequently appointed as the Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Army on June 21, 2019.[4] He served as Acting General Counsel of the Army from June 21, 2017, until James E. McPherson was sworn in as General Counsel on January 2, 2018.[5][6]
Matthews continued as Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Army until he was detailed to the White House to serve as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Defense Policy and Strategy on the National Security Council staff in late May 2018.
Matthews was formally succeeded as Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Army by Robert J. Sander on July 22, 2018. Matthews was named as a Deputy Assistant to the President in January 2019 and continued to serve as Senior Director for Defense Policy and Strategy on the National Security Council (NSC) staff until his resignation from the White House in November 2019.
As a Deputy Assistant to the President, Matthews was one of the highest-ranking African-Americans in the Trump Administration.[9] As Senior Director for Defense Policy and Strategy, he worked closely with then-National Security Advisor John R. Bolton on a range of sensitive national security matters.
Matthews was involved in the initial planning for the United States Space Force and co-authored an October 2018 White House memo to the Pentagon, with National Space Council Executive Secretary Scott Pace, requesting that the Department of Defense make a formal recommendation to President Trump as to whether the proposed Space Force should be organized an independent military department or should be organized as a separate military branch within the Department of the Air Force.[10][11]
Matthews traveled with then National Security Advisor, John R. Bolton to Ukraine in August 2019 and Warsaw, Poland in September 2019 where he participated in meetings between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and senior U.S. officials.[12] In addition to Bolton, NSC Senior Director Tim Morrison and, top U.S. diplomat in Kyiv, Ambassador William Taylor also attended the meetings in Ukraine in which Matthews was present.
Matthews was also present for the meeting between Vice-president Mike Pence and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky which occurred in Warsaw on September 1, 2019.[13] The Zelensky meetings Matthews attended in Ukraine and in Poland were a later focus of the House impeachment inquiry, but Matthews was not implicated in the inquiry. Matthews left his White House position on November 8, 2019.
In addition to his role as a civilian political appointee and White House staff member, Matthews concurrently serves as a Colonel (COL) within the United States Army, District of Columbia, National Guard (DCNG).
Matthews serves in the role of Staff Judge Advocate (SJA)[15] for Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ). As the Staff Judge Advocate for the DCNG, COL Matthews reports directly to the Commanding General and serves as the chief legal advisor on all matters regarding the DCNG.
