Gowdy served as co-chair of the Council’s Task Force on Long Sentences.
Trey Gowdy served as the Representative for South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District from 2011 to 2019. While in congress he served on the Judiciary Committee, Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Intelligence Committee, Education and the Workforce Committee and Ethics Committee. He was also chosen to chair a Select Committee on the events occurring in Libya on September 11-12, 2012. While in congress he actively participated in numerous congressional investigations, sponsored bills signed into law, and had deep and meaningful relationships with scores of colleagues on both sides of the aisle. He has been recognized statewide for his commitment to victim’s rights and drunken driving enforcement and nationally for excellence in death penalty prosecutions.
After law school he clerked for a judge on the South Carolina Court of Appeals and then for a United States District Court trial judge. From 1994-2000, as a federal prosecutor, Gowdy prosecuted the full range of federal crimes including narcotics trafficking, bank robbery, car jacking, kidnapping, child pornography cases, and the murder of a federal witness. He was awarded the Postal Inspector’s Award for the successful prosecution of J. Mark Allen, one of “America’s Most Wanted” suspects. He also received the highest performance rating a federal prosecutor can receive – two years in a row. In 2000, he left the U.S. Attorney’s office to run for 7th Circuit Solicitor (District Attorney) in Spartanburg and Cherokee Counties.
As 7th Circuit Solicitor, Gowdy led an office of 25 attorneys and 65 total employees. He started a Violence Against Women Task Force, a Worthless Check Program, enhanced and expanded Drug Court, and implemented a Drug Mother Protocol designed to assist expectant mothers break the cycle of addiction.
Gowdy is an author, host of a television show and podcast. A frequent commentator on television, radio, and podcasts, he is also the author of four New York Times best-selling books.
