[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 175 (Tuesday, October 5, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6900-S6901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Tribute to Vanessa J. Le

  Mr. BURR. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Vanessa Le, a 
dedicated member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence staff, 
an integral part of the committee's investigation into Russia's 
interference in the 2016 U.S. elections, and my designee on the 
committee staff since March of 2019. While with the committee, Vanessa 
proved herself time and again to be more than just another capable 
lawyer. Although there is no debating her strengths as an attorney, it 
is--and I hope always will be--Vanessa's courage in the face of 
corruption and expedience that distinguishes her counsel. As an 
unrelenting advocate for virtue, sensibility, and the common good, 
Vanessa lives the axiom, ``What is right is not always popular, and 
what is popular is not always right.''

  Vanessa's work for the committee covered a waterfront of complex 
national security challenges that ranged from investigating Russia's 
election interference to conducting oversight of the U.S. 
counterintelligence apparatus. As lead investigative counsel for the 
majority on the Russia investigation, Vanessa worked tirelessly to 
secure witness interviews and document production, draft and serve 
committee subpoenas, interview witnesses, and liaise with the 
Department of Justice,

[[Page S6901]]

the Office of Special Counsel, and the Senate legal counsel. In 
addition, she helped conduct witness interviews, drafted and reviewed 
chapters of the committee's report, and provided crucial legal advice 
on the committee's constitutional and Senate procedural authorities.
  Vanessa was also responsible for overseeing the FBI and helping to 
actualize my policy objectives relative to the Bureau and the Nation's 
broader counterintelligence enterprise. Vanessa brought a keen mind, 
exacting questions, and a heartfelt passion for the role of the 
committee in keeping this Nation secure to work with her every day.
  Vanessa's professional experience prior to joining the committee 
staff includes time as a litigation associate at the Drinker, Biddle & 
Reath law firm branch in Chicago, and as an Honors Attorney in the 
National Security Agency's Office of General Counsel. Vanessa is 
leaving the committee staff to work for the Office of the Director of 
National Intelligence, where she will serve as a special advisor to the 
DNI. I can most assuredly say that our loss is Director Haines' gain. 
Vanessa will achieve incredible things at the ODNI, and it is to the 
country's benefit that her contributions to work with this intelligence 
community will continue. Although I am hopeful the transition will 
afford her more time with her husband Gary and son George and baby girl 
Margaux, anyone who has ever met Vanessa will tell you that she is not 
really the relax-at-home type. I suspect she will bring the same 
intensity and ``let's get this done'' attitude that she was known for 
on the committee into her role at the DNI.
  Therefore, it is with a little reluctance and a lot of pride that I 
wish Vanessa well and thank her for all she has done for the committee. 
Her wit, intellect, boundless energy, and unparalleled mastery of the 
culinary arts will be impossible to replace.
  Thank you, Vanessa. The vital investigative work of this committee 
would not have been accomplished absent your dedication, your clear-
minded judgment, and your unwavering moral compass.