    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [February 11, 1992]
    [Pages 91-97]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With Attorney-General-Designate
    Janet Reno
    February 11, 1992

    Nomination of Janet Reno To Be Attorney General

        The President. Good afternoon. One of my central missions as
    President is to reconnect the Government of the American people with the
    people who sent us here. Government cannot be an abstract, distant
    entity. It must be directly linked to the real lives of real people. I
    pledged when I ran to reach beyond Washington to bring the best from
    America's statehouses and courthouses to our Government. And I believe
    that my Cabinet and other appointees have fulfilled that pledge so far.
        No agency needs an injection of innovative spirit more than the
    Department of Justice. Americans demand and deserve freedom from crime
    in their homes, at their schools, and on the streets. Talking tough is
    easy. Actually getting results is much more difficult and much more
    rare. Thousands of prosecutors and police across America have been
    developing successful ways to fight crime and, just as important, to
    restore the sense of security that makes community possible in our
    Nation. I expect my Justice Department to take those lessons and apply
    them nationally, to be an innovator for law enforcement.
        After years of political controversy and abuse, the Justice
    Department also needs an Attorney General who will bring a sense of
    pride, integ-

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    rity, and new energy to that agency. The Department's dedicated career
    staff need leadership to help the Department pull together to focus on
    the urgent interests and issues of justice and law that brought the
    employees of the Justice Department into public service in the first
    place. They need an administrator schooled in the management of tough
    and complex problems and difficult-to-call legal cases, things that
    affect matters in the office and on the streets of America.
        I am proud to announce today that I intend to nominate Janet Reno,
    the State attorney from Miami and Dade County, Florida, to be our next
    Attorney General. She is a front-line crime fighter and a caring public
    servant. She has devoted her life to making her community safer, keeping
    children out of trouble, reducing domestic violence, and helping
    families. She has truly put people first.
        She grew up as the daughter of two respected Florida journalists.
    She worked her way through Cornell University, graduating in 1960. Three
    years later, in 1963, she was one of a handful of women to graduate from
    the Harvard Law School, a year behind her distinguished Senator, Bob
    Graham. After a decade in the private practice of law, she was appointed
    the State attorney in 1978.
        Janet Reno is ready to tackle the Justice Department's problems.
    Serving successfully as the chief prosecutor in a complex, diverse urban
    community is a really tough job. And she has done that job and done it
    well. She supervises an office of 900, including 230 attorneys. Her
    office handles over 120,000 cases per year, 40,000 of them felonies, and
    has won 80 capital punishment convictions for first degree murderers
    since she became prosecutor.
        She has pioneered innovative programs to reduce crime, violence, and
    drug abuse. She launched a drug court program that has become nationally
    acclaimed that gets young first-time offenders back on track. She's
    piloted a community policing program, helping to reduce crime in
    blighted urban areas, something we want to do all across America. She
    began one of the first and best domestic violence programs combating
    spousal and child abuse. She runs a tough child support program that is
    at the leading edge of making deadbeat parents pay up.
        She has been a fair-minded and effective prosecutor. Her balanced
    approach has won wide praise from across the community, from law
    enforcement, the bar, community leaders, civil rights leaders. People
    from all walks of life have hailed her achievements and her remarkable
    dedication to public service. She has won election five times and is the
    single biggest votegetter in Dade County. The overwhelming support of
    the people who know her best is the most telling testament to her skills
    that I know of.
        As an experienced law enforcement leader, she will be an effective
    voice in our fight against violent crime, spearheading our efforts to
    put 100,000 new police officers on the street, to keep dangerous weapons
    out of the hands of criminals, to make greater use of boot camps and
    other alternative means of service for young offenders, to increase aid
    to local law enforcement, to expand the use of community policing and to
    tackle the problems of violence against women and the need for tougher
    child support enforcement.
        She will join with local leaders and environmental advocates to make
    sure that those who pollute our air and our water pay for their actions
    and take responsibility for the needed clean-up. She will work to
    invigorate our civil rights laws and to ensure that every person has an
    equal chance to contribute to and to participate in all our country has
    to offer. And she'll lead the fight against crime in the suites, as well
    as crime in the streets, ensuring that every possible penny is recovered
    from people who have bilked the S&L's and other white-collar criminals.
        Finally, I want to say to you that every one I know who knows and
    has worked with Janet Reno agrees that she possesses one quality most
    essential to being Attorney General: unquestioned integrity. She's
    demonstrated throughout her career a commitment to principles that I
    want to see enshrined at the Justice Department. No one is above the
    law. Our legal system must protect the innocent and punish the
    wrongdoers. That the promise of equal justice under law must be a
    reality for every American.
        This remarkable public servant still lives in a house in Florida
    that her mother built with her own hands. She has a listed phone number,
    and she's told me many times that people who find that their ex-spouses
    are delinquent in their child support call her at home because they
    believe that she can go collect their child support. She has lived the
    kind of life, in real contact with the toughest problems of this
    country,

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    that I think will serve her very well as the Nation's chief law
    enforcement officer.
        Janet Reno.
        I want her to give a statement first.

    [At this point, Attorney-General-designate Reno made a statement.]

    FBI Director William Sessions

        Q. Does this mean you're going to have a house-cleaning of the
    Justice Department, and that Sessions is on his way out as FBI Director?
        The President. Well, first of all, I think it's important that we
    put the new Attorney General in and get our leadership team in at
    Justice. And I don't want to speak for her, but I think the appropriate
    thing is to wait until the final report is in on the FBI Director and
    give the Attorney-General-designate a chance to review that before we
    say anything else about that.
        Q. Do you have any ideas on that subject?

    Selection Process

        Q. Mr. President, how much was your selection guided by a
    determination to have a woman as the first Attorney General?
        The President. Somewhat, but not entirely. I also reviewed a large
    number of men for this position. And in the last several weeks,
    actually, I decided that I would just do it as if I were doing it all
    over again. I would go back to ground one. I reviewed a large number of
    potential candidates, both men and women.
        I have to tell you, if I might be permitted a little personal
    moment, I've had a high regard for Janet Reno for some time because my
    brother-in-law is the defense attorney in the drug court about which I
    spoke so I've known about her exploits for some time. And I considered
    her even in the beginning, even though she and I never had a
    conversation. So I think it's fair to say that in my mind at least she
    prevailed in a fleet of very fine candidates, both men and women.
        Q. Mr. President, can you tell us what role Mrs. Clinton had in this
    selection because we know that Janet Reno has a great deal of experience
    in child issues and that she's come to Mrs. Clinton's attention last
    year at least?
        The President. None except to say that she liked her a lot. I mean,
    that she knew her and liked her a lot. And of course, Hillary's brother
    had been in the drug court. So I knew that from my own direct knowledge,
    though she didn't even talk to me about that.
        Q. Did she participate in the interviewing?
        The President. No, not at all.

    Inslaw Case

        Q. Mr. President, will she clean up the Inslaw case, that case where
    Meese and others stole a great system for using computers and didn't pay
    for it, and the House Judiciary Committee has recommended that there be
    an independent counsel to clean this up? It's a scandal on the face of
    the United States Government.
        Attorney-General-Designate Reno. What I will do is what I do in each
    of these instances. I'll make sure that we review it carefully, look at
    the evidence, look at what should be done based on the evidence and the
    law, and take appropriate action.

    Death Penalty

        Q. Ms. Reno, could we get your views on the death penalty, and is
    there a difference between your view and the President's view? And if
    there is, is that significant, and how will that affect your policy at
    the Justice Department?
        Attorney-General-Designate Reno. I'm personally opposed to the death
    penalty, as I've told the President, but I've probably asked for it as
    much as many prosecutors in the country and have secured it. And when
    the evidence and the law justify the death penalty, I will ask for it as
    I have consistently. I will advocate for it as the law of the land in
    particular situations if we can secure such penalties.
        Q. Will you move to reverse the death penalty?

    Nominee's Qualifications

        Q. Mr. President, can you assure us today, sir, that of all the
    candidates you either reviewed or could have reviewed for this job, that
    the one you have chosen is the absolute best qualified person possible?
        The President. I can assure you that based on my criteria I think
    she's the best. Somebody else might have other criteria. My criteria
    were the ones that I outlined. I wanted to bring someone to the Justice
    Department who had had both management experience and legal experience.
    I want to bring someone to the Justice Department who had dealt with a
    wide range of real-world problems and who had a keen eye for excellence
    and talent, to restore a sense of movement and energy and vitality.
    There are an awful lot of good people at the Justice De-

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    partment who want to be part of a Department on the move and feel good
    about it.
        And the one thing I thought--I can tell you this--this is ironic
    since I'm now naming Janet Reno. I want to be forthright and answer the
    question fully.
        In the beginning of my deliberations weeks ago, the one reason that
    I did not pursue this more was because Janet Reno had always been a
    State prosecutor and not a Federal U.S. attorney or not a higher Justice
    Department official. But the more I dug into it and the more I talked to
    people about it, the more I realized that you couldn't be the State's
    attorney in Dade County for 15 years without having enormous exposure to
    a wide range of issues that the Justice Department deals with and
    without working with the United States attorney. You might want to ask
    her for some specifics.
        So finally, I said, well, why don't I just call and explore this.
    And I did, and I was fully satisfied that she had more than enough
    familiarity with the Federal system to do the job.
        Q. Mr. President, can you outline for us, when you say ``somewhat,''
    that her gender was somewhat of a factor, can you explain to us how big
    a role that played, and why? And I'd like to ask Ms. Reno how she feels
    about taking a position that seems to have been set aside for a woman.
        The President. It was not set aside. I'll tell you again, I
    considered a significant number of men for this position. And as I said
    before--someone asked me about this double standard issue--there were
    also a significant number of men who couldn't go forward in this process
    because of some of the same problems that you all have written about.
        I thought it was important not to disqualify women just because of
    what happened before. And I really believe--I'm not sure you could find
    anybody around the country that would get any more favorable and broad-
    based support than I have been given in spontaneous comments. I just
    left a Member of the House of Representatives who doesn't live within
    200 miles of Janet Reno, who heard that I was going to name her and just
    went out of his way to tell me that it was a great appointment, what a
    wonderful thing it was that I had done. I feel very comfortable with
    this appointment on the merits.

    Law Enforcement

        Q. Mr. President, given the tight budget constraints that you have
    been focusing on over the past weeks, how do you and this Attorney
    General plan to go about fulfilling your campaign promise to hire
    100,000 police officers for this country?
        The President. Well, I think there are three things that I would
    point you to, and keep in mind we don't have to do it in the first year.
    We have--when you all talk to me about my campaign commitments, remember
    I've got a 4-year term--[laughter]--at least that.
        I want to do that from three sources. Number one, I hope we can
    bring that crime bill back up that almost passed but didn't last time
    and have some funds for local law enforcement to hire more police
    officers. Number two, I want to proceed at a pace with the national
    service program, which will give priority in every State to people who
    want to pay their college loans back by working as police officers.
    Number three, I want to pursue the idea that Senator Nunn first raised,
    at least he was the first one I ever heard raise it, of helping people
    who are going to be mustered out of the military service to qualify to
    move quickly into careers as police officers or teachers.
        And so, we believe from those three sources, with the funding that I
    have set aside in the budget I will recommend, and the other things that
    we will do over the next 4 years, we will be able to meet that goal.
        Susan [Susan Spencer, CBS News].

    Selection Process

        Q. Is it safe to assume that Ms. Reno has (a) never hired an illegal
    alien, legally or illegally; (b) paid all her Social Security taxes? And
    finally, as you look back on the soap opera that has led to this, how do
    you assess whatever political damage you may or may not have incurred?
        The President. Oh, I don't think there is much. I think what
    happened--I just would remind you, though, I nominated one other person
    for this, Zoe Baird, and I took responsibility for that fact that our
    vetting procedure was inadequate. It was my personal responsibility.
    Since then, all the other things that you have written about are things
    that you found out about in ways that I don't know, but our procedure
    worked and worked quite well. And I didn't discuss anybody or anything
    until I got ready

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    to nominate somebody else. So I think they did a good job.
        If there were any mistakes made in the interim, it was people who
    worked here, worked around here, or were talked to by us who said things
    to you they shouldn't have. But otherwise, the system worked pretty well
    as it was supposed to have worked.
        Q. First question: we can assume that all of these other matters are
    not a problem?
        The President. Well, why don't you ask her?
        Attorney-General-Designate Reno. I've never hired any illegal
    aliens, and I think I've paid all my Social Security taxes. Certainly in
    the vetting process in the last week we've covered everything.
        The Vice President. She made sure that a lot of others have, too.
        Q. Mr. President, to the extent that you wanted to fulfill these
    commitments, did you feel hamstrung by the pledge or the perception of a
    pledge that you had set aside this job for a woman?
        The President. No.
        Q. And part two, if we can ask Ms. Reno, we never got an answer to
    Ruth's question about how she feels about being appointed to a job in
    which there is that perception of a pledge.
        The President. No. As I said, I interviewed--I even talked to--I
    don't know how it didn't get into the paper, but it didn't--both men as
    well as women about this job. And I seriously considered, seriously
    considered, at least four men for this job. I really concluded in the
    end that Janet Reno would be best. I never felt hamstrung by any
    commitment, even though I did want to name a woman Attorney General. I
    thought it would be a good thing. There are a lot of women lawyers in
    the country, a lot of women judges in the country, a lot of women
    prosecutors in the country. And I thought it would be a good and
    interesting thing to do. But I never felt hamstrung by the commitment.
        Attorney-General-Designate Reno. I think this is one of the greatest
    challenges that any lawyer could have in America. And I want to try my
    level-best. I have been so impressed with members of the administration
    and with the vetting team and with the approach to Government, the
    approach that Government can work to put people first. And I'm just
    delighted to be here, and I'm going to try my level-best.

    Nominee's Qualifications

        Q. Are you a feminist?
        The President. You want to answer that?
        Q. Are you a feminist?
        Attorney-General-Designate Reno. The question is whether I'm a
    feminist. My mother always told me to do my best, to think my best, and
    to do right and consider myself a person.
        The President. I do think I need to make one factual disclosure and
    then I promise to call on Mr. Lauter [David Lauter, Los Angeles Times].
    There was one factor which affected me about Janet Reno, which is that
    Senator Gore and I, when he was Senator and I was Governor, we carried
    Dade County in the Presidential election by 4 percentage points. The
    last time Janet Reno had an opponent, she carried it by 40 percentage
    points. [Laughter] That had a lot more to do than gender with convincing
    me that she could handle things at the Justice Department. If you know
    anything about Dade County, you know that is a truly astonishing
    achievement.
        Q. If I could ask Ms. Reno, the President mentioned that he was
    attracted to your experience as a State prosecutor which gave you a lot
    of experience on the criminal law side. But you obviously haven't had
    direct experience with a number of Federal issues that will come up,
    constitutional issues that will come up. Do you feel that you'll have a
    substantial learning curve that you'll have to get over in order to be
    able to deal with those Federal law issues that you haven't been dealing
    with in your career, certainly for the last 15 years?
        Attorney-General-Designate Reno. I think one of the splendors of the
    law is that it covers so many areas and that if you're going to be
    Attorney General, it's going to be very difficult for any one person to
    be skilled and to be experienced in every area that the Attorney General
    must cover. I think I can do the job, and I think I can do it by
    building a team dedicated to excellence, to professionalism, a team
    where the hallmark is integrity. And using the base of the tremendous
    career lawyers that exist in the Department of Justice, I think we're
    going to have a great team.
        Q. Mr. President, this has been a frustrating process for you in
    some ways. If you had it to do all over again, what would you do
    differently?
        The President. Oh, I would have called Janet

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    Reno on November 5th. [Laughter]

    Immigration Law

        Q. Ms. Reno lives in an area which is full of immigrants, legal and
    illegal, and a lot of things about the confusing laws of immigration
    came out in the past few weeks, as we all know. What will she do to
    clear up all these problems?
        Attorney-General-Designate Reno. Again, what I would like to do is
    work with members of the administration, members of the Department of
    Justice, to look at the problem, to consult with the President, and to
    make recommendations based on a thorough study of the matter.

    Abortion

        Q. Can you tell us your views on freedom of choice?
        Attorney-General-Designate Reno. I am pro-choice.

    Florida Corruption Investigation

        Q. Ms. Reno, could I ask a question? The county--Dade County--some
    of the critics have said that you have passed along questions of local
    corruption, government corruption, to the Federal courts and the Federal
    system. The question is why did you choose to do that?
        Attorney-General-Designate Reno. Let me give you a classic example.
    My office was responsible for investigating and putting together a case
    against a significant number of corrupt officials. Florida has very
    liberal discovery rules that give defense attorneys the right to
    question all the witnesses, somewhat far more liberal than Federal
    court. The Federal authorities also have the Internal Revenue Service.
    It seemed to us as the case progressed that it would be best handled in
    Federal court. I didn't ship the case over there. I shipped the case
    with my prosecutors, who were cross-designated to the Federal court.
        One of the things that interested me when I asked the U.S. Attorney
    to work with us in this effort is that he said, ``Janet, that's
    political suicide. People will think you're ducking.'' And I said, ``Mr.
    Kellner, I want to do what's right for the case and right to see that
    justice is secured.'' Our prosecutors participated in that prosecution.
    I think it gave me an understanding of Federal process, Federal
    procedure, Federal law. And I think it's an example of what State and
    Federal officials can do working together, without everybody being
    concerned about turf and taking credit for something.

    Confirmation

        Q. Mr. President, how long do you think it's going to take to get
    this nominee confirmed?
        The President. Well, I talked to Senator Biden today, and he said
    that he would proceed in an expeditious way. So I think that you should
    ask Senator Biden about that. I think that the committee will take it up
    in an appropriate fashion. I don't expect them to race it through or
    anything, but I think they will do it in a prompt way when they come
    back.
        Q. Can you think of any issues at all that might complicate the
    confirmation process? Anything that will have to be explained?
        The President. I don't. I think that she may have to--she just
    explained one issue here. I can tell you this: If you've been a
    prosecutor for 15 years, it's like if you've been a Governor for 12
    years. Not every call you make is right; not every case you pursue is
    won. But I can just tell you, I have been literally amazed at the
    quality of the recommendations that I received for Janet Reno.

    Justice Department Staff

        Q. Mr. President, have you make any decisions yet on any other top
    positions at Justice, and what is Webb Hubbell's role going to be at
    Justice?
        The President. Well, we'll have to discuss that with the Attorney
    General now. But I will say this for the hometown press: He has done a
    magnificent job for the last 3 weeks under rather adverse circumstances,
    just trying to keep things together there and to keep the morale up and
    help at least to do the things that had to be done. I hope he will be
    staying there. And the answer to your other question is, as you might
    imagine, we have done an enormous amount of work on top-flight
    candidates for other positions, and I would expect that if this
    nomination goes as I expect it to, we will be able to fill out the
    Justice Department with first-class lawyers very, very quickly. Thank
    you.
        Q. Are you sure you're not troubled by the fact that her parents
    were both journalists? [Laughter]
        The President. No, actually, I thought the fact that her parents
    were both journalists and she still was a surviving elected politician
    made her doubly qualified to be Attorney General. [Laughter]

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    Note: The President's third news conference began at 4:40 p.m. in the
    Rose Garden at the White House. In the news conference, he referred to
    Webster Hubbell, Acting Assistant to the Attorney General.