Janet Reno, 1938 – 2016
[guest post by JVW]
Former Attorney General Janet Reno has died from Parkinson’s Disease, with which she had been diagnosed over twenty years ago while serving in the Bill Clinton administration. Ms. Reno was the rare cabinet official who served for two full terms, and was the only attorney general during the contentious and largely unlawful Clinton Administration.
There is some poetry in her passing coming right as the Clinton family is on the verge of making a controversial return to the scene of the crime As a measure of how partisan memories of the Clinton Administration have become through the years, here are two different announcements of Ms. Reno’s passing. The first is from Nina Totenberg of the Pravada of twee progressives, NPR (all bolded emphasis is added by me):
Reno served longer in the job than anyone had in 150 years. And her tenure was marked by tragedy and controversy. But she left office widely respected for her independence and accomplishments.
[. . .]
Reno arrived at the Justice Department knowing no one, and was immediately plunged into the siege at the Branch Davidian compound outside Waco, Texas. Four federal agents had been killed and 16 wounded while serving a warrant to search for illegal guns. Seven weeks into the siege, pressed by the FBI, Reno authorized a raid on the compound, resulting in 76 deaths, including as many as 25 children and the Davidian leader David Koresh, who ordered his followers to set fire to the compound.
In two sets of Waco congressional hearings over the next two years, Reno would successfully quell critics on the right and left.
For good measure, Ms. Totenberg of NPR goes to former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick — the woman who plundered Fannie Mae to the tune of $26 million as it was crashing and burning towards a taxpayer bailout — who assures us of Ms. Reno’s competence and integrity. Not exactly the character witness I would want singing my praises. In the end, Ms. Totenberg sums up the career of the recently departed by providing the all-important perspective on how she was viewed by the left-wing elite in the entertainment industry, declaring that Ms. Reno “outlasted her critics and earned such a reputation for integrity and independence that comedian Will Ferrell’s parody of her became one of the iconic skits on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.” Left unanswered the question of why this woman with such a sterling reputation would be rejected by her own party when she ran for the Democrat nomination for Governor of Florida less than two years after leaving office.
A more critical and, probably to most of us here, realistic appraisal of Janet Reno’s tenure is provided by the Associated Press in an article that appears on the Fox News website. Unlike Nina Totenberg’s valedictory, this unattributed piece takes a more critical look at Ms. Reno’s tenure as the nation’s top law-enforcement officer (again, bolded emphasis is mine):
Janet Reno, the first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general and the epicenter of several political storms during the Clinton administration, has died. She was 78.
[. . .]
One of the administration’s most recognizable and polarizing figures, Reno faced criticism early in her tenure for the deadly raid on the Branch Davidian compound at Waco, Texas, where sect leader David Koresh and some 80 followers perished.
[. . . ]
After Waco, Reno figured into some of the controversies and scandals that marked the Clinton administration, including Whitewater, Filegate, bungling at the FBI laboratory, Monica Lewinsky, alleged Chinese nuclear spying and questionable campaign financing in the 1996 Clinton-Gore re-election.
Missing from this account are the sycophantic quotes assuring us that Republicans never laid a glove on her and that Ms. Reno emerged from her Washington years as a figure of integrity and respect. Janet Reno was a complicated woman who served in an administration which had very little respect for the law. She was on no one’s short list of top law enforcement figures back in 1992, but was selected for the job because Bill Clinton had promised that his attorney general would be a woman and because his first two choices had to pull out when it turned out they played fast and loose with the law themselves. The best thing that could be said about Janet Reno is that she sought to overcome her limitations through dogged determination, which is certainly an admirable trait. Still, her tenure should serve as a reminder of the damage that can be done when tribal politics are placed ahead of competency, a timely reminder as we inch closer to returning the Clintons to the seat of power.
May she rest in peace.
– JVW
Our host traditionally asks that in the immediate aftermath of the death of a public figure, even one with whom we disagree, that we maintain respect and limit our criticisms to policy decisions and not hurl any personal insults. Please take this to heart.
JVW (6e49ce) — 11/7/2016 @ 8:55 amshe did so much to pave the way for chunky-butt Loretta’s even more brazen corruption
sometimes fundamental change is profoundly incremental
happyfeet (28a91b) — 11/7/2016 @ 8:59 amThere’s a guy serving 165 years for Satanic day-care abuse that never happened, thanks to Janet Reno.
Gabriel Hanna (64d4e1) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:05 amBy Nina Totenberg’s tortured logic, Tina Fey’s impression of Sarah Palin is testament to Gov. Palin’s “reputation for integrity and independence.” My God, aren’t there any more editors to catch this kind of mindless dreck and strangle it in the crib?
JVW (6e49ce) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:06 amSay what you like, she delivered
nk (dbc370) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:06 amFloridaMiami to the Shrub, with a little help from Elian Gonzalez and Clinton’s mancrush for Castro. Without that, Gore would have been 43.Sad chapter in American politics. Parkinson’s is a tough way to go. RIP
Colonel Haiku (40880a) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:06 amShe was once asked at a press conference if she was lesbian, and she said she’s an old maid terribly fond of men but too shy. Whatever she’d done that I’d disagreed with, it was impossible not to feel for her.
I just wish that guy serving 165 years could be let out, and those kids killed at Waco be back with us. Elian Gonzales, however, seems to be fitting in quite well in Castro’s Cuba and will probably go far.
Gabriel Hanna (64d4e1) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:10 amRe: Totenburg… consider the source. She wore the official “Clinton Presidential Kneepads” back in the day.
Colonel Haiku (40880a) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:20 amElian Gonzales, however, seems to be fitting in quite well in Castro’s Cuba and will probably go far.
That raid was the best thing that ever happened to him. It brought him fame and notoriety in Cuba, so you know that the Castros have given him a leg-up in life to use him for propaganda purposes. Had his mom not tried to flee to the U.S., Elian would probably be another grunt in the Cuban Army. Had he stayed in the U.S., he would probably be a failed rapper and part-time bartender at a nightclub.
JVW (6e49ce) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:25 amWasnt she one of the prosecutors who had a day care center operator convicted of child molestration in the late 1980’s as part of the wave of false accusations – similar to mcmartin day care center in boston?
“believe the children”
joe (debac0) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:40 am…
NJRob (a07d2e) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:44 amReno invented the “Miami Method” of prosecuting child abuse cases, the central technique of which was use of prosecution interviewers Joseph and Laurie Braga to implant suggested “recovered” memories — made-up fantasies of rapes and sexual assaults — which then became the basis for a series of controversial, oft-overturned criminal prosecutions. Even liberals finally began to recoil from this witch-hunt. I’m guessing that if St. Peter’s entry requirements for lawyers includes any reference to their ethics while on earth, Ms. Reno has some ‘splainin’ to do, at best for her. Good luck with that.
Is that like saying “RIP”? I try not to speak ill of the dead, but there are some people about whom it’s hard to find anything nice to say.
She was tall, I guess. RIP.
Beldar (fa637a) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:44 am9. Whatever happened to Elian’s aunt, I imagine due to black beans and white rice in place of pinto beans and tortillas time has been kinder than to a southwestern counterpart.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:52 amThere was a time, Beldar, when that approach was commonplace. Reading accounts of what went on back then – just in California – jars the memory about news accounts and reads so unbelievably farcical, it nearly staggers the mind.
Colonel Haiku (40880a) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:52 am“Please take this to heart.”
Sure. Having nothing left to say about the subject, I’ll note it provides a decent setup for Patterico to run a series on advice and consent with regard to nominations by Clinton of others of the same ilk as the subject of the post. There is no reason whatsoever to delay the launch of torpedoes towards the Clinton Foundation Cabinet picks.
Rick Ballard (bca473) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:58 am#14
Ditto
ThOR (c9324e) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:59 amhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/fuster/frank/summary.html
Past performance is evidence of future conduct. As with Janet Reno.
I also was struck by the amazing coincidence of Janet Reno’s death with the probable coronation date of Her Majesty HRCrook. Very ominous.
Brad (a685c7) — 11/7/2016 @ 10:01 amWell, no. That was the cover story. (it was maybe also esigned to tire out the Senate Judiciary Committee so they wouldn’t look too much into her before confirming her)
If you don’t think that was a cover story, which I thought from the very beginning, then you can’t say she was doing Bill Clinton’s bidding.
Sammy Finkelman (6d2ca9) — 11/7/2016 @ 10:04 amthe fuster case, as notorious, as the amirault case,
as to that other point, jvw, I’ll reserve judgement, serving as a companero, (young pioneer) was not the best possible option, yes his inlaws were working class people, but he didn’t deserve a rendition, specially in light of the way the hijackers, were making their way into this country at the same time.
narciso (d1f714) — 11/7/2016 @ 10:06 amthere was also the matter of one of her deputies,, who was caught up in the ‘hot suits’ case, yet unlike the city manager, was allowed to stay on, and eventually followed her to washington, it’s chinatown, jake.
narciso (d1f714) — 11/7/2016 @ 10:14 amodd how things happen, or not,
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1987-11-05/news/0160030296_1_statewide-prosecutor-hogan-attorney-general
narciso (d1f714) — 11/7/2016 @ 10:16 amAny word on if Elian Gonzales will attend the funeral?
I for one would find it highly ironic if he were to defect afterwards, before being returned to the People Paradise again.
Georg Felis (2a040a) — 11/7/2016 @ 10:26 amIf you don’t think that was a cover story, which I thought from the very beginning, then you can’t say she was doing Bill Clinton’s bidding.
That’s a non sequitur, Sammy. Just because she was Clinton’s third choice (that’s among women; she was probably his 50th choice had men been factored in) doesn’t mean that she wasn’t grateful for the job (for which, we learned, she was woefully unqualified) and didn’t try to repay her boss. She always regretted appointing Ken Starr to what she figured would be a quick investigation of Whitewater, so she made up for it by adamantly refusing to appoint an independent counsel to look into the ’96 Clinton/Gore fundraising scandals which probably would have been even more legally perilous had a dogged investigator continued to follow the leads all the way to the White House (and the whole Monica Lewinsky story likely would have emerged without Ken Starr anyway).
JVW (6e49ce) — 11/7/2016 @ 10:26 amShe was a bad person who victimized a whole lot of innocent people.
radar (177444) — 11/7/2016 @ 10:29 amspeaking of which,
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bill-clinton-i-could-have-killed-osama-bin-laden/
the trodpint and jawbreaker teams had at least too opportunities, but sandy burglar, said no, and there was one additional instance after the embassy bombings,
narciso (d1f714) — 11/7/2016 @ 10:33 amthe rest of the story, re the perfidy comey, enabled,
When presented with [Libby’s] claim of innocence, Disciplinary Counsel has to undertake a more complex evaluation of a Petition for reinstatement. Libby has presented credible evidence in support of his version of events and it appears that one key prosecution witnesses [sic], Judith Miller, has changed her recollection of the events in question.
narciso (d1f714) — 11/7/2016 @ 10:55 amI was there, and at times I was very close to folks in the inner circle of the power center of DOJ.
And Janet Reno wasn’t in the room.
The power center of DOJ in Clinton’s first term was Jamie Gorelick and Webb Hubbell. Webb Hubbell was Hillary Clinton’s mouthpiece.
Bill Clinton gave DOJ and HHS to Hillary. She ran Hillarycare out in the open, but converting DOJ into a functional apparatus to serve the Clinton machine was something she did through surrogates.
The only holdout which preserved DOJ independence was Louis Freeh and the FBI. At critical moments Janet Reno had Louis’ back — she didn’t have any real authority, but she had the title AG, and that was worth something. As long as Freeh wouldn’t quit, she wouldn’t quit.
But she was regarded as a joke and a figurehead in the places inside DOJ where the decisions got made.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 11/7/2016 @ 2:02 pm3. Gabriel Hanna (64d4e1) — 11/7/2016 @ 9:05 am
Tilltoday’s say?
That says something very bad about Florida, though these e\people convicted in these cases in some other states have also not been released, at least if they insist on their innocence.
Sammy Finkelman (643dcd) — 11/7/2016 @ 2:31 pmso sammeh, there was a similar scandal re the amiraults in massachussetts, that dorothy rabinowitz, blew the whistle on, as with the buckley case in california,
narciso (d1f714) — 11/7/2016 @ 2:39 pmJVW (6e49ce) — 11/7/2016 @ 10:26 am
You think the other two people he nominated would have done that?
You think he was just lucky she was grateful and would do as instructed? Even to the point of coverups? And in point of fact, complicity in murder?
No, she was his first and only choice. And Bill Clinton strategized as to how to get her in. That business of nominating a woman? That was to narrow the range of options and make choosing her look more plausible.
It was like Tammany Hall. When they wanted to name somebody obscure to soime position, they said they needed a Italian for this because they had a Jew for that and an Irishman for that other thing , so this is why that Italian got picked.
She didn’t The judges were supposed to rubber stamp Fiske. They picked Starr.
Sammy Finkelman (643dcd) — 11/7/2016 @ 2:43 pmsorry mcmartin case, it was a time of witchhunts like salem, ken starr was considered a man of great probity, he had been chosen to review the packwood papers, after all,
narciso (d1f714) — 11/7/2016 @ 2:46 pmShe’s finally reunited with the Koresh kids.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 11/7/2016 @ 5:21 pmThe McMartin case was in Los Angeles, the Amirault case in Massachusetts. Janet Reno had one too.
There was a nationwide epidemic of these things, many not careful or dishonest DAs got into the act. The last one was maybe in Washington State in Wenatchee in 1994-5.
http://www.historylink.org/File/7065
But it was really over by 1992. Newsweek ran a cover story about them in an April 1993 issue.
Then – ABOUT SIX WEEKS LATER – they ran another cover story – for its’s May 17, 1993 – about how mass sex abuse had supposedly taken place in the Branch Davidian compound. They didn’t use the same writers. But the White Huse was not successful in pushing this angle.
Buford had inserted some sex allegations into the Waco warrant, late in the investigation. (possibly after consulting Bill Clinton who was, at that time, still in Little Rock.)
http://www.jaedworks.com/shoebox/waco.html
Note that Buford first has one unrecorded coonversation with Poia Vaega and then, two days later, tapes records a second one. By the way, several different versions of the Waco warrant, including a substantially cut one, circulated on the Internet after it was made public after April 19, 1993. I had three versions.
I really like this excerpt in the Waco search warrant:
April 6, 1992 was BEFORE the LA riots that occurred after the acquittal of the policemen who beat up Rodney King
If David Koresh said that, he really was a prophet! But of course Joyce Sparks was telling lies the investigators wanted her to tell.
(David Koresh would not suddenly mention the Watts riot of 1965 out of the blue. This is talking about what happened after April 6. In those days you couldn’t look up on the Internet such facts such as the date of the LA riot and it was too recent to be able to consult an almanac.)
Sammy Finkelman (6d2ca9) — 11/7/2016 @ 6:50 pm