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81–139 PDF 2002

S. HRG. 107–603

CONFIRMATION HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS

OF JAY B. STEPHENS TO BE ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND BENIGNO G. REYNA

TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE U.S. MARSHALS

SERVICE

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

SEPTEMBER 20, 2001

Serial No. J–107–39

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary

(

(II)

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont, Chairman 

EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts 

JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware 

HERBERT KOHL, Wisconsin 

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California 

RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin 

CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York 

RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

JOHN EDWARDS, North Carolina 

ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah 

STROM THURMOND, South Carolina 

CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa 

ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania 

JON KYL, Arizona 

MIKE DEWINE, Ohio 

JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama 

SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas 

MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky 

BRUCE A. COHEN, Majority Chief Counsel and Staff Director 

SHARON PROST, Minority Chief Counsel 

MAKAN DELRAHIM, Minority Staff Director 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS 

Durbin, Hon. Richard J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Illinois .................... 1

Hatch, Hon. Orrin G., a U.S. Senator from the State of Utah ............................ 3

Leahy, Hon. Patrick J., a U.S. Senator from the State of Vermont .................... 40

Specter, Hon. Arlen, a U.S. Senator from the State of Pennsylvania ................. 5

STATEMENTS OF THE NOMINEES 

Reyna, Benigno G., Nominee to be Director of the U.S. Marshals Service ......... 7

Questionnaire .................................................................................................... 10

Stephens, Jay B., Nominee to be Associate Attorney General ............................. 43

Questionnaire .................................................................................................... 50

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD 

Grassley, Hon. Charles E., a U.S. Senator from the State of Iowa, statement 

in support of Jay B. Stephens, Nominee to be Associate Attorney General ... 7

Warner, Hon. John W., a U.S. Senator from the State of Virginia, statement 

in support of Jay B. Stephens, Nominee to be Associate Attorney General ... 6

(1)

CONFIRMATION HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS OF JAY B. STEPHENS TO BE ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND BENIGNO 

G. REYNA TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE U.S. 

MARSHALS SERVICE 

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2001

UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, D.C. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:35 a.m., in room 

SD–226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Richard J. Durbin 

presiding. 

Present: Senators Durbin, Leahy, Hatch, and Specter. 

STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD J. DURBIN, A U.S. SENATOR 

FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS 

Senator DURBIN. The committee will come to order. 

Chairman Leahy has called today’s hearing on an expedited basis 

for nominations received recently from the administration. Given 

the terrible events of the last week, it is important that we move 

forward with the nominations of two critical appointments that we 

have before us today: the President’s choices to head the U.S. Marshals Service and to serve as the third highest-ranking official at 

the Department of Justice, the Associate Attorney General. 

Last Thursday, the committee considered the nomination of John 

Gillis, to head the Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime, 

as well as a dozen United States Attorneys whose paperwork we 

expedited. The Senate confirmed them all last week, along with another nominee from Texas to head the Bureau of Justice Assistance 

within the Department. 

I am proud of the way that this committee and the Senate have 

responded to the circumstances facing our Nation and the support 

we have been able to provide to the administration at this difficult 

time. This hearing tries to continue that effort. 

I welcome our nominees and thank them for their cooperation. I 

especially want to thank Chief Reyna, who flew here on short notice from Texas. Chief Reyna is the President’s nominee to direct 

a crucial component of our Federal law enforcement network, the 

United States Marshals Service. 

The Service was created more than 200 years ago by the first 

Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789, the same legislation that established the Federal judicial system. Our Marshals and Deputy 

Marshals support and protect the Federal courts around America. 

2

They also track fugitives, transport Federal prisoners, and maintain seized assets. In the last 10 days, the U.S. Marshals Service 

has played a pivotal role in the largest criminal investigation in 

our Nation’s history. I commend the 4,000 Deputy Marshals across 

the Nation, along with the Acting Director of the Service, Louie T. 

McKinney, and all of the Acting U.S. Marshals for their continuing 

dedication and sacrifice. 

Since 1976, Chief Benigno Reyna has worked for and headed the 

police department of Brownsville, Texas, where he served as chief 

from 1995 until his retirement this past May. During his tenure at 

the department, he participated in a remarkable collaboration between the Brownsville community and the adjacent city of Matamoros, located across the Mexican border. The two communities 

have worked together to establish policies on cross-border arrests 

and the extradition of minors to their home country of Mexico or 

the United States. 

Because of Brownsville’s unique geographical location at the U.S. 

border, there is considerable interaction between the Brownsville 

police and Federal law enforcement agencies, such as the DEA, the 

FBI, and the Border Patrol. In December 1999, the Brownsville Police Department became the third site in the United States to implement a multi-agency wireless radio interoperability communications system. This system allows for field unit-to-unit communications between Brownsville police and Federal law enforcement 

agencies. I am sure that Chief Reyna will discuss the success of 

this program. 

The second nominee this morning is Jay Stephens to serve at the 

Department of Justice, who will serve beneath the U.S. Attorney 

General and Deputy Attorney General. Before joining the private 

sector in 1992, Mr. Stephens served as a Federal prosecutor, a deputy counsel to President Reagan, and a top aide in the Justice Department under both Deputy Attorney General and Associate Attorney General. From 1988 to 1993, the nominee was U.S. Attorney 

for the District of Columbia, managing the largest U.S. Attorney’s 

office in the country. 

The position of Associate Attorney General has always been important, and it is especially important today. Among the many duties of the Associate Attorney General are oversight responsibility 

for the Civil Rights Division and the Office of Justice Programs, 

which include the Office for Victims of Crime and our Federal assistance programs to policemen, firemen, and other public safety officers. 

In response to the devastation we witnessed as a Nation on September 11, the Office for Victims of Crime is assisting many victims and their families. The resources for our victims assistance 

and counseling programs, as well as the Federal contribution to 

State and national assistance and compensation programs, are essential. 

The Civil Rights Division, which plays an important role in the 

lives of all Americans, will have a special role in helping the FBI 

and local authorities ensure the rights of Arab Americans and individuals of the Muslim faith in these tense times. It bears repeating, 

as the President has spoken to us, that no one should become a tarVerDate Feb 1 2002 10:15 Aug 22, 2002 Jkt 081139 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\HEARINGS\81139.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
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get of hate or discrimination because of their religion, nationality, 

or ethnic background. 

The Office of the Associate Attorney General also has responsibility for the Antitrust Division, the Civil Division, the Tax Division, and the Environment and Natural Resources Division. The 

next Associate Attorney General will have to make a number of difficult decisions that require the full confidence and trust of Congress and the American people. 

That person will also oversee the Department’s efforts to seek reimbursement from the tobacco industry for billions of dollars of 

health-related expenses shouldered by American taxpayers and 

families. The Associate Attorney General will help to prosecute the 

Government’s antitrust lawsuits as well. He will bear responsibility 

for protecting our citizens from environmental harm—a substantial 

responsibility. 

Before calling the two witnesses to the table, I would like to invite my colleagues, Senator Hatch and Senator Specter, to make 

their opening remarks. 

STATEMENT OF HON. ORRIN G. HATCH, A U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF UTAH 

Senator HATCH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is both an honor 

and a pleasure to welcome both of these two excellent people to our 

committee. Both have excellent experience that is very, very much 

appreciated by myself and other members of the committee. Both 

are good men, backed by good women, and both have the experience to be able to do these two jobs in ways that will make America 

proud. 

I have an awful lot of kind remarks to say about both of you, but 

I think I would just put those in the record at this particular point 

and thank you both for your willingness to serve. In this day and 

age, it is not always easy to find the best people to come in and 

serve, but I think this administration has been doing a very good 

job of doing that, and I commend all of those who are willing to 

take cuts in pay and to do the work of the public in public serve 

that both of you are now going to be able to do. We hope that we 

can get your confirmations through rather quickly so that you can 

both take your places in these very, very important jobs. 

Mr. Reyna, this job you have is an extremely important one. I 

have worked rather closely with the U.S. Marshals Service over the 

years and appreciate the heroic work that most all of them do. You 

come very highly recommended and you will have a great friend in 

me, and I think others on this committee. 

Jay Stephens, I have known you for a long time. You have been 

a person of utmost integrity and ability, and I personally am just 

very pleased that you have been willing to come out of the private 

sector, where I know you are compensated much more handsomely, 

to work for the public in one of the most important jobs in Justice 

and the world. We appreciate your wife and your children, and, Mr. 

Reyna, your wife and family for being willing to make the sacrifices 

that are necessary for you to do these jobs in a way that will bring 

credit not only to you but to our country and your families. 

4

So I just want to thank both of you for being willing to serve, 

and I will put my further remarks about your sterling accomplishments and abilities into the record at this point. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Hatch follows:]

STATEMENT OF HON. ORRIN G. HATCH, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF UTAH

ON THE NOMINATIONS OF JAY B. STEPHENS TO BE ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL

AND BENIGNO G. REYNA TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERV- ICE

It is both an honor and a pleasure to be here this morning with two extremely 

well-qualified nominees for important positions in the Department of Justice. I congratulate the two of you on being selected by President Bush to serve in high office. 

And I know that, due tot he events of last week, the Department needs your service 

more than ever. You will begin your jobs during a time of great need for diligent 

hard work. After reviewing your distinguished records, I have no doubt that you will 

do great service to the citizens of this country upon confirmation. 

Our nominee for the position of Associate Attorney General is Jay Stephens. This 

position is critical to the operation of the Justice Department. Its responsibilities include not only advising the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General on broad 

range of issues, but also supervising many important components of the Department, including the Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Tax, and Environmental and Natural Resources Divisions. 

Mr. Stephens is no stranger to DOJ, having first worked there in 1974 as an Assistant Special Prosecutor for the Watergate Special Prosecution Force. He subsequently served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office, 

then in a number of leadership positions at DOJ during the Reagan Administration. 

In 1988, he returned to the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office to assume the top job of 

United States Attorney during the Bush Administration. 

But Mr. Stephens’s impressive legal experience is not limited to DOJ. He was a 

partner at Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro (now Pillsbury Winthrop), one of the nation’s preeminent law firms. At present, his legal talent benefits Honeywell International, 

where he is Corporate Vice President & Deputy General Counsel. Mr. Stephen’s wealth of experience with both civil and criminal litigation, as well as his familiarity 

with the operation of DOJ at myriad levels, will serve him well in the position of 

Associate Attorney General. 

Out other nominee, Ben Reyna, is also highly qualified for the position to which 

he has been nominated: Director of the U.S. Marshals Service. The Marshals Service 

is critical because it:

• Provides security for the nation’s approximately 800 federal judicial facilities; 

• apprehends the majority of Federal fugitives; • operates the Federal Witness Security Program; • maintains custody of federal prisoners and handles their transportation; • executes court corders and arrest warrants; and • responds to emergencies including terrorist incidents and other crisis situations.

Mr. Reyna has achieved—during his 25-year in law enforcement—just the kind 

of broad and deep experience in modern police practices needed for this job. Mr. 

Reyna served as Chief of Police in the city of Brownsville, Texas for 6 years—after 

working up the ranks from Police Cadet, Patrolman, Sergeant, Lieutenant, and 

Commander. He led a police department of 233 sworn police officers in confronting 

the widest variety of law enforcement issues handled by police departments in our 

country. With Brownsville’s proximity to an international border and a Mexican city 

with a population of 700,000, Mr. Reyna has been responsible for everything from 

drug interdiction to the annual spring break migration of approximately 40,000 students per week who cross the border to purchase alcohol. One of his most profound 

accomplishments is obtaining very close cooperation with a variety of United States 

agencies as well as the authorities in Mexico. Mr. Reyna has also served as the City 

of Brownsville Emergency Management Coordinator, responsible for operations 

plans for weather-related incidents and other hazardous situations. 

Again, it is a great pleasure to welcome both of you to the Committee. I look forward to this hearing, and to working with Chairman Leahy and others to make sure 

the Committee and the full Senate hold timely votes on you nominations.

Senator DURBIN. Thank you, Senator Hatch. 

5

Senator Specter, do you have an opening statement? 

STATEMENT OF HON. ARLEN SPECTER, A U.S. SENATOR FROM 

THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA 

Senator SPECTER. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I commend the chairman for moving ahead with these two nominations to try to put the full team in place to handle the very difficult problems which we are facing today. I believe it is necessary 

for the committee and the full Senate and the full Congress to act 

expeditiously on many issues which are pending. 

Just a word or two, and I shall communicate this directly to the 

chairman as well. It is my hope that we will move ahead very 

promptly on the package presented by the Attorney General yesterday on wiretaps and search and immigration issues. 

The Attorney General said that he would like to have the legislation enacted this week. I think that is not doable. To have it presented in an outline form on Wednesday and to start discussions 

is asking too much for the Congress to respond on the kinds of 

complicated issues which are involved here which impact very directly upon constitutional rights, recognizing the importance of 

prompt action so that the executive branch can have in place what 

it needs. 

It would be my hope that we would be holding hearings on this 

subject before this week is up. This is Thursday morning. It is a 

busy week. Many of our colleagues are on their way to New York, 

and many of us stayed back to handle pressing issues. This hearing 

is important. The Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation 

will be hearing from Secretary Mineta this afternoon on what is 

going to happen with the airlines and many other important issues. 

And, of course, it is not business as usual. 

Senator Hatch and I had a chance before yesterday’s meeting to 

talk very briefly to Attorney General Ashcroft, and it was our hope 

that we might have gotten the Deputy Attorney General or the Assistant Attorney General for Criminal or the Assistant Attorney 

General for Legal Counsel up to start to discuss this legislative 

package so that we could have fairly prompt action. 

When you talk about some of the emergency provisions to try to 

give special agents-in-charge at the FBI authority to apply for 

emergency warrants, a preliminary review suggests to me that we 

ought to be having U.S. Attorneys do that. The Attorney General 

has already said he is going to have each U.S. Attorney have its 

own task force—we moved in Philadelphia to have the U.S. Attorney sworn in on an expedited basis on Monday—or some of these 

provisions on immigrants perhaps to have a sunset provision so 

that they are not permanent, and see how they work where we 

have an opportunity for greater legislative analysis. 

But the point is that this committee has had a lot of experience 

in the field. The chairman was vice chairman of the Intelligence 

Committee in the mid–1980s. Senator Hatch serves on the Intelligence Committee. Senator Durbin has had extensive experience in 

the field. I have had some chairing the Intelligence Committee, on 

this committee, and in the prosecutorial role. 

So it is my hope—and staff will hear this and, as I say, I will 

communicate directly with Chairman Leahy—that we might move 

6

ahead. We are not going to act precipitously, but we ought to act 

expeditiously. 

I wanted to make those few comments at this time. Thank you, 

Mr. Chairman. 

Senator DURBIN. Thank you, Senator Specter, and I would like 

to join in. There were many of us who hoped that we could go to 

New York as well, but we have important business here and part 

of it relates to the two nominees who are before us today. Our 

hearts are with our colleagues who are up there viewing the tragic 

scene. 

I might also say that I was advised that the Attorney General’s 

proposed changes were received yesterday afternoon. They are substantial and we want to make certain that we move expeditiously, 

but take some care to make certain that we don’t make decisions 

we might regret at some later time. 

I think your recommendation of early hearings is an excellent 

one and I hope that Senator Leahy will be able to move forward 

on that quickly. 

Now, we have statements which will be made part of the record 

from Senators—Senator Hutchison, on behalf of Mr. Reyna, as well 

as Senator Warner, on behalf of Mr. Stephens, and Senator Grassley. Without objection, they will be made part of the record. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Warner follows:]

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN WARNER, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF VIRGINIA, 

ON THE NOMINATION OF JAY B. STEPHENS TO BE A U.S. ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Chairman Leahy, Senator Hatch, and my other distinguished colleagues on the 

Senate’s Judiciary Committee, I am pleased to introduce to you today Jay Stephens, 

who has been nominated to serve as Associate Attorney General in the United 

States Department of Justice. 

The Office of the Associate Attorney General advises and assists the Attorney 

General and the Deputy Attorney General in formulating and implementing policies 

and programs pertaining to justice, federal and local law enforcement, and public 

safety matters. 

The Associate Attorney General also oversees several DOJ components, including 

the antitrust division, the civil division, the civil rights division, and the violence 

against women’s office, to name only a few. 

Mr. Chairman, I have known Mr. Stephens for several years as a result of his 

many years of public service in Washington, D.C. and from his many years as a Virginia resident. I am confident that Jay Stephens will serve as an excellent Associate 

Attorney General. 

Jay Stephens has extensive experience in the Justice Department. From 1977–

1981 he served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. 

From 1981–1985, Mr. Stephens held several positions in the Department of Justice, 

including Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General. 

In March of 1988, while he was serving as Deputy Counsel to President Reagan, 

President Reagan appointed Mr. Stephens to serve as United States Attorney for 

the District of Columbia, a position he served in until 1993. 

Since leaving public service in 1993, Jay Stephens has worked as a partner in the 

Washington, D.C., law firm of Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro and as corporate vice 

president and deputy general counsel of Honeywell. 

Clearly, Mr. Stephens has extensive professional experience that makes him highly qualified to serve as Associate Attorney General for the Justice Department. He 

has dedicated a large portion of his career to public service, and I am thankful for 

his willingness to serve our country once again.

[The prepared statement of Senator Grassley follows:]

7

STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF

IOWA ON THE NOMINATION OF JAY B. STEPHENS TO BE ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL

It is my pleasure to introduce Jay Stephens, a distinguished Iowan who has been 

nominated to serve as Associate Attorney General at the Justice Department. Jay 

Stephens was born in Akron, Iowa, graduated from Harvard College in 1968 and 

Harvard Law School in 1973. He is married to Julie Marie Stephens, and has four 

children. Mr. Stephens brings exemplary experience and knowledge to the position 

of Associate Attorney General, and he will be a tremendous asset for the Justice 

Department. 

Mr. Stephens began his legal career as a law firm associate, and then served as 

an Assistant Special Prosecutor for the Watergate Special Prosecution Force. In 

1976, he was appointed as an Associate General Counsel for the Overseas Private 

Investment Corporation. 

From 1977 to 1981, Mr. Stephens served as an Assistant United States Attorney 

for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. In 1981, he joined the Department 

of Justice as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division 

and as Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General. During both of these positions, 

he served on the FBI’s Undercover Operations Review Committee. 

From 1986 to 1988, Mr. Stephens had the privilege to serve as Deputy Counsel 

to the President, where he was responsible for providing advice and counsel to the 

President and senior White House staff on a wide range of legal and policy issues. 

He was the principal liaison to the Secret Service and the FBI on White House and 

Presidential appointment matters, as well as the White House liaison to the Department of Justice through the Deputy’s office and the Office of Legal Counsel. 

For the next five years, Mr. Stephens continued to serve in a senior-level position 

as an United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. From 1993 to 1997, he 

served as a co-managing partner of a large international law firm, and from 1997 

to the present, he has served as a senior legal officer at Honeywell International. 

Jay Stephens has had a truly impressive career. He has shown exceptional public 

service and responsibility, and has demonstrated stellar credentials and legal expertise. So it is with great respect and admiration that I commend Jay Stephens to 

the Committee for your favorable recommendation. I hope that the Judiciary Committee and the full Senate will move to confirm Jay Stephens promptly. We need 

as many good men and women in positions of leadership in law enforcement and 

justice administration, particularly in the wake of the cowardly attacks on the 

World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Senator DURBIN. I would like to ask Mr. Reyna if he would 

please come forward for the administration of the oath. 

Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give before the 

committee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the 

truth, so help you God? 

Mr. REYNA. I do. 

Senator DURBIN. Mr. Reyna, thank you very much for joining us 

today, and if you would be kind enough to introduce your family 

that has joined you and make your statement. 

STATEMENT OF BENIGNO G. REYNA, NOMINEE TO BE 

DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE 

Mr. REYNA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, distinguished committee members, I am honored for the opportunity to 

appear before you. My wife, Maria, my strongest supporter, is accompanying me today. Our sons were looking forward to being here 

and would have been most honored to appear before this distinguished panel, but were unable to attend due to the short notice 

of the trip and their necessary attendance in school. 

My opening statement will be brief so that I may answer your 

questions and address any specific matters that may be of concern 

to you. But I want to begin by highlighting the words that are inscribed in the walls of a memorial that pays tribute to the many 

8

law enforcement officers that have lost their lives in the line of 

duty. 

In dedicating the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial 

a few blocks from where we are today, President George Bush observed 10 years ago that, and I quote, ‘‘Carved on these walls is 

the story of America, of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call 

the American dream.’’ As we move forward from September 11, 2001, as a stronger Nation, these words serve as a permanent reminder of who we are 

and our greater purpose as public servants. I am honored by President George W. Bush’s nomination as Director of the United States 

Marshals Service, and I thank you for the opportunity to appear 

before you so promptly. 

As the first Federal law enforcement agency created in this country, the United States Marshals Service is an integral part of the 

American story. The tradition of service and leadership is as rich 

as that of our great Nation. The men and women of the United 

States Marshals Service deserve great credit for maintaining the 

efficient and secure operations of the Federal judiciary. Security 

and integrity of our Nation’s judicial process will be critical in 

maintaining public confidence. 

The investigative assets of the United States Marshals Service 

that effectively protect witnesses and apprehend fugitives are legendary. The success draws from a tradition of effective cooperation 

with Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies. I have 

seen firsthand in my 25 years of policing the effectiveness and efficiency of working as a law enforcement team. The United States 

Marshals Service is widely regarded in law enforcement as a reliable and valued partner. Now more than ever, interagency cooperation must be embraced and practiced as we face formidable public 

safety challenges. 

We as a Nation are facing unprecedented challenges that call 

upon the United States Marshals Service for extraordinary service. 

I have no doubt that the Marshals Service will rise to meet such 

challenges just as it has in the last 212 years. 

The role of law enforcement will be critical as we confront a new 

kind of national enemy and their support systems. The United 

States Marshals Service will be a leading agency in maintaining 

public confidence and security as Federal, State and local agencies 

work side by side in identifying and bringing to justice those individuals and organizations that attack freedom and human 

progress. 

Mr. Chairman and distinguished members, if confirmed as the 

Director of the United States Marshals Service, I will build upon 

the great strengths of the Service. The United States Marshals 

Service will respond to these challenges in its finest tradition of 

service and leadership. 

Although we are facing uncharted dimensions of national threat, 

the constitutional foundations of our freedom and democracy will 

guide my leadership of the United States Marshals Service. We can 

never lose sight of these principles that define America and inspire 

the American dream. 

Thank you, and I will be happy to address any questions. 

9

[The prepared statement and biographical information of Mr. 

Reyna follow.]

STATEMENT OF BENIGNO G. REYNA, NOMINEE TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE U.S. 

MARSHALS SERVICE

Mister Chairman, distinguished committee members, I am honored for the opportunity to appear before you. My wife Maria, my strongest supporter, is accompanying me today. Our sons were looking forward to being here and would have 

been most honored to appear before this distinguished panel, but were unable to attend due to the short notice of this trip and their necessary attendance at school. 

My opening statement will be brief so that I may answer your questions and address any specific matters that may be of concern to you. 

I want to begin by highlighting the words that are inscribed in the walls of a memorial that pays tribute to the many law enforcement officers that have lost their 

lives in the line of duty. In dedicating the National Police Memorial a few blocks 

from where we are today, President George Bush observed some ten years ago that 

‘‘Carved on these walls is the story of America,—of a continuing quest to preserve 

both democracy and decency,—and to protect a national treasure,—that we call the 

American Dream.’’ As we move forward from September 11, 2001, as a stronger nation, these words serve as a permanent reminder of who we and our greater purpose 

as public servants. 

I am honored by President George W. Bush’s nomination as the Director of the 

United States Marshals Service. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you 

so promptly. 

As the first federal law enforcement agency created in this country, the United 

States Marshals Service is an integral part of the American story. The tradition of 

service and leadership is as rich as that of our great nation. The men and women 

of the United States Marshals Service deserve great credit for maintaining the efficient and secure operations of the federal judiciary. Security and integrity of our nations judicial process will be critical in maintaining public confidence. The investigative assets of the United States Marshals Service that effectively protect witnesses 

and apprehend fugitives are legendary. The success draws from a tradition of effective cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. I have seen 

first hand, in my twenty-five years of policing, the effectiveness and efficiency of 

working as a law enforcement team. The United States Marshals Service is widely 

regarded in law enforcement as a reliable and valued partner. Now more than ever, 

interagency cooperation must be embraced and practiced as we face formidable public safety challenges. 

We as a nation are facing unprecedented challenges that call upon the United 

States Marshals Service for extraordinary service. I have no doubt that the Marshals Service will rise to meet such challenges, as it has for almost 212 years. The 

role of law enforcement will be critical as we confront a new kind of national enemy 

and their support systems. The United States Marshals Service will be a leading 

agency in maintaining public confidence and security as federal, state and local 

agencies work side by side in identifying and bringing to justice those individuals 

and organizations that attack freedom and human progress. 

Mr. Chairman and distinguished members, if confirmed as Director of the United 

States Marshals Service, I will build upon the great strengths of the Service. The 

United States Marshals will respond to these challenges in its finest tradition of 

service and leadership. 

Although we are facing uncharted dimensions of national treat, the Constitutional 

foundations of our freedom and democracy will guide my leadership of the United 

States Marshals Service. We can never loose sight of these principles that define 

America and inspire—‘‘the American Dream.’’

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Senator DURBIN. Thank you very much for your testimony, and 

I notice not only your 25 years of service, but also a lot of community activity, too, supporting children’s projects. I think that is very 

commendable on your part. 

It also says that you are a native of Brownsville. Is that correct? 

Mr. REYNA. Yes, Senator. 

Senator DURBIN. And a first-generation American, is that correct? 

Mr. REYNA. Yes, sir, I am. 

Senator DURBIN. And your parents came from—

Mr. REYNA. Mexico. 

Senator DURBIN. Let me ask you this question. It probably is 

something that no one would have even thought of 10 days ago, but 

have you reflected on the possibility of a new role for the U.S. Marshals service relative to either the sky marshals, air marshals, that 

we have talked about or other counter-terrorist activities? 

Mr. REYNA. Mr. Chairman, I have no doubt that the United 

States Marshals Service can rise to a leadership role in dealing 

with this very serious national threat that is upon us. I think that 

over the last few days the United States Marshals have already responded to the needs that are facing our country. 

Senator DURBIN. And, of course, there will be a new level of 

heightened security because of what we have been through and the 

Marshals will be on the front line when it comes to protecting 

many of the important resources of our law enforcement system. 

In your past work as chief in Brownsville, have you worked directly with Federal agencies? 

Mr. REYNA. Yes, sir, quite extensively. One of the things that we 

are very proud about in our area is that we view ourselves as a 

law enforcement team. If there are any issues within the community, it is not the Bureau’s problem or the Drug Enforcement Administration’s problem. It is our problem, and we have been able 

to work on many fronts, very many special programs, and certainly 

have been able to deal with a lot of the sensitive issues that arise 

in and around a border. 

Senator DURBIN. Thank you. 

Senator Hatch, I don’t know if you have any questions of this 

witness, but I will give you this opportunity. 

Senator HATCH. Well, let me just say, as I would have mentioned 

in my opening statement, the police department in the city of 

Brownsville is confronted by some unique issues, in addition to 

those typical of comparably sized cities in the United States. 

Brownsville location, immediately adjacent to a much larger city 

across the border in Mexico, presents law enforcement issues that 

are not within the city’s jurisdiction, but nevertheless are important to the residents of Brownsville. 

I know that you and your police department have worked closely 

as a partner with the various U.S. Federal law enforcement agencies, as well as Mexican officials. Would you please explain your 

views on the importance of cooperative law enforcement and tell us 

whether you see any ways to improve the way the Marshals Service cooperates with the many agencies with which it has contact 

and works? 

39

Mr. REYNA. Thank you, Senator Hatch. Interagency cooperation, 

I think, is of utmost importance. I think one of the most fundamental principles, I guess, that we first must recognize within law 

enforcement is that we are public servants, and as such we need 

to extend beyond those limitations that perhaps we have just by 

simple policing structures. 

There is no doubt, and from personal experience, we have seen 

tremendous results in these cooperative efforts in all areas. In our 

particular area, obviously we have the United States Border Patrol, 

the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Agriculture Department, a lot of other departments that perhaps other cities don’t 

have to have perhaps daily operations with. 

One of the things that we have found is that in order for us to 

maximize our resources and meet the ever-changing public demand 

is to share local assets with the Federal agencies. And it goes beyond personnel. It includes equipment, and more importantly it includes working together and defining certain policies that will protect and make a safer community. 

We have dealt with many issues, including issues from high-risk 

incidents involving education, all the way to border issues. And I 

am certainly proud to say that all Federal agencies have been very 

supportive. The United States Marshal has a special program that 

we work with. They are right across the street from the Brownsville Police Department and have also played a vital role in improving the safety and welfare of our community. 

Senator HATCH. Thank you. In addition to your duties as Chief 

of the Brownsville Police, you have served as a commissioner with 

the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and 

Education. As I understand it, the Commission is the State’s regulatory, licensing and policymaking body for public safety which 

oversees approximately 55,000 peace officers. The Commission’s 

goal is to improve the law enforcement profession by developing 

and administering professional standards. 

Do you think your experience on the Commission will be of help 

to you as the Director of the Marshals Service, and do you have 

any ideas as to how to keep or even improve upon the high professional standards that we have come to expect of the Marshals Service? 

Mr. REYNA. Senator Hatch, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement—traditionally, though it is a regulatory agency, its biggest purpose and mission was to raise the bar within the law enforcement profession, and has done a tremendous job of doing that. 

Texas is a very large State, with about approximately, as you indicated, 55,000 licensed peace officers. But the Texas Commission 

on Law Enforcement also licenses and regulates the police academies, and is also a support unit for our legislature in trying to develop programs that will assist local law enforcement agencies. 

One of the biggest focuses that we had was supporting the small 

police department, the 3- or 4-man police department, to one of the 

country’s largest police departments. And it is through that experience that certainly I attained there, and certainly from all my colleagues, that certainly gives me the ability to understand the different needs, and more importantly the changing needs and demands, and being able to develop an agency that is certainly strucVerDate Feb 1 2002 10:15 Aug 22, 2002 Jkt 081139 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 C:\HEARINGS\81139.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
40

tured to be willing to adapt to our changing needs. Currently, we 

have one of those changing needs before us as we go beyond last 

week. 

Senator HATCH. Well, great. I am really thrilled with your appointment. I am happy to support you and I hope we can get you 

through as quickly as possible. 

That is all I have, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator DURBIN. Thank you, Senator Hatch. 

Mr. Reyna, thank you very much for joining us today. There may 

be some questions submitted by other members of the panel who 

couldn’t be here this morning. I know that Senator Leahy is also 

going to—well, here comes Senator Leahy just as I speak. Staff had 

advised me he was going to try to make it to say his words of greeting. 

STATEMENT OF HON. PATRICK J. LEAHY, A U.S. SENATOR 

FROM THE STATE OF VERMONT 

Chairman LEAHY. Yes, thank you, and I thank Senator Hatch. I 

was just talking with Senator Specter, who I know is outside, who 

has been on this. 

Chief, good to have you here. We have all been trying to do about 

five different things. We are trying to move quickly forward. Senator Hatch and Senator Specter and I met with the Attorney General yesterday. I think he was beginning to think I was the next 

thing to a house guest. Over the weekend, we met a number of 

times at the Department of Justice, and talked several times a day 

by phone. 

We have been meeting. We have a series of pieces of legislation, 

I would just advise my colleagues, that the Attorney General and 

I and others have been working on. We have found ourselves in 

basic agreement on a number of the pieces of it and have tried to 

work on others. 

I know that some of the leadership in both the Republican leadership and Democratic leadership in the House have some problems with some parts of it. We are going to try to resolve much of 

that. Our staffs will be working throughout the weekend on this. 

We have just gotten a working draft from the Department of Justice and we are going through it line by line with proposals that 

I have made and other Senators have made from other committees. 

We are working those things out and will throughout the weekend. 

I have cancelled plans to leave town this weekend just to stay 

and be available to work on this. I would encourage all Senators 

who can to stay here this weekend or stay available this weekend 

to work on this. The Attorney General will be before the committee 

on Tuesday of next week to outline the plans. I hope we can discuss 

at that point a number of areas in which we are in agreement. I 

suspect there will be far more areas of agreement than disagreement. 

The Republican Leader in the Senate suggested that he thought 

very expeditiously would be a couple of weeks, knowing that it took 

us two months after the Oklahoma City bombing to do it. We are 

all committed to move as quickly as we can. There are so many 

things, though, that are in the works and that we already can do. 

41

I know, Chief, you work with the local Mexican authorities and 

Federal law enforcement agencies—Border Patrol, FBI, DEA. We 

have a program called Northstar. It is an intelligence-swapping 

network between U.S. and Canadian local police, customs officials 

and prosecutors. The Attorney General gave his approval for the 

program when he visited Ottawa, and I would hope that you and 

the Marshals Service would be supporting that and helping to 

make that project work. For those of us who live along the northern border, it is very important to us. 

Mr. REYNA. I certainly look forward to working with that program, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman LEAHY. Thank you, and I would also urge that we 

move expeditiously in getting local Marshals up here. My understanding is that we have not received a single nomination for U.S. 

Marshals for any of the States or districts. 

Your papers came up here last week. I told the Attorney General 

we would move far faster than normally—in fact, we had another 

hearing scheduled this morning—to move you forward so that we 

can get you in place. We are going to try to get a number of others 

for the Justice Department in place as quickly as possible. 

But please tell them, if we are going to have new Marshals in 

all of the States, to get those names up here as quickly as possible. 

I have no idea how long the Senate will be in session this year and 

we want to move forward as quickly as we can. 

I thank Senator Durbin for coming here to do this, and Senator 

Hatch and Senator Specter. I thought when we finished maybe the 

four of us could chat out back. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Leahy follows:]

STATEMENT OF HON. PATRICK J. LEAHY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF

VERMONT ON THE NOMINATIONS OF JAY B. STEPHENS TO BE ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY

GENERAL AND BENIGNO G. REYNA TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE

I have called this hearing on an expedited basis for nominations received only last 

week from the Administration. Given the terrible events of the last week, I thought 

it important that we move forward with the nominations of two critical appointments that we have before us today, the President’s nomination to head the United 

States Marshals Service and to serve as the third-highest ranking official at the Department of Justice, the Associate Attorney General. 

I welcome our nominees and thank them for their cooperation. I would especially 

like to thank Chief Reyna, who flew here all the way from Texas. Last week, the 

Committee proceeded with the nomination of John Gillis to head the Office for Victims of Crime, as well as with a dozen United States Attorneys whose paperwork 

we insisted be expedited. The Senate confirmed them all last week, along with another nominee from Texas to head the Bureau of Justice Assistance within the Department of Justice. I am proud of the way this Committee and the Senate have 

responded to the circumstances of the last week and the support we have been able 

to provide to the Administration. This hearing continues that effort. 

The position of Associate Attorney General has always been important, but it is 

especially so in light of the recent attacks on innocent Americans. Among the many 

responsibilities of Associate Attorney General are supervisory responsibility for the 

Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice and of the Office of Justice Programs, which includes the Office for Victims of Crime and, I believe our federal assistance programs to policeman, fireman and other public safety officers and their 

families injured or lost in the line of duty. 

The Civil Rights Division, which plays an important role in the lives of all Americans, will have a special role in helping the FBI and local authorities ensure the 

rights of Arab-Americans. No one should become a target of hate or discrimination 

because of their religion, nationality or ethnic background. In response to the devastation we witnessed as a nation on September 11, the Office of Victims of Crime 

42

is assisting many victims and their families. The resources for our victims assistance and counseling programs, as well as the federal contributions to State and national assistance and compensation programs, are essential to ongoing efforts to provide support to those victimized last Tuesday. 

Following the leadership of Senator Clinton, the Senate has already indicated 

ways in which we can improve benefits to the families of public safety officers and 

I want to work with the Attorney General to streamline and improve those benefits. 

The Office of the Associate Attorney General also has responsibility for the Antitrust Division, the Civil Division, the Tax Division, and the Environmental and Natural Resources Division. We are beginning to see and formulate legislative proposals 

that will call upon the expertise and capacities of all these components of the Department of Justice. Until now, the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General 

have had a number of Assistant Attorneys General on whom to rely but no nominee 

to serve as the Associate. It was not until September10 that the Senate received 

Mr. Stephens’ nomination. We have all worked together to expedite the paperwork 

necessary to consider this nomination and today, at our first opportunity to hold this 

hearing, we are prepared to proceed. 

Before joining the private sector in 1993, Mr. Stephens held the positions of Deputy Counsel to President Reagan, Associate Deputy Attorney General, Deputy Associate Attorney General, Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal 

Division, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Assistant United 

States Attorney for the District of Columbia. 

The person who fills the position of Associate Attorney General not only needs the 

full confidence of the President, the Deputy Attorney General and the Attorney General; he also needs the confidence and trust of the Congress and the American people. We all look to the Department of Justice to ensure even-handed law enforcement and protection of our basic constitutional rights—including freedom of speech, 

the right to privacy, a woman’s right to choose, freedom from government oppression, and equal protection of the laws. The leadership at the Department of Justice 

plays a critical role in bringing the country together, bridging racial divisions, and 

inspiring people’s confidence in their Government. I cannot remember a more challenging time for the Department of Justice. All of us are pulling together and the 

Associate Attorney General will play a key role in the weeks and months ahead. 

I have already made reference to Chief Benigno Reyna. Chief Reyna is the President’s nominee to direct a crucial component of our federal law enforcement family, 

the United States Marshals Service. The United States Marshals Service was created more than 200 years ago by the first Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789, 

the same legislation that established the federal judicial system. It is the federal 

law enforcement agency with the longest history and it possesses a storied record 

of achievements. Our Marshals now support and protect the federal courts around 

the country and carry out the orders issued by judges. They also assist in the enforcement of laws written by Congress and signed by the President. 

Over the past 200 years, Congress and the President have called on the Marshals 

to carry out a myriad of important law enforcement missions, and we are calling 

on them again. I know that Deputy Marshals from Vermont, for example, are helping with operations in Vermont and in other parts of New England to ensure airport 

security and to protect government operations and all Americans. Although the Senate did not receive the President’s nomination of Chief Reyna until September 12, 

we are proceeding as expeditiously as we can. 

I do not intend for this proceeding today to indicate anything but support for the 

Department of Justice and the United States Marshals. I thank the Acting Director 

of the United States Marshals Service, Louie T. McKinney, and all of the acting 

United States Marshals and Deputy Marshals from around the country for their 

service in the past difficult days and for their continuing dedication and sacrifice. 

Since 1976, Benigno Reyna has worked for and headed the Police Department of 

Brownsville, Texas, where he served as Chief from 1995 until his retirement this 

past May. During his tenure at the Department, he participated in a remarkable 

collaboration between the Brownsville community and the adjacent city of Matamoros, located across the Mexican border. The two communities have worked together to establish policies on cross-border arrests and the extradition of minors to 

their home country of Mexico or the United States. 

Because of Brownsville’s unique geographical location at the United States border, 

there is a need for communication between the Brownsville Police and federal law 

enforcement agencies, such as the DEA, the FBI, and the United States Border Patrol. In December, 1999, the Brownsville Police Department became the third site 

in the United States to implement a multi-agency, wireless radio interoperability 

communications system. This system allows for field unit to field unit communications between Brownsville police and federal law enforcement agencies. I want to 

43

hear about that regional law enforcement communications network they used and 

work with him to ensure that we quickly make progress on the longstanding proposal for a better regional communications along our northern border as well.

Senator DURBIN. Thank you. 

Senator Specter, do you have any questions? 

Senator SPECTER. I do not have questions. I compliment Mr. 

Reyna for the nomination. I note your excellent academic record 

and your long experience in law enforcement. I believe you will be 

confirmed and, once confirmed, you will have a job which is traditionally very important and now it is even more important. 

I see the work of the Marshals in the three districts in Pennsylvania and what they do, very significant work on security for 

judges, and I am glad to see you with this hearing and moving forward to be in place to carry out these important functions. 

Good luck. 

Mr. REYNA. Thank you, Senator Specter. 

Senator DURBIN. Thank you, Senator Specter. 

Chief Reyna, thanks for joining us today. We appreciate it very 

much. 

Mr. REYNA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator DURBIN. Mr. Stephens, can I ask if you will stand to be 

sworn? 

Do you swear the testimony you are about to give is the truth, 

the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 

Mr. STEPHENS. I do. 

Senator DURBIN. Thank you very much. 

Chairman LEAHY. If I might interrupt, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Stephens was one of the nominees specifically that Attorney General 

Ashcroft asked if we could expedite and we are trying to do that. 

Senator DURBIN. Thank you. 

Mr. Stephens, thank you for joining us, and if you would be kind 

enough to introduce your family and make your opening statement. 

STATEMENT OF JAY B. STEPHENS, NOMINEE TO BE 

ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Mr. STEPHENS. I would be delighted. Thank you very much, Mr. 

Chairman, members of the committee. I am honored to have the 

opportunity to appear before you today as you consider my nomination to serve as Associate Attorney General of the United States. 

I would like to thank the members and your staff for the courtesies they have extended to me, and I, if confirmed, would welcome the opportunity to work cooperatively with you to work on the 

issues which are of concern to you, the President, and the people 

of this country. 

I would also like to thank Senator Warner and Senator Grassley 

for their statements. I know each of them wanted to be here today, 

but they have other important business and I appreciate their consideration. 

I especially appreciate the willingness of the chairman to schedule this hearing promptly and to move forward promptly on my 

nomination at a time when I know the Senate has a lot of other 

issues that they need to focus on with regard to the present crisis. 

I think this clearly demonstrates your commitment to help the Justice Department deal effectively with its current challenges, and if 

44

confirmed I would look forward to assisting the Department and its 

leadership in any way that I can. 

I would like to introduce my family, in my particular my wife, 

who has been a real partner and very supportive as we have considered the possibility of coming back to public service. There are 

some sacrifices involved, as Senator Hatch has noted. 

My children: my daughter Alexandra, who is 5 years old; my 

daughter Amanda, who is a senior in high school and 17. Alexandra just started kindergarten. My daughter, Jessica, who is in 

7th grade, and my son, Jay, who is in 5th grade. They are delighted to be here to see our Government in action and to participate in this proceeding this morning. 

Let me say, as well, that I come before you, I think, at a time 

in our Nation’s history when the safety of our people and the security of our Nation has been challenged by violent acts of faceless 

terrorists. This is a time when our Nation has experienced great 

pain and sorrow, but this is also a time when the greatness of 

America has shown through in the darkness. 

We have witnessed acts of kindness and support, we have seen 

the pride of being an American, and we have seen the spirit of our 

people radiate both courage and compassion. We frankly have witnessed how much we can do when we work together. 

As I have personally reflected on the events of the past few days, 

I have been very inspired by the images and the sounds of Americans working together. I felt very great pride in watching a great, 

diverse people come together as one, and I tell you I have felt a 

conviction that this is a time for personal sacrifice in the public interest. 

This is a time when we can work together cooperatively. We can 

achieve our common goals and ensure that all our people live in a 

free and just society, and it is in that spirit that I come before you 

today not just to seek your consent to my nomination, but if you 

do confirm, to begin a cooperative working relationship to meet the 

challenges ahead to seek a just, free and safe society for all our 

people. 

During the past 30 years since I finished law school, I have been 

blessed with opportunities in both the public and private sector to 

contribute to my profession and my country. As a young lawyer, I 

served on the Watergate Prosecution Force, where I gained a deep 

appreciation for the importance of preserving the integrity of our 

institutions of Government and for that very fragile trust that we 

must keep between our leaders and our people. 

Later, I had an opportunity to serve for more than 4 years as an 

Assistant United States Attorney here in Washington. There, I saw 

firsthand the impact which drugs and violence have on our people 

and on our neighborhoods. I experienced, I would say, almost tangibly at times the sense of justice you get when the rights of victims are vindicated or when a community feels more secure, or 

even when you make a judgment not to proceed against a defendant because of insufficient evidence. 

During this service, I had the opportunity to try dozens of cases, 

including some of our most difficult homicide cases and sexual assault cases. What I really learned, besides being, I hope, I good 

45

trial lawyer, was to understand that people must have confidence 

in their justice system. 

After that, for nearly 5 years I served in the Justice Department, 

both as principal deputy in the Associate’s office and as principal 

deputy in the Deputy’s office. There, I had an opportunity to work 

on a broad range of issues that impacted our Nation. 

In particular, I helped develop the international reach of our law 

enforcement in an effort to deal with offshore criminal activity, 

narcotics trafficking and international terrorism. I also worked to 

implement a number of new statutes which the Congress had enacted, provided counsel on a wide variety of civil and criminal matters, served on the FBI Undercover Review Committee and on 

interagency counter-terrorism groups, and participated in managing the Department and its many components. 

For 2 years, I had the privilege of serving as deputy counsel to 

President Reagan, where I was able to provide some counsel and 

advice to senior White House staff and to the President. 

Then for more than 5 years, I had the privilege of serving here 

as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, providing 

leadership to the largest and most active United States Attorney’s 

office in our Nation. I was truly honored to lead a very talented 

group of inspired men and women who handled cases across the 

full spectrum of civil and criminal jurisdiction. 

We had a wide variety of cases and prosecutions during that period. We undertook an initiative to prosecute drug gangs, such as 

the Rayful Edmund organization, and more than a dozen other 

such gangs, resulting in more than 350 convictions. 

We prosecuted fraud and money laundering cases, and undertook 

an initiative to seek affirmative recoveries for Government program 

fraud. We prosecuted a number of public corruption cases involving 

local and Federal officials, both appointed and elected, and we prosecuted scores, perhaps even hundreds of homicide cases and narcotics cases at a time when the city was facing a real drug and 

homicide crisis. I established a sexual assault and child abuse prosecution section to give these difficult cases special attention, and 

developed a domestic violence initiative. 

Apropos to current events, during my service as U.S. Attorney we 

also undertook a number of international investigations and prosecutions involving the illegal export of arms and technology, violence against U.S. citizens overseas, and international terrorism. 

I participated in leading the Pan Am 103 bombing investigation 

and the indictment of two Libyan nationals in the Lockerbie bombing. This investigation was a cooperative effort with the Department, with law enforcement agencies around the world, as well as 

with the intelligence community and State Department. We also 

brought to justice individuals responsible for the assassination of 

Chilean Ambassador Letellier here in Washington, and those responsible for bombing the United States Capitol Building. 

But we also sought ways to enhance our local law enforcement 

effort during a very critical period when drugs and violence threatened our Nation’s Capital. We developed a series of legislative proposals to deal with particular issues such as bail reform, homicide 

penalties, witness intimidation, car-jacking, and I worked with our 

city council to seek their enactment. In all of this, we worked with 

46

a whole range of law enforcement agencies, Federal law enforcement, local law enforcement, with a number of Federal agencies, 

and at times with international law enforcement. 

I have also been blessed to have the opportunity to work in the 

private sector, both in private practice first at Wilmer, Cutler, 

where I learned a lot from some very talented lawyers, and later 

at Pillsbury, Madison and Sutro, where I had the opportunity to 

handle both individual clients and corporate clients in both civil 

and criminal matters. 

Most recently, I have had the opportunity for the last 5 years to 

serve as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Honeywell, 

which is a global conglomerate corporation. There, I have had the 

opportunity to provide legal leadership for a variety of areas, including leading our litigation and regulatory group and our integrity and compliance effort. I have helped manage a diversified global business. I have resolved complex commercial, environmental, 

international trade, government contract, antitrust, intellectual 

property, and product liability cases. 

Let me say I bring no personal agenda to the Office of the Associate Attorney General, except this: First, to seek to build the trust 

of the American people in the integrity and the credibility of their 

institutions of justice; second, to work diligently to ensure that our 

people live in a free society without fear of violence; third, to provide a level playing field for our people to pursue their economic 

and their personal ambitions; fourth, to remember that we must be 

good stewards of our planet for ourselves and our future generations; fifth, to aggressively enforce the laws which the Congress has 

enacted; and finally, and perhaps most importantly, to act in all 

things with integrity and in the spirit of bringing justice to all our 

people. 

Throughout my career, I have been blessed to have worked with 

many talented people from whom I have learned much. I understand that people of diverse backgrounds can see issues differently, 

and that we must work diligently to reach resolutions and solutions 

that are both fair and credible to all affected. 

I appreciate that there is sometimes an undefined, yet tangible 

public interest which infuses our processes and decisions; that private entities and individuals frequently have a healthy skepticism 

of government and perhaps sometimes believe that government 

misuses its power; that prosecutorial authority should be exercised 

with restraint because of the impact it can have on people’s lives 

and reputations and liberty. But I also know that we must vigorously but fairly enforce the laws which the Congress has enacted 

for the benefit of all our people. 

Let me say in closing that I have been inspired by the words of 

Teddy Roosevelt throughout my career when he said, ‘‘It is not the 

critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man 

stumbles, or the doer of deeds could have done them better. The 

credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena ...’’

I have reflected also often on the words of Edmund Burke which 

I have shared frequently with young prosecutors as they came into 

the office. Burke said, ‘‘The only thing necessary for the triumph 

of evil is for good men and women to do nothing.’’

47

At a time when our Nation faces great challenges, the strength 

of our people and the courage of our leaders will ensure that we 

remain a free people. By working together in the arena, we can secure justice for all our people. I trust that with your cooperation 

and your confidence, I may contribute in some small way to the 

continued vitality of our democracy and the liberty of our people. 

Mr. Chairman, I am truly grateful for the opportunity to appear 

before this committee today. I would like to thank the President 

and the Attorney General for their confidence in me. If confirmed, 

I would look forward to building a relationship of confidence and 

trust with this committee as together we work to promote justice 

for all. 

I would be pleased to try to respond to any questions you may 

have. 

[The prepared statement and biographical information of Mr. 

Stephens follow.]

STATEMENT OF JAY B. STEPHENS, NOMINEE TO BE ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: 

I am honored to have the opportunity to appear before the Judiciary Committee 

today as you consider my nomination to serve as Associate Attorney General of the 

United States. I would like to thank the Members of the Committee and your staffs 

for the courtesies you have extended to me, and if confirmed, I will welcome the opportunity to work cooperatively with you on issues which are of concern to you, the 

President and the people of this nation. 

I especially appreciate your willingness to move forward promptly on my nomination at a time when the Senate’s attentions is focused on the present crisis. This 

clearly demonstrates your commitment to help the Justice Department deal effectively with current challenges. If confirmed, I look forward to assisting the Department’s leadership in any way that I can. 

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce my family. Joining me here 

today are my wide, Julie, who has been a real partner sand very supportive as we 

have considered the possibility of returning to public service; my daughter Amanda, 

who is a senior in high school my daughter Jessica, who is in the 7th grade; my son, 

Jay, who is in 5th grade; and my daughter, Alexandra, who is in kindergarten. 

I come before you at a time in our nation’s history when the safety of our people 

and the security of our nation have been challenged by the violent acts of faceless 

terrorists. This is a time when our nation is experiencing great sorrow and pain. 

But this also a time when we have seen the greatness of America shine through 

the darkness. We have witnessed selfless acts of kindness and support; we have felt 

the pride of being an American; and we have seen the spirit of our people radiate 

courage and compassion. We have witnessed how much we can do when we work 

together for noble goals. 

As I have reflected on the events of the past few days, I have been inspired by 

the images and sounds of Americans working together; I have felt great pride in 

watching a great, diverse people come together as one. I have felt the conviction 

that this is a time for personal sacrifice to serve the public interest. This is a time 

we can work cooperatively together to achieve our common goals and to ensure that 

all our people live in a free and just society. It is in that spirit that I come before 

you today; not just to seek you consent to my nomination, but if you do consent, 

to begin a cooperative working relationship to meet the challenges ahead and to 

seek a just, free and safe society for all our people. 

During the past nearly 30 years since I finished law school, I have been blessed 

with opportunities both in the public and the private sectors to contribute to my 

profession and to our country. As a young lawyer, I served as an Assistant Watergate Special Prosecutor where I gained a deep appreciation for the importance of 

preserving the integrity of our institutions of government and of leaders keeping the 

fragile trust of our people. Later, I had the opportunity to serve for more than four 

years as an Assistant United States Attorney here in Washington. I saw first hand 

the impact which drugs and violence can have on people’s lives and on our neighborhoods. I also experienced an almost tangible sense of justice when the rights of victims of almost tangible sense of justice when the rights of victims of crime were vindicated, when a community felt more secure, or when a judgment was made not to 

48

proceed against an accused because of insufficient evidence. During this service, I 

tried dozens of cases, including some of our most difficult homicides and sexual assaults prosecutions. I learned to be a good trial lawyer and to understand that our 

people must have confidence in their justice system. 

For nearly five years I served in the Justice Department, serving both as the 

Principal Deputy in the Associate’s office and in the Deputy’s office. There I had an 

opportunity to work on a broad range of issues that impacted our nation. I helped 

develop the international reach of our law enforcement in an effort to deal with offshore criminal activity, narcotics trafficking, and international terrorism. I also 

worked to implement a number of new statutes enacted by the Congress, provided 

counsel on a wide variety of civil and criminal matters, served on the FBI Undercover Review Committee and on interagency counter-terrorism groups, and participated in managing the Department and its many components. 

For two years, I had the privilege of serving as President Reagan’s Deputy Counsel at the White House. There I had an opportunity to provide counsel to the President and senior White House staff on a host of legal policy matters. In addition, 

I worked with the FBI with respect to Presidential appointments and with the Secret Service with regard to White House security issues. 

For more than five years, I had the privilege of serving as United States Attorney 

for the District of Columbia and providing leadership for the nation’s largest and 

most active U.S. Attorney’s office. I was honored to lead a very talented group of 

inspired and dedicated men and women who handled cases across the full spectrum 

of civil and criminal jurisdiction. 

During my service, we undertook an initiative to prosecute major drug smuggling 

and distribution organizations, such as the Rayful Edmund organization, and handled more than a dozen major gang cases resulting in more than 350 convictions. 

We also prosecuted a series of fraud and money laundering cases and undertook an 

initiative to seek affirmative recoveries in government program fraud cases. We also 

prosecuted a series of fraud and money laundering cases and undertook an initiative 

to seek affirmative recoveries in government program fraud cases. We prosecuted 

a number of public corruption cases involving local and federal officials, both appointed and elected. We prosecuted scores of homicide cases and narcotics cases at 

a time when the city was facing a real drug and homicide crisis. I also established 

a Sexual Assault and Child Abuse prosecution section to give these difficult prosecutions special attention, and developed a domestic violence initiative. 

During my service as U.S. Attorney, we also undertook a number of international 

investigations and prosecutions involving the illegal export of arms and technology, 

violence against U.S. nationals overseas, and international terrorism. I participated 

in leading the Pan AM 103 bombing investigation and the indictment of two Libyan 

nationals in the lockerbie case. This investigation was a cooperative effort with the 

Department, and involved law enforcement agencies around the world as well as the 

intelligence community and the State Department. We also brought to justice individuals responsible for the assassination of Chilean Ambassador letellier here in 

Washington and for the bombing of the U.S. Capitol building. 

We also sought ways to enhance our local law enforcement effort during a very 

critical period when drugs and violence threatened our nation’s capital. We developed a series of legislative proposals to deal with particular criminal justice issues 

were facing in Washington, such as bail reform, homicide penalties, witness intimidation, and car jacking, and I worked with the City Council to seek their enactment. 

In all our investigations and prosecutions, were worked closely with a several federal law enforcement agencies (FBI, DEA, Customs, Secret Service, Postal Inspection Service, and the Marshal Service), with local law enforcement, the intelligence 

community and national security agencies, and in some cases with foreign law enforcement agencies. 

I have also had an opportunity to practice law in the private sector, initially with 

Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering where I learned from some of the country’s leading attorneys, and later at Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro where I represented individual and 

corporate clients in a variety of civil and criminal matters. Most recently, I have 

served as Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Honeywell, 

where for the past nearly five years I have had a broad range of legal and leadership responsibilities, including leading our litigation and regulatory group and our 

Integrity and Compliance effort. I have helped manage a diversified global business, 

and have resolved complex commercial, environmental, international trade, government contract, antitrust, intellectual property, and product liability issues. 

I bring no personal agenda to the Office of the Associate Attorney General except 

this: to seek to build the trust of the American people in the integrity and credibility 

of their institutions of justice; to work diligently to ensure that our people can live 

in a free society without fear of violence; to provide a level playing field for all our 

49

people to pursue their economic and personal ambitions; to remember that we must 

be good stewards of our planet for ourselves and future generations; to enforce aggressively the laws the Congress has enacted; and in all things to act with integrity 

and in the spirit of bringing justice to all our people. 

Throughout my career I have been blessed to have worked with many talented 

people from whom I have learned much. I understand that people of diverse backgrounds can see issues differently, and that we must work diligently to reach resolutions and solutions that are both fair and credible for all those effected. I appreciate 

that there is a sometimes underfined, yet tangible, ‘‘public interest’’ which infuses 

our processes and decisions; that private individuals and entities frequently have a 

healthy skepticism of government and sometimes believe the government misuses 

its power; and that prosecutorial authority should be exercised with restraint because of the impact it can have on people’s lives, liberty, and reputations. But I also 

know that we must vigorously, but fairly, enforce the laws which the Congress has 

enacted for the benefit of all our people. 

Throughour my career I have been inspired by the words of Teddy Roosevelt when 

he said: ‘‘It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong 

man stumbles, or the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs 

to the man who is actually in the arena. . .’’ And I have reflected often on the 

words of Edmund Burke which I have shared with young prosecutors: ‘‘The only 

thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men and women to do nothing.’’

While our nation faces great challenges ahead, the strength of our people and the 

courage of our leaders will ensure that we remain a free people. By working together in the arena, we can secure justice for all our people. I trust that with your 

cooperation and your confidence, I may contribute in some small way to the continued vitality of our democracy and the liberty of our people. 

Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for the opportunity to appear before this Committee 

today. I would like to thank the President and the Attorney General for their confidence in me. If confirmed, I would look forward to building a relationship of confidence and trust with this Committee as together we work to promote justice for 

all our people. I would be pleased to answer any questions that you may have.

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Senator DURBIN. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Stephens. You 

have an extraordinary background that you bring to this position, 

but there is one part of it that is particularly apropos for questions, 

I think, this morning, and you have noted it in your opening statement. 

As United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, you were 

involved in the investigation of the bombing of Pan Am 103 over 

Lockerbie, Scotland. You also led a number of terrorism prosecutions which involved violence against U.S. nationals overseas and 

here. 

Can you share with us any insight into those experiences as a 

prosecutor, and if you could also reflect on the challenges that 

these cases brought in comparison to other work you have done? 

I guess the third point, and more relevant to some earlier statements, is whether or not you feel that there are existing laws in 

the United States which should be reconsidered in light of the current challenge we face. 

Mr. STEPHENS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate your interest in that area, given the times we face. I should say while I 

participated in leading, these are investigations that really require, 

and I think the most important thing, the cooperation and coordination of good men and women in law enforcement across the 

globe. 

There is more to it than a homicide case or a fraud case, and I 

think the key ingredient both is to have resolve, is to have good 

intelligence, and by that I mean we needed to work frequently with 

the intelligence communities, both on our foreign intelligence as 

well as domestic intelligence; that you have and depend upon good 

cooperative relationships with international law enforcement agencies. And I think in cases that we are facing at the present time, 

that goes beyond the law enforcement, obviously, to the political 

and national leadership level. 

Do I think our laws are adequate? I confess I may have some 

thoughts on that. I have reflected some on that. I think we have 

in place some fundamental laws that can deal with those questions. 

I think the President has proposed and the Attorney General has 

proposed some changes to our laws which I am not fully apprised 

of, but I have a general understanding of those and I think those 

have been sent to the Congress, that would provide some modifications that may assist in international terrorism investigations. 

I say that we need the tools to do that job, but I also want to 

emphasize that it is important that we remember that we are a 

free society, that we want to preserve the rights of our own citizens, and that while we are acting aggressively that we don’t essentially lose by giving up our own freedom to seek the accountability of others. 

These are difficult prosecutions, and I think frankly we want to 

look at them not only as prosecutions, but as foreign policy issues 

and national security issues and bring all those agencies together. 

Senator DURBIN. I think you make the important point that we 

all have on our minds. We want to give our Government the tools 

to protect us, and yet we don’t want to sacrifice those protections 

that have been part of America for every citizen from the beginning. 

96

Let me ask you, in your work with the Civil Rights Division, all 

of us are saddened and alarmed by some—fortunately, they are 

very limited, but some evidence of retribution against Arab Americans and people of the Muslim faith. 

Could you for the record indicate your feelings on this and 

whether you think there are things that we should consider by way 

of legislation or otherwise to make certain that there is no discrimination against those who are not culpable for any of the wrongdoing? 

Mr. STEPHENS. Mr. Chairman, I think people of good faith share 

your concern in that area. The President, I think, has expressed his 

views very strongly, condemning the acts of violence against Arab 

Americans and Muslims in this country and elsewhere. The Attorney General has done so, and I clearly join that. I think it is frankly very sad and a very unfortunate statement when we see violence 

against our own people simply because of their race, their origin, 

or because they are people of color. 

The Civil Rights Division, as I understand it, has set up a very 

aggressive to coordinate the prosecution and investigation of these 

offenses. They have a working group that has been established. 

Unfortunately, there have been several dozen of these events 

around the United States. I think the laws are adequate. I think 

it takes resolve, and I think it will take cooperation, as well, with 

State and local government because many of these offenses, while 

they might be prosecutable under the civil rights laws, would also 

be prosecutable under State statutes, where frankly the penalties 

may be more effective. 

Senator DURBIN. My last question relates to a responsibility 

which you will have that probably has gone unnoticed or not widely 

heralded until recent events, and it is the Office of State and Local 

Domestic Preparedness Support, responsible for handling the capability of State and local jurisdictions to prepare for and respond to 

incidents of domestic terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction. 

I just for the last several days—and I am sure my colleagues had 

similar experiences—spent the entire time going across the State 

of Illinois speaking to leaders in our communities who asked me as 

a Senator, what should we be doing to prepare ourselves and defend ourselves against the threat of terrorism? I came back really 

trying to search out sources of information to help them, and resources. 

Can you reflect on that particular responsibility which you would 

have in this position? 

Mr. STEPHENS. Mr. Chairman, I understand and appreciate your 

concern. It is an area both in terms of preparedness as well as 

dealing with victims of terrorism and their families, and much of 

that is handled under the Office of Justice Programs. 

I will say I don’t have tremendous familiarity today with all 

those programs, how they are structured, but I do know that the 

Department has reached out to deal with it certainly on the victims 

side very substantially by providing assistance to victims of crime, 

victims of terrorism; that through the peace officers benefits that 

they are providing a streamlined process that those are made availVerDate Feb 1 2002 10:15 Aug 22, 2002 Jkt 081139 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 C:\HEARINGS\81139.TXT SJUD4 PsN: CMORC
97

able promptly to the families of firefighters and police officers who 

have been killed or injured in the line of duty. 

I know that they are working with the State and local governments to assist and providing support. And I think let me say you 

have my assurance that I, if confirmed, would ensure that we are 

working diligently to ensure that we are prepared from a domestic 

point of view to do all we can to deal with the incidence of violence 

against our citizens. 

Senator DURBIN. Thank you, Mr. Stephens. 

Mr. STEPHENS. Thank you, sir. 

Senator DURBIN. Senator Hatch? 

Senator HATCH. Mr. Stephens, you are abundantly familiar with 

the Justice Department. You have served there in four different administrations, and you bring an especially experienced perspective 

to the Department and perhaps a perspective of positions ranging 

from line prosecutor to U.S. Attorney. 

Now, do you see any recurring issues that the Department of 

Justice has faced, and if so, how do you anticipate dealing with 

some of these recurrent issues? 

Mr. STEPHENS. Senator Hatch, thank you for the question. As far 

as recurring issues, let me say as I reflect on that I would say that 

the most significant sense of recurring issue is that the Department of Justice and how it does its business has a sense of core 

values and a sense of continuity. 

While administrations come and administrations go and there 

are perhaps glosses of policy that change, the core of how the Department litigates, how it manages its cases, how it moves forward—it has a core responsibility to Americans and American society. 

I would come back to what I described as not necessarily my 

agenda, but the principles that guide me as I think about the possibility of serving in this position, and I see that as part of the continuity of what the role of the Department is; that is, to ensure the 

integrity of our institutions of Government; that is, to protect the 

safety of our citizens; that is, to ensure that there is a level playing 

field so that businesses and individuals can compete personally, 

fairly; and that is, to aggressively enforce the acts and laws that 

Congress has passed. And, finally, the Department of Justice 

should in all things act with integrity and recognize that this is the 

Department of Justice not for this group of people or that group of 

people, but that it is really to dispense justice for all the people. 

I would say, looking at the Department and how it has changed 

from the 1980s when I had an opportunity to serve at Main Justice 

to now, we have seen, I think, an expansion of the global reach of 

law enforcement. And I think those initiatives that were undertaken to deal with terrorism, to deal with extraterritoriality or the 

application of our laws really are now in full fruition as we look 

at treaties, at cooperation agreements, at the reach of U.S. law, 

particularly in these days when we are fighting an international 

terrorism enemy. 

So I think there is a sense of continuity about justice and there 

are some guiding principles that guide each of us. I hope that is 

responsive to your question because this is a great institution. It 

has tremendous responsibility to maintain the sense of confidence 

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and trust of people in Government, and I hope I could contribute 

in some small way to ensuring that for the future. 

Senator HATCH. Thank you so much. I am going to support you, 

as you know, and feel very deeply about your nomination. I think 

you are just the right person for the job and you will do a great 

job while there, and I hope we can get you through as quickly as 

possible. I want to thank your wife and family again, and our future Director of the U.S. Marshals Service’s wife and family for 

your willingness to serve. We just really appreciate you. 

Jay, I have known you a long time. You are a good man and we 

will do everything we can to get you through. 

Mr. STEPHENS. Thank you, sir. 

Senator HATCH. Thank you. 

Senator DURBIN. Thank you, Senator Hatch. 

Senator Specter? 

Senator SPECTER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Stephens, I concur with Senator Hatch on your extraordinary qualifications. We thank you for coming back to Government. You have been in it in a long time, in a lot of very important 

positions, and I think you are in an excellent spot to do a job as 

the number three man in the Department of Justice. 

For the record, I would like to cover just a couple of items which 

you and I have discussed earlier this morning because I wanted to 

review in some detail some of the concerns I had—my expression 

of interest, in my own view, of being helpful to the Department of 

Justice. I know this committee wants to be helpful, as does the entire Senate and Congress, not only for the immediate, major problems but in the long term. 

For the record, I want to talk to you for a moment or two about 

congressional oversight on the Department of Justice, which I 

think is a point which has not worked well in the past. 

As expressed to you earlier this morning, I am concerned, for example, about the ability of this committee to deal with oversight on 

what the Department of Justice did on the indictments arising 

from the destruction of Khobar Towers back in 1996. 

I chaired the Intelligence Committee at that time and have some 

greater familiarity with that event than most members do on any 

individual event. But when the indictment was returned, Iran was 

identified as a conspirator, but no Iranians were indicted. 

As a very basic matter, you can’t hold a country responsible as 

a conspirator, or any principal, without having some conspiratorial 

acts of individuals who would be Iranians. I have already made 

some inquiries at the Department of Justice and have been told 

something about the quality of evidence, and that is a matter 

which I think needs to be pursued. 

Did the Department of Justice pull its punches on that indictment? I am not saying it did, but that question obviously arises 

when Iran is named as a conspirator, but there are no individuals 

charged in the indictment. The new Iranian administration with 

President Katamai is one which I would like to see us worth with 

and find a way to extend an olive branch, but if some of the old 

Iranian hard-liners were responsible for the Khobar Towers destruction, I think we ought to be very tough about it. 

99

Then we have the question about the indictments which have 

been outstanding against Osama Bin Laden for some time, for 

years, arising from the killing of Americans in Mogadishu in 1993 

and from the embassies in 1998. This committee, I think, ought to 

become very, very deeply involved in finding out what action the 

Department of Justice took to serve those warrants. 

That is a subject matter where this committee has been very active in the past on the legislation on the Terrorist Prosecution Act 

of 1986, which for the first time gave extraterritorial jurisdiction to 

the United States, and for hearings which were held in this room 

where the Attorney General was questioned; William Webster, 

when he was head of the CIA or the FBI, or both; Abe Soffir, when 

he was counsel to the State Department, to make demands on 

countries which harbored those under indictment and, if no action 

was taken, for having them forthcoming to consider our rights as 

a matter of self-defense to go into foreign countries and to arrest 

these individuals. 

My question to you, Mr. Stephens, with that perhaps too lengthy 

introduction, is are you prepared to recognize the Federal law 

which gives the Congress the authority to get into pending investigations and pending prosecutions, and to find out what is going 

on in the Department of Justice, and will you cooperate with the 

constitutional responsibility and authority of this committee to conduct such oversight? 

Mr. STEPHENS. Senator Specter, I understand and I hear your 

deeply-felt views regarding this. I also will say I concur that I 

think the Constitution clearly gives the Senate and this committee 

oversight responsibilities. In order to do your function in the legislative branch, you need to have the kind of information to make 

the kind of judgments that you need to ensure that our laws are 

enacted properly and that they are being enforced properly. 

As you know from our discussion today, I also expressed a sense 

that the Department and the executive branch has a responsibility 

to enforce the laws, to do that fairly, and that in doing that we 

should try, in a mechanism of comity, to share with the committee, 

with that Congress, that information that we can, and that there 

are mechanisms available to do that. 

I hope, for example, that the briefings which this committee and 

others have received with regard to the current investigation involving the terrorist acts of last week demonstrate some of those 

mechanisms that can be available. 

So you have my commitment to work with you to provide the 

kind of information you need. I don’t think today I am in a position 

to say I would say you can have any file and every file. Frankly, 

I don’t know how the Attorney General would view that. 

But my sense is we should be able to get you the kind of information you need to do your job so you can make the judgments, and 

if the Department has failed to act appropriately you can ensure 

that you can bring to bear your responsibility and judgment to encourage the Department to act appropriately, whether it is one of 

the terrorist prosecutions or something else. 

So you have my commitment to work with you to do the appropriate means that I would see or that the Department sees to get 

you the kind of information you need. 

100

Senator SPECTER. Okay, thank you very much, Mr. Stephens. 

The red light went on in the middle of your answer, not my question, and I will respect the red light. There is no doubt about your 

confirmation. You bring superb credentials to the Federal Government, but I wanted to have a little dialogue with you because I will 

be calling you from time to time to talk about your commitment 

and to talk about oversight and how we work it out. 

I appreciate the fact that it is not easy and it is not automatic, 

but there has been too little regard by the Department of Justice 

in both Democratic administrations and Republican administrations, and I think that we can improve law enforcement markedly 

with that oversight being conducted with more information coming 

from the Department of Justice. 

Thank you, and thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. STEPHENS. Thank you, Senator. If confirmed, I look forward 

to working with you on that. 

Senator DURBIN. Thank you, Senator Specter. 

I just have a few more questions, and I will be very brief. 

Your responsibilities are so broad with this appointment that 

they cover a lot of areas that we haven’t even touched on, and I 

would like to just touch a few of them, if I could, as part of the 

record here. 

In many States, the level of funding available to counsel for indigent defendants is woefully inadequate and there may be caps on 

the total amount available per case, resulting in very low levels of 

compensation. 

As Associate Attorney General with oversight over the Office of 

Justice Programs, you would have an opportunity to set the tone 

on this issue at the Federal level and to support State efforts to 

improve individual systems. What is your feeling about the compensation of attorneys for indigent defense in our country? 

Mr. STEPHENS. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your question. I will 

say my most immediate experience with that was probably when 

I served as an Assistant United States Attorney, and I know there 

were very many talented attorneys defending the accused here in 

the District of Columbia who frankly were not very well compensated. 

I think it is important that they have fair compensation so that 

we can bring talented resources to bear to defend those who are accused because the Government should be put to the test. I mean, 

we are in part taking the liberty, and at times perhaps the life of 

someone who is accused and later convicted, and they should have 

the kind of defense necessary to ensure their rights are protected. 

So I will look at this. I am not specifically familiar with how the 

mechanism works under OJP, but I would be delighted to take a 

look at that. 

Senator DURBIN. What has been your experience and what is 

your position when it comes to the whole question of grand jury secrecy, the confidentiality in the process, and the relationship of a 

prosecutor with the press? 

Mr. STEPHENS. My experience with regard to 6(e) is that 6(e) was 

the grand jury—it is a grand jury rule—is that it is important in 

the course of the investigation to maintain the confidentiality of the 

proceedings within the grand jury, what the grand jury is thinking, 

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what its deliberations are, what documents it has subpoenaed, so 

that potential subjects of an inquiry do not know where that investigation is going so that perhaps they can move more quickly and 

block avenues of investigation. 

I do think, and my own personal view is that 6(e) is a more narrow rule than sometimes is frequently referred to in the press by 

commentators. I think when you see 6(e) issues litigated through 

the courts, the courts actually take a pretty narrow view of what 

constitutes 6(e). But I think it is important that the case be tried 

in the courtroom, that the grand jury materials stay in the grand 

jury and that it not be tried publicly. 

Senator DURBIN. There is another area of responsibility that you 

will have and it relates to the pending litigation against the tobacco companies by the Federal Government. We had a hearing 

just two weeks with Acting Director Schiffer, who talked about the 

commitment of the Department of Justice to this lawsuit and the 

fact that the Department needed about $44 million to support the 

litigation in the next fiscal year. 

I have since been apprised of an order issued by the court which 

I would like to call to your attention and I hope you will get a 

chance to take a look at. It was an order entered on September 

10th, a week ago Monday, order number 83 in United States of 

America v. Philip Morris, et al. 

The judge in that case, Judge Kessler, was very critical of the 

Government’s tactics in the case and particularly accused the Government of wasting everyone’s time with some of the motions that 

had been filed. Now, this pre-dates anything that you might do in 

the Department, but the judge went on to say that if the Government misses its deadline for discovery, the Government will bear 

the responsibility for jeopardizing the July 2003 trial date. And 

then the judges says, ‘‘That is not going to be allowed to happen.’’

I raise that issue and bring this to your attention because many 

of us feel that if we are going to be successful in this lawsuit for 

the taxpayers of this country, we must diligently prosecute it, and 

that all of the attorneys representing the United States have to do 

an extraordinary job in a very challenging lawsuit. 

I would hope that as you consider your responsibilities—I am virtually certain you will be confirmed very quickly—that you will 

take a look at order number 83 and call in the attorneys for this 

lawsuit and ask for them to give you a briefing. 

Have you had any involvement in tobacco lawsuits in your private practice? 

Mr. STEPHENS. No, I have not, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator DURBIN. Well, I hope you will follow my recommedation 

and I hope that you will make sure that the attorneys do a very 

good job for all of us. 

Mr. STEPHENS. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I understand 

your deep interest in this area. You should know I have not had 

any involvement in tobacco litigation. I am not a smoker. I have 

tried to encourage, and I believe have successfully encouraged my 

children not to be smokers. 

And I can say I had the privilege of appearing before Judge 

Kessler for almost a year as an Assistant United States Attorney 

and I know she says what she means when she says it. So you can 

102

be sure that I will take a look at this to ensure that we have funding in place and that the issues be adjudged on the merits. That 

is all I can commit to you. I don’t know what the merits are, but 

it should be up or down on the merits and handled aggressively if 

the Department is going forward with it. 

Senator DURBIN. Thanks very much, Mr. Stephens. 

This meeting of the Judiciary Committee will stand adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:42 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]

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