page_title: William S. Sessions
section_title: FBI Director (1987–1993)
hierarchical_section_title: William S. Sessions / Career / FBI Director (1987–1993)
caption_attribution_description: English: A sample of the Winners Don't Use Drugs message. This one is from w:en:Golden Axe.
context_page_description: William Steele Sessions was an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sessions served as FBI director from 1987 to 1993, when he was dismissed by President Bill Clinton. He was the father of former Texas Congressman Pete Sessions.
context_section_description: After a two-month search, Sessions was nominated to succeed William H. Webster as FBI Director by President Ronald Reagan and was sworn in on November 2, 1987.
  Sessions was viewed as combining tough direction with fairness and was respected even by the Reagan administration's critics, although he was sometimes ridiculed as straitlaced and dull and lacking hands-on leadership. He worked to raise the image of the FBI in Congress and fought to raise the pay of FBI agents, which had lagged behind other law enforcement agencies.
  Despite being a Republican who was appointed by Reagan, Sessions disappointed the administration of President George H. W. Bush for not being partisan, and he was personally disliked by Attorney General Dick Thornburgh. Sessions had an uneasy relationship with Thornburgh's successor William P. Barr. Reflecting the tensions between the Justice Department and the independent Bureau, Sessions announced that the FBI would be looking into whether Justice Department officials illegally misled a federal judge in a politically sensitive bank fraud case involving loans to Iraq before the Persian Gulf War, and 48 hours later Sessions was the subject of an ethics investigation on whether he had abused his office perks.
  Sessions enjoyed his strongest support among liberal Democrats in Congress. Sessions was applauded for pursuing a policy of broadening the FBI to include more women and minorities, efforts which upset the "old boys" at the Bureau.
  Sessions became associated with the phrase "Winners Don't Use Drugs", which appeared in the attract mode of North American-released arcade games from 1989 to 2000. By law it had to be included on all imported arcade games released in North America, and continued to appear long after Sessions left office. The quote normally appeared in gold against a blue background between the FBI seal and Sessions' name.
  Sessions' major contributions to the US criminal justice community include the encouraging of the FBI laboratory to develop a DNA program with a strong legal underpinning and the automation of the national fingerprint process. The latter project, known as the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), reduced the turnaround time from months to hours for fingerprint searches for both criminal arrest cycles and applicants for sensitive positions such as teachers.
  Sessions was FBI director during the controversial 1992 confrontation at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, during which the unarmed Vicky Weaver was shot dead by an FBI sniper. This incident provoked heavy criticism of the Bureau, as did the deadly assault on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas that lasted from February 28 to April 19, 1993.
  Just before Bill Clinton was inaugurated as the 42nd President of the United States on January 20, 1993, allegations of ethical improprieties were made against Sessions. A report by outgoing Attorney General William P. Barr presented to the Justice Department that month by the Office of Professional Responsibility included criticisms that he had used an FBI plane to travel to visit his daughter on several occasions, and had a security system installed in his home at government expense. Janet Reno, the 78th Attorney General of the United States, announced that Sessions had exhibited "serious deficiencies in judgment".
  Although Sessions denied that he had acted improperly, he was pressured to resign in early July, with some suggesting that President Clinton was giving Sessions the chance to step down in a dignified manner. Sessions refused, saying that he had done nothing wrong, and insisted on staying in office until his successor was confirmed. As a result, President Clinton dismissed Sessions on July 19, 1993. Sessions was five and a half years into a ten-year term as FBI director; however, the holder of this post serves at the pleasure of the President.
  Ronald Kessler's book, The FBI: Inside the World's Most Powerful Law Enforcement Agency, led to the dismissal by President Clinton of Sessions as FBI director over his abuses. According to The Washington Post, 
caption: Sample "Winners Don't Use Drugs" message from Golden Axe.
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