Reno Says Farewell to Justice Dept.
W A S H I N G T O N, Jan. 11 -- Janet Reno said goodbyetoday after nearly eight years as attorney general,the nation's top law officer.
"It's time to get in the little red truck and go trulyenjoy it," Reno told a farewell ceremony at the U.S. JusticeDepartment, referring to her often-stated plan to drive aroundthe country once she leaves office Jan. 20.
Reno, whose tenure began with the disastrous BranchDavidian raid in Waco, Texas, but later included such triumphsas dramatic declines in the U.S. crime and murder rates,reflected on her time in office.
"We have been through some of the darkest times, we havebeen through times of joy," said Reno, leading an agency with a$25 billion annual budget and 125,000 employees whose dutiesrange from fighting crime to enforcing immigration laws.
Waco: Reno's Lowpoint
In her remarks Reno did not specify her best and worstmoments as the 78th attorney general of the United States.
But Reno previously has said her low point came April19, 1993, just 38 days in office, when she approved thedisastrous FBI raid on the Branch Davidian cult compound to enda 51-day standoff. The raid led to the deaths of 80 people.
"Yes, I've been cussed at, fussed at and figuratively beataround the ears," Reno said told a packed crowd of severalhundred Justice Department employees. They gave her a standingovation, complete with cheering and waving.
For high points, Reno and her aides have cited declines inthe U.S. violent crime rate to the lowest level since 1973, thesuccessful prosecution of Timothy McVeigh for the 1995 OklahomaCity bombing that killed 168 people and the return to Cuba in2000 of shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez after a bitterinternational custody fight.
'Oozes With Integrity and Got Guts'
As the Clinton administration was nearing its end and theBush administration was getting ready to start, Reno told thecareer employees to continue to do their duties, based on theU.S. Constitution and "the evidence and the law" — a mantraReno preached over the years.
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