Attorney General Janet Reno's Weekly Briefing
July 23, 1998
RENO: I am very pleased to welcome two guests -- Secretary
of Education Dick Riley, and Jack Calhoun, the executive
director of the National Crime Prevention Council.
We are here today because I think it's important that America
come together to deal with the issue of youth violence. We have
seen tragedies in these last days. In the past few months,
Americans have watched a series of terrible killings unfold in
our schools.
Each time the loss of life has seemed senseless. But these
tragedies don't happen at random. So often they represent the
tragic conclusion in a chain of neglect, alienation and easy
access to guns. That's why law enforcement will never be able to
solve these problems on our own nor can our teachers. America
must come together.
And we don't have a moment to spare. If Americans in every
community are alert to the warning signs of youth violence, we
can act before tragedy strikes.
Today, we're taking another step to mobilize concerned
Americans everywhere. Working with the Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the Bureau of Justice
Assistance, the National Crime Prevention Council has developed
a series of public service ads to help energize more people to
fight crime.
These two video tapes are being distributed around the
country. And I want to thank you, Mr. Calhoun, and your
colleagues for the great work that you do in this whole area.
JACK CALHOUN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL CRIME
PREVENTION COUNCIL: Thank you very much.
RENO: Let's see some of these now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
ANNOUNCER: Less crime is no accident. Programs like
mentoring, job training, counseling along with after-school
activities are keeping kids away from crime -- and crime away
from kids.
Look around. You'll see that kids involved in these kinds of
programs are kids who are staying out of trouble. It takes you
and programs that work.
Call 1-800-WE PREVENT, and we'll send you a free booklet.
Call now and help take a bite out of crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RENO: When viewers call the number 1-800 WE PREVENT --
that's 1- 800-937-7383 -- they will find out how they can make a
difference. We hope that parents everywhere will do more to
take an active role in their child's school; insist on knowing
their child's friends, whereabouts and activities; and recognize
that keeping an unlocked gun at home may place their family at
risk.
Teachers will be encouraged to report threats of violence and
signs of gang activity as soon as possible, and to encourage the
spread of conflict resolution and anger-management skills which
can be so successful. And young people will be encouraged to
start a school crime watch, to become peer counselors, and to
help others settle their disputes without violence.
These are practical, common-sense actions, and they make
every school in America safer. Later this morning, Secretary
Riley and I are going to meet with students at T.C. Williams
High School in Alexandria. We're going to listen to their ideas
and their suggestions about ending school violence.
The youth of America have tremendous wisdom. They have an
understanding, and oftentimes, they will tell me, "Why don't
you listen to us." And I try to listen to them on every
occasion.
Secretary Riley has been such a leader in this effort to
involve young people. I have been delighted at the cooperation
between our two departments on this issue, and so many issues
affecting young people in America. And I'm pleased to welcome
you and Mr. Calhoun to the Department of Justice today.
RILEY: Thank you so much. I am so honored to be here with
the attorney general and Jack Calhoun, and talk about really
what steps we are taking and can be taking to help communities
reduce this threat of school violence.
The attorney general and I went to Jonesboro for the memorial
service a week or so after that terrible incident there. And it
was -- it was a very moving evening, probably as much of a
moving evening as I have ever been involved in. And I know the
attorney general would share that view.
We met with the families. One of the interesting things was,
what I consider one of the real heroines of that community,
Karen Kurtner (ph) -- a small, petite woman, who is the
principal of that school. And she stood up for this enormous
crowd and this national attention, and made one of the most
thoughtful, powerful, but tender statements I've ever heard.
We've been working hard to make our schools safer,
and all of these incidents, of course, brought it more clearly
to our minds. But I think it's important to remember, in a
recent survey, 90 percent of the schools reported that they are
absolutely free of serious violent crimes -- 90 percent.
Our schools are generally very safe places to be and to
learn.
This is an issue that will continue to receive a lot of
attention from both of our departments. And the attorney
general and I have had a very close working relationship, and
we'll continue that.
But I think we all need to tighten up our own programs to
make them more effective. That should be our constant
attention.
We are -- came forth with our principles of effectiveness
that we sent out to all of our safe and drug-free school program
people, to really help tighten down that whole program from
place to place.
You want this over here?
RENO: (OFF-MIKE).
RILEY: That all right?
The president, as you know, has just announced the White
House School Safety Conference, on October 15, and that's, of
course, something you'll be hearing more about. During that
period, we will issue a national report along with the
Department of Justice on school safety. We're working closely
with the Justice Department and a group of national experts to
develop an early warning guide that will be ready the beginning
of this upcoming school year.
Schools are really asking for help in identifying truly
troubled young people, and research is out there that can be
helpful. At the same time, we are very, very cautious -- and
I'll be very sensitive to this issue -- and that is sorting out
young people and overlabeling or stigmatizing them. I'm going
to be very sensitive to that.
But we are going to provide an early warning guide, which we
hope will be helpful. We also need to start listening, as Janet
said, and that's what we're going to start that process this
morning, really, in a very established way to get out in the
schools with diverse students to really talk to us about
problems and what we might can do to respond to it.
I think adults, though, in this country have got to realize
that part of all of this is the speed of their lives. And they
all -- all of us, all of us in this room -- need to probably
slow down our lives, be more attentive to our children, spending
more time with them.
One of the saddest findings to come out of all these
killings is that many young people in the school were aware that
something was going on. And they didn't involve adults into
that conversation.
So I think we need to connect up every child in this country.
A lot of children have unfortunate family situations where they
really don't have adults that connect up with them. And then
they don't connect up with their teacher and their school.
And we think it should be a goal of this country that every
child have at least some caring adult to connect up with.
The High Hopes program that we have proposed, it's in the
Higher Education Act reauthorization, in conference, contains
such a program for middle-school children, connecting up with
college and adult students. The America Reads is the same for
elementary age children who are having trouble reading, to make
those connections.
We think that is very important, this business of connecting
up.
When a child is expelled from school for bringing a gun, we
need to create some new systems to make sure these young people
get help and get it fast. One of the things that most disturbs
me about the Gun Free Schools Act, which is a good act and it's
a proper act, is finding that only 56 percent of the over 6,000
young people who were expelled were bringing guns to school got
sent to some sort of alternative placement. And that's a very
bad number to put out there. And it's something we've got to do
something about. That's not good enough. It's one reason why
my department is starting a major study on alternative schools.
And I think they're on the increase now, but need to be
increased a whole lot more.
I'll also say that many of our education initiatives that are
now stalled on the House and Senate floors or committees -- such
as class size, modernizing our schools, expanding after-school
programs -- all of these go to the very heart of this issue.
The attorney general and I and our staffs had in some 26
chief security officers from 26 of the largest school districts
in America, representing over 7,000 schools and five million
children. This is areas we hear that are often troubled.
Over the last year, they reported to us three children were
killed in this large school area. And none were in school. One
was in a parking lot, as you recall, in Fairfax. The other two
were on the way to or from school.
So I think it's important to stand back.
These people told us -- these were law enforcement
people -- that if they looked at anything that would help this
issue -- they all generally said this -- small class size. That
amazed me. These were law enforcement people, big burly people
who were really into law enforcement.
They thought class size for early grades -- one, two, three
and four -- where teachers could get to know children and could
connect up with them and could observe difficulties they were
having would be the best thing we could do in this area.
And finally, let me say a word about guns and unsupervised
children. That's a mix that doesn't work.
Suzanne (ph) Wilson, another one of the mothers of one of the
children who died in Jonesboro, was at the White House. And
Janet was there. And she talked about gun safety. It was very
hard for her to come forth. She was emotionally touched,
needless to say. But she came there and tried to help out.
She had a great loss, but she was really trying to help
others out. And I felt for her. And she made a very beautiful
statement, I thought.
Her message was that people who own guns -- and she indicated
in her state that guns and fishing and hunting were very
popular, and she was not opposed to that in any way. But she
said in a very profound way that people who own guns have a
responsibility for owning those guns.
And that's why the administration supports a tough,
targeted child access prevention law, similar to Carolyn
McCarthy and Dick Durbin's provisions, which failed in the
Senate last night.
Reasonable people ought to see this really as a child safety
issue, and that's how we hope it goes forward.
There's no one solution to keeping people safe. We have to
be comprehensive. And we believe that a serious strategy of
early intervention; tuning into young people; connecting up with
them; a strong emphasis on schoolwide prevention efforts; and
real accountability for young people who do get in trouble, and
should face the consequences of trouble in a fair and positive
way, I think these kinds of things will make a big difference.
Thank you.
QUESTION: General Reno, Secretary Riley, in the wake of this
defeat last night and the day before of the other gun measure
that was backed by the administration, do you plan any new
legislative strategies or any changes in proposals to try to
address the gun issue in regard to children?
RENO: We're going to continue to review all our options. I
think it is imperative that we take common-sense steps to
protect our children.
The defeat of the child safety lock is the defeat of just a
common-sense, reasonable solution to make sure that guns are not
accessible to children. And it's efforts like these or
variations that we will continue to pursue, because I think the
American people support them.
RILEY: You know, the president announced, General, when we
were over there, that the -- I guess the Treasury Department was
going to have posted at every place where guns are sold that
it's federal law anyone who buys a weapon is responsible for it.
And as far as transferring it to a minor or someone
else, that that is a responsibility they have.
So you know, there is something out there now really -- an
awareness of that is very important. And we're going to have
those signs clearly posted throughout the country in every
location where guns are sold.
QUESTION: Secretary Riley, I wonder how (OFF-MIKE) that
figure is 90 percent of all schools are safe from serious
violence when the incidents that -- the deadly incidents that
erupted at Springfield, Oregon, and Jonseboro -- (OFF-MIKE)
Mississippi -- came in school districts where there had been no
history of serious violence.
In other words, it could break out in any of these safe
schools.
So instead of (OFF-MIKE) 90 percent of the schools are safe,
is the figure really zero?
RILEY: Well, you know, you can say that about anywhere
people are located. You know, this room is not 100 percent safe
with all of us here...
(LAUGHTER)
... as humble a crowd as this is.
But what -- I do think this: We have to look at all of the
schools. The other number I have here, which probably goes more
to what you're saying, 43 percent of schools reported no (ph)
incidents of crime at all. And that's 43 percent. I mean,
that's like nothing of any kind. And then 90 percent reported
no violent crimes.
I think people need to know their schools are safe, and that
principals and parents and teacher, students, communities are
all working to make things safer. But I don't want people out
there (OFF- MIKE) -- and you and I have talked a lot about this
-- to feel like this school is some unsafe place.
I think you can almost say in a community, which might be
unsafe, the school is the safest place in that community. And
we want people to understand that.
That doesn't mean you let your guard down, because it means
we ought to try harder to do something about any violence -- any
violence.
But I think it's important to realize that it's very
abnormal for violence to occur in a school.
QUESTION: Madame Attorney General, the report today, your
departing head of the campaign finance task force recommends an
independent counsel in that matter. Are you considering it?
What can you say about his recommendations to you?
RENO: We are reviewing the report now. As I have said from
the beginning, I review all new information or conclusions or
anything that is relevant to the issue of whether an independent
counsel should be appointed and the statute triggered. And we
will continue to do that.
QUESTION: Have they changed your opinion at all?
RENO: We are in the process of reviewing it, so we have not
reached any conclusions.
QUESTION: Ms. Reno, if your own prosecutor is challenging
your decision and saying in fact that you may have misread the
independent counsel statute, how will you answer to Republicans,
such as Senator Hatch, who last week challenged you strongly,
and Senator Thompson and others on this?
RENO: There are a range of lawyers within the department who
have had long experience with the Independent Counsel Act. And
what we do is hear from everybody -- not just one lawyer, but
everybody. And we make sure that we try to consider all
arguments, and reach the best decision based on the history of
the act, the legislative history and other factors. And that's
what we will do in this situation.
QUESTION: But he's the lead prosecutor, Ms. Reno. He's the
guy you brought in to fix problems with the campaign finance
task force.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)...
RENO: As I indicated, in a matter such as this, you have the
investigation under way. And 11 people have been indicted.
We also have the Independent Counsel Act, which applies not
just in this investigation, or may or may not, but applies in
others and has to be considered in other investigations. There
have been lawyers primarily responsible -- you used the
expression main lawyer -- there's no main lawyer. There are
lawyers responsible for different areas, and we want to consider
everybody's point of view.
We want to consider it in the most open way possible so that
they have an opportunity to express their views so that we
consider it.
One of the things I will tell you -- and just judging from
you all, I can look at the media interests represented around
this table. And I can tell you that you have a variety of
interests often opposed to each other.
I sit around this table on any number of issues in the
Department of Justice and have some of the best lawyers in the
country, five over here and five over here, and I may have 10
different opinions. It's my responsibility to listen to those
people, to encourage vigorous discussion, to encourage
disagreement if it exists, but encourage it in a thoughtful way.
And that's what we do.
QUESTION: Ms. Reno, you suggest Mr. LaBella is in a small
minority with his recommendation that other attorneys, you said
in the department, with long experience with the law...
RENO: No, I don't suggest that they or anybody is in a
minority with respect to Mr. LaBella's comments, because we are
in the process of reviewing them and have not reached
conclusions. I'm trying to....
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
RENO: Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait just a second.
I just want to make sure that we hear from everyone.
Nobody is a minority in terms of coming to the ultimate right
answer. And if one person out of a hundred has the right answer,
that's what I should do. We don't do things by majority vote.
We do things based on the evidence and the law.
QUESTION: Ms. Reno, as long as we're on this subject, is
there anything new in Mr. LaBella's report? And No. 2, do you
plan to make any portions of the report public?
RENO: I can't comment on Mr. LaBella's report, and I want to
do everything that I can to make sure that the investigation is
conducted the right way, that I do nothing that will discourage
others from coming forward to give their views, to dissent, to
openly discuss issues. And so with those conditions in mind, I
will try to do everything I can to be as open as I can.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) if Mr. LaBella -- if I can follow up --
but Mr. LaBella has made the conflict of interest argument
before, the same as Director Freeh. Is there any evidence in
this report or anything different that would cause you to change
your mind about appointing an independent counsel?
RENO: One of the points that I have made to earlier
questions is that we are in the process of reviewing it, and I
don't want to jump to conclusions. I want to make sure that I
carefully review every aspect of it.
QUESTION: Ms. Reno, can you give us any sense of the
timeframe of the review, how long this would take? Will it be a
30-day review? What's your sense of how long this will take?
RENO: We would like to finish the review as soon as
possible.
QUESTION: Ms. Reno, a couple of questions. Is it correct
that you've had the report for a week?
RENO: I don't know the date I received it. I'll -- it's
been approximately five to seven days.
QUESTION: But presumably, since you've kept in close touch
with the campaign finance task force, and have always said, if
they had any new evidence, they should bring it to you
immediately, presumably what this is is not so much a list of
new evidence as more of a kind of global view of what it all
means. Is that a fair characterization?
RENO: I would not characterize it, because as I have said, I
want to try to take steps to fully review it, to do nothing that
would deter others from coming forward and being thoughtful. So
I don't want to get into the comment of it, the substance of it.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) we've talked about Mr. LaBella's
apparent conclusions. But is it fair to say there are other
career lawyers in the Justice Department who take the opposite
view?
RENO: Again, I've got a report. I want to do justice to
that report. I don't want to jump to conclusions. I want to
make sure I hear from everybody concerned and make the best
judgment I can based on what's the right thing to do.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) democratic process of people sitting
around...
RENO: No, I indicated to you that it wasn't democratic --
that if I have one person with the right answer, they may
prevail.
QUESTION: Ms. Reno, first of all, are there any 30-day
reviews or preliminary inquiries regarding the campaign finance
matter currently under way?
RENO: Again, I would not comment.
QUESTION: You've said repeatedly that in any instance that
you receive specific and credible evidence that a covered person
may have committed a crime, you immediately invoke the act. In
the past, you have invoked the act -- in one case, I recall
within hours of having received such evidence on a fairly
clear-cut matter. Can you tell us where that specific question
sits?
RENO: What specific question?
QUESTION: The question of specific and credible evidence the
covered person may have committed a crime in regard to the
LaBella report -- has that question been answered in your
review?
RENO: We're in the process of reviewing whether the act is
triggered. And that is a continuing process. And when I
determine that it is triggered, I will trigger it.
QUESTION: But within that process, I'm just asking about
this one part of it.
RENO: What part of it?
QUESTION: The part of it that regards a finding of specific
and credible evidence that a covered person may have committed a
crime.
RENO: I'm sorry. I'm not understanding your question.
QUESTION: Under the mandatory provisions of the Independent
Counsel Act that you have noted repeatedly, you have said that
that if anybody brought, at any time, any prosecutor, and you
had instructed them as soon as they found anything that appeared
to be specific and credible evidence that a covered person may
have committed a crime, you would invoke the act. What I'm
asking is in the process of your review...
RENO: Of what?
QUESTION: Of LaBella's report.
RENO: I've not completed my review.
QUESTION: Have you completed this part of it?
RENO: What part of it?
QUESTION: The part of it that regards findings of specific
and credible evidence that a person that's covered -- covered
person may have committed a crime.
RENO: I don't understand your question in the sense of I
can't comment on the report. I can't comment on what's in the
report. All I can tell you is that I am reviewing it and will
make an appropriate judgment at the conclusion of the review.
QUESTION: General Reno, if you were to find that an
independent counsel was held in contempt of court, would that be
just cause for removing them from their position?
RENO: I don't do what ifs.
QUESTION: Ms. Reno, (OFF-MIKE) The drug conspiracy
indictments out of Plano, Texas, yesterday -- did main Justice
have any input in that investigation? Is this a legal tactic
you're going to use in other communities?
RENO: I can't comment, because I want to make sure that
whatever we say would be -- would not be in conflict with
whatever the judge rules. So I'll ask Bert to give you the --
whatever comment we can properly make.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) for a second? Does the fact that Mr.
LaBella -- his report adopts a similar position as Director
Freeh -- does that require you to do some rethinking in terms of
the issue in the sense that here you have again, as my colleague
said, the person who was brought in to do the review, to oversee
the investigation and the director of the FBI adopting similar
positions? Does that create a difference scenario, different
synergy in the -- the deliberations?
RENO: I've never understood what synergy in deliberations
meant.
(LAUGHTER)
RENO: But when the director of the FBI gives me his opinion,
it is very important for me. It is important that I review it.
When a person who is responsible for a particular
investigation gives me his opinion or her opinion, it's very
important for me. And it's important that I review it and
carefully consider it.
When the career lawyers in the department give me their view,
and they have had long experience in a matter, it is very
important that I consider it and review it. And then I've got
to make the best decision I can.
QUESTION: Ms. Reno (OFF-MIKE) I asked you about an
extradition case. There's a local prosecutor out in Oregon who
wants to extradite a man suspected in a thrill killing out
there. This suspect fled to Mexico, is being held by Mexican
authorities. Oregon may want to seek the death penalty. And
once again, we see another one of these showdowns with Mexico
over the death penalty question.
What is the Justice Department doing, or what has the
department learned? How can you help these local prosecutors
who are in these showdowns with Mexico over extradition when the
death penalty's in question?
RENO: This reflects the understanding and the agreements
between the government of the United States and the government
of Mexico. There are countries that are opposed to the death
penalty. And we have to work through these issues and make sure
that local prosecutors understand the treaty obligations that
exist and that we do everything we can to see that these people
are brought to justice, and the most appropriate sentence, the
firmest, fairest sentence available under the law is provided
for.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) related question, what is the state of
your talks with the Salvadorian government about suspects of
homicide who have fled there? And do you consider the option
that in El Salvador and other Latin American countries they
would capture and try the suspects there and agree to that?
And how serious is the situation, since we're
talking about Texas and D.C. and L.A. and other countries and
other states where Latin American (OFF-MIKE)?
RENO: What we're trying to do is there is no safe place to
hide, and that if somebody commits a murder here and flees back
to their country where they are a national of that country, that
everybody will understand that a crime is best prosecuted where
it was committed, where the witnesses are, where the community
needs a sense of understanding that justice has been achieved.
And so we have worked with our colleagues in the hemisphere
to try to make sure that we spread the word and that we see
implemented policies that will permit the extradition of
nationals. And we will continue to work with governments around
the world to ensure that.
QUESTION: Speaking of (OFF-MIKE), speaking of a big crime
and a big case about extradition of nationals, where do you
stand on the possible change of venue of a Pan Am 103 trial to
Holland? And especially, the plan is to release these two
suspects to the Organization of African Unity or possibly the
Arab League. Shouldn't they be in the custody of people that
can interrogate them?
RENO: I can't comment on any proposal except to say that we
have been asked to review it and no final determinations have
been made.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) Center for School Safety has said that
there have been 25 school-related deaths thus far this year.
There were 34 last year. There were 63 in 1993,
which was a high-water year. Why are you waiting five years
after the fact to start addressing this problem?
RENO: Are you talking about the problem of school violence?
QUESTION: Yes, and school-related deaths.
RENO: Actually, we have started much earlier. When I
testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in March of
1993, I said that the greatest single crime problem I felt that
we faced in America was the problem of youth violence -- both
youth being killed and youth killing.
Whether it be in the schools or a child sitting on the front
porch -- on their own front porch -- or playing in the streets,
we need to protect our children. We have focused intensive
efforts in that regard, and we have made sure that youth
violence is a priority.
In most instances, the enforcement issues will be local in
nature, and local prosecutors will be responsible. But wherever
we can work with them, we want to do so. Through our office of
Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention, we have done much in terms
of developing mentoring programs, prevention programs,
intervention programs that are having an effect.
This is one of the single great problems we face, because the
number of young people in the age category 12-18 is going up,
and will continue to go up for another five to 10 years. We
have made progress, in that violence amongst youth is going
down. But we cannot rest on our laurels.
QUESTION: But Ms. Reno, as long as this is perceived as an
inner-city problem -- I didn't see you and Mr. Riley here
unveiling slick videos with these magnificent campaigns to
combat the problem.
RENO: What you saw was oftentimes a number of us sitting
here. And I think you were probably not here on the days when my
-- your colleagues looked at me like, "Would she please get off
this youth violence kick, because she's talked too long about
it."
I think if you consulted with your colleagues, they would
tell you. And if you would look at the transcripts, this has
been a regular subject of real concern for some time.
But it's not sitting around a table talking about it. It's
acting on it, too. And I think we are seeing results in that
for the first time youth homicides are going down and the rate
of youth violence is going down.
So it is something that I can tell you is -- was to me, when
I saw it and when I testified before the Senate Judiciary
Committee -- it is an inner-city problem. It is a rural
problem. It is a problem that affects all America -- not one
segment of it.
And as long as one youth is in danger, or at risk, we, as a
nation, should be mobilized in that fashion.
People ask me, what can I do. They should know where
they can go and what they can do to make a difference.
Are you a mentor? Try mentoring; it will make a difference.
Go to the public schools; talk about the media; talk about what
you do. Give young people an opportunity to have a positive
future. Engage in conflict resolution programs. Work and learn
in your community. There is so much that we can do to make a
difference.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) has there been any progress on the
extradition of Mr. Ruiz Masere (ph) from the United States to
Mexico? And my second question is, suspected Mexican drug
traffickers' accounts have been frozen in four different banks
in the United States. Do you have any comments on that?
RENO: No, I don't. I can't comment on either aspect of your
question.
QUESTION: Thank you.
RILEY: Let me comment -- can I respond?
QUESTION: I'm sorry (OFF-MIKE).
RILEY: Janet, can I respond to it?
RENO: Yes.
RILEY: Let me say, I think it's a very good question and one
that has been raised. If you look back at where we were when we
first got here and look at the things that we emphasized -- high
standards in school for all children; careful attention to
disabled children; high standards for disabled children; the
after-school programs; the engagement of young people in their
education; parent involvement, the parent involvement
partnership, we had 40 organizations in it when we first started
it. Now, we have over 4,000 -- practically all the churches and
synagogues and all the business and education groups and so
forth.
So I think if you look back -- those things that
connect up young children with school, connect parents with
school and with children -- we have worked diligently on those
things ever since we've been here. So -- but I think your
question is very good, and we need to be concerned about all
children all the time.
QUESTION: Now that this is sexy, now that this is affecting
the suburbs of rural America...
RENO: I think that is one of the worst things that you can
say. You have no sense of some of the communities in America
that are working together. To say that something like this is
sexy is just demeaning a tremendous effort that's got to
continue and to be enhanced.
For any child in America to be killed wherever they are
killed is just plain wrong. And when did you first start coming
to these meetings?
QUESTION: This is -- about two months ago.
RENO: OK. That explains it then.
QUESTION: We didn't have Congress, and we didn't have Mr.
Riley and people coming up here talking about this when this was
strictly limited to the inner cities, and that's a fact.
RENO: OK. I think we have understood the problem now. You
just started attending these press availabilities about two
months ago. I would invite you to spend some time at the
Department of Justice, hear what we've been trying to do -- not
just in the inner cities, but around America. And let us
transform your concerns into some articles that tell the
American people what we can do in the inner city, in a rural
area where a child is killed, in anyplace in America to protect
our children.
I'll ask Bert to get in touch with you. We'll follow up with
you, and we'll turn this into a positive experience.
And now we...
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE).
RENO: Yes, and then you...
QUESTION: Have you decided what you're going to do about a
new look into the death of Dr. Martin Luther King? And if you
haven't decided, why haven't you decided?
RENO: I haven't decided because I am trying to make the best
decision that I can, and I want to review the history. There is
extensive history in this, and I want to make sure that I make
the right decision.
QUESTION: Ms. Reno, we understand that there is a problem in
the appropriations process with the funding of gun checks. How
serious a problem are we looking at here?
RENO: I think that it is imperative that the FBI be
permitted to charge a fee for gun checks to make the Brady law
work, and we're going to try to do everything we can to make
sure that the FBI has the authority to do that.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
RILEY: Thank you very much. See you all. Good to see you.
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