Janet Reno, 1938-2016
November 7, 2016 8:04 AM Subscribe
Janet Reno dies at 78. She was the first woman to serve as U.S. Attorney General. Here are Time's six things that she will be remembered for (spoilers): the first woman, the Waco siege, prosecuting the 1993 WTC bombers, being open about her Parkinson's disease, intervening in the Elián González case, and being played by Will Ferrell on SNL.
I always admired her toughness and capability in the face of Republican frothing (and even worse when it came to Ruby Ridge and Waco). And she was gracious about Ferrell's imitation of her.
posted by emjaybee at 8:11 AM on November 7, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 8:11 AM on November 7, 2016 [13 favorites]
When my grandfather died in 1996, a relative of mine worked for the FBI. Janet Reno, much to the surprise of everyone in my family, called my grandmother's house to express her condolences to my grandmother. Aside from being a wonderful professional, she seemed like a great woman, as well.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:12 AM on November 7, 2016 [31 favorites]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:12 AM on November 7, 2016 [31 favorites]
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posted by wonton endangerment at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by wonton endangerment at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2016
You passed the torch along. Good job.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
đź‘“
posted by numaner at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by numaner at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2016 [8 favorites]
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posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2016
In what is essentially an obit, I don't think it appropriate to recall a parody of the person being memorialized.
posted by Postroad at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Postroad at 8:14 AM on November 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
I liked the story on Morning Edition.
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posted by crush-onastick at 8:17 AM on November 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by crush-onastick at 8:17 AM on November 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by lalochezia at 8:19 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by lalochezia at 8:19 AM on November 7, 2016
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posted by Radiophonic Oddity at 8:22 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by Radiophonic Oddity at 8:22 AM on November 7, 2016
In what is essentially an obit, I don't think it appropriate to recall a parody of the person being memorialized.
If Reno herself had had a real problem with it, maybe. But that doesn't seem to have been the case. (Apologies for crappy video quality.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:23 AM on November 7, 2016 [18 favorites]
If Reno herself had had a real problem with it, maybe. But that doesn't seem to have been the case. (Apologies for crappy video quality.)
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:23 AM on November 7, 2016 [18 favorites]
In what is essentially an obit, I don't think it appropriate to recall a parody of the person being memorialized.
Janet Reno herself once burst through the wall of one of those parodies. One can only assume she appreciated them.
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posted by bondcliff at 8:23 AM on November 7, 2016 [33 favorites]
Janet Reno herself once burst through the wall of one of those parodies. One can only assume she appreciated them.
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posted by bondcliff at 8:23 AM on November 7, 2016 [33 favorites]
Random coincidence: She was the 78th Attorney General of the United States, and she lived to be 78.
posted by WalkingAround at 8:23 AM on November 7, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by WalkingAround at 8:23 AM on November 7, 2016 [7 favorites]
I don't know what she actually felt about the SNL skit, but her 2002 campaign for Florida Governor held a "Janet Reno Dance Party" fundraiser that got a lot of press at the time.
(Also let's remember that the Ruby Ridge incident happened in 1992, prior to the election of Bill Clinton and well prior to Janet Reno's appointment as Attorney General).
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posted by burden at 8:25 AM on November 7, 2016 [10 favorites]
(Also let's remember that the Ruby Ridge incident happened in 1992, prior to the election of Bill Clinton and well prior to Janet Reno's appointment as Attorney General).
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posted by burden at 8:25 AM on November 7, 2016 [10 favorites]
In what is essentially an obit, I don't think it appropriate to recall a parody of the person being memorialized.
I'm not sure if it's the sketch (can't view it at work) but Reno was an awesome sport about those sketches and actually burst through a wall on the final sketch.
posted by daninnj at 8:26 AM on November 7, 2016 [6 favorites]
I'm not sure if it's the sketch (can't view it at work) but Reno was an awesome sport about those sketches and actually burst through a wall on the final sketch.
posted by daninnj at 8:26 AM on November 7, 2016 [6 favorites]
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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:30 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:30 AM on November 7, 2016
Here's a terrible version of Reno with Farrell- so funny!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:31 AM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:31 AM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
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posted by killy willy at 8:33 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by killy willy at 8:33 AM on November 7, 2016
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posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 8:42 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 8:42 AM on November 7, 2016
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I remember watching the Elián González stuff as a young kid in the middle of a terrible divorce and being afraid/hoping that Janet Reno was going to send soldiers to take take me away from my parents.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 8:44 AM on November 7, 2016 [27 favorites]
I remember watching the Elián González stuff as a young kid in the middle of a terrible divorce and being afraid/hoping that Janet Reno was going to send soldiers to take take me away from my parents.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 8:44 AM on November 7, 2016 [27 favorites]
While the Will Ferrell sketches come across as pretty cringe-worthy in retrospect, they were practically love letters to the woman compared to most of the vile shit that was thrown her way by the right wing media's usual suspects during the Clinton years. (Janet 'Rhino', anyone?) A sobering reminder that Hillary was not alone in her thankless daily trudge through the loathsome muck of 1990s mainstream misogyny; not by a longshot.
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posted by Atom Eyes at 8:46 AM on November 7, 2016 [49 favorites]
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posted by Atom Eyes at 8:46 AM on November 7, 2016 [49 favorites]
the first woman
Damn. She was a pioneer.
posted by pracowity at 8:49 AM on November 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
Damn. She was a pioneer.
posted by pracowity at 8:49 AM on November 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:51 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by JoeXIII007 at 8:51 AM on November 7, 2016
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I will always admire her courage and resilience in the face of all the bullshit she had to endure from fragile men as not just a woman who dared to be up in their space in a position of authority but who also "dared" to not fit their ideas about the correct way to perform femininity.
posted by lord_wolf at 8:52 AM on November 7, 2016 [32 favorites]
I will always admire her courage and resilience in the face of all the bullshit she had to endure from fragile men as not just a woman who dared to be up in their space in a position of authority but who also "dared" to not fit their ideas about the correct way to perform femininity.
posted by lord_wolf at 8:52 AM on November 7, 2016 [32 favorites]
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posted by grobertson at 8:53 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by grobertson at 8:53 AM on November 7, 2016
In what is essentially an obit, I don't think it appropriate to recall a parody of the person being memorialized.
Well, the New York Times is pretty good at obituaries, and they found it appropriate:
Well, the New York Times is pretty good at obituaries, and they found it appropriate:
Imposing at 6-foot-1, awkward in manner and blunt in her probity, she became a regular foil for late-night comics and a running gag on “Saturday Night Live.” But she got the joke, proving it by gamely appearing on the show to lampoon her image.posted by John Cohen at 8:57 AM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Things I didn't know until today: Janet Reno was a Girl Scout.
You know who else were Girl Scouts?
posted by phunniemee at 9:06 AM on November 7, 2016 [28 favorites]
You know who else were Girl Scouts?
posted by phunniemee at 9:06 AM on November 7, 2016 [28 favorites]
Janet Reno sent soldiers to return a child to his parents.
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posted by Bee'sWing at 9:09 AM on November 7, 2016 [13 favorites]
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posted by Bee'sWing at 9:09 AM on November 7, 2016 [13 favorites]
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posted by grumpybear69 at 9:10 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:10 AM on November 7, 2016
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posted by Annabelle74 at 9:10 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by Annabelle74 at 9:10 AM on November 7, 2016
Janet Reno sent soldiers to return a child to his parents.
...who lived in a regime that was inimical to the United States
...she acted despite knowing that she was going to be absolutely flame-roasted for doing so
...because it was the law and it was the right thing to do.
Job well done.
posted by aureliobuendia at 9:13 AM on November 7, 2016 [71 favorites]
...who lived in a regime that was inimical to the United States
...she acted despite knowing that she was going to be absolutely flame-roasted for doing so
...because it was the law and it was the right thing to do.
Job well done.
posted by aureliobuendia at 9:13 AM on November 7, 2016 [71 favorites]
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posted by dogstoevski at 9:13 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by dogstoevski at 9:13 AM on November 7, 2016
The woman responsible for the successful prosecution of the architects of the worst terrorist attack on American soil prior to 9/11.
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posted by stet at 9:17 AM on November 7, 2016 [12 favorites]
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posted by stet at 9:17 AM on November 7, 2016 [12 favorites]
This lawyer always admired her for just flat-out doing the correct thing, politics and feelings be damned.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:17 AM on November 7, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:17 AM on November 7, 2016 [13 favorites]
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posted by Silverstone at 9:26 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by Silverstone at 9:26 AM on November 7, 2016
Series of tweets about the moral panic that "created a cultural hysteria that set back the cause of public childcare immeasurably."
See, that's something that I don't think is appropriate for the thread. The author of those tweets seems to blame Reno solely or primarily for the "Satanic Panic", which isn't even remotely true.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:30 AM on November 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
See, that's something that I don't think is appropriate for the thread. The author of those tweets seems to blame Reno solely or primarily for the "Satanic Panic", which isn't even remotely true.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:30 AM on November 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
Capt. Renault: I was in law school in DC during her tenure and we had a lot of guests lectures from people who worked for/with her or in her agency. That was the general sense of her I got from all the speakers, no matter how circumspect they tried to be in talking about the department: that she just worked to do the correct thing, politics and feelings be damned.
posted by crush-onastick at 9:30 AM on November 7, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by crush-onastick at 9:30 AM on November 7, 2016 [7 favorites]
You know how people talk about how someone is somebody they'd like to have a beer with? I'm a recent convert to the friends of Bill W, but I'd had loved to have had a beer or three with Janet.
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posted by Sphinx at 9:32 AM on November 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
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posted by Sphinx at 9:32 AM on November 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
Growing up, she was one of the first models of a truly "powerful woman" that I saw. It was probably more important than I can explain to see someone who was strong and forceful and not especially feminine or pretty be in charge and let the criticisms bounce off her without affecting her work.
posted by rmless at 9:33 AM on November 7, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by rmless at 9:33 AM on November 7, 2016 [13 favorites]
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posted by cotton dress sock at 9:34 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:34 AM on November 7, 2016
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posted by the sobsister at 9:36 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by the sobsister at 9:36 AM on November 7, 2016
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posted by neutralmojo at 9:38 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by neutralmojo at 9:38 AM on November 7, 2016
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posted by defenestration at 9:39 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by defenestration at 9:39 AM on November 7, 2016
I strongly, strongly disliked her actions in the Elian Gonzalez case, but she was certainly a strong women that took difficult stances in a man's world, and she deserves respect for that.
posted by corb at 9:40 AM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by corb at 9:40 AM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
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posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:40 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:40 AM on November 7, 2016
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posted by LeftMyHeartInSanFrancisco at 9:40 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by LeftMyHeartInSanFrancisco at 9:40 AM on November 7, 2016
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posted by tobascodagama at 9:42 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by tobascodagama at 9:42 AM on November 7, 2016
She rescued a kid from their crazy, exploitative relatives, and returned him to the father who loved him and who was his remaining parent. In accordance with both law and morality. There's nothing to criticize about the Elian decision.
posted by tavella at 9:43 AM on November 7, 2016 [26 favorites]
posted by tavella at 9:43 AM on November 7, 2016 [26 favorites]
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I hope she was able to early vote.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:43 AM on November 7, 2016 [9 favorites]
I hope she was able to early vote.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:43 AM on November 7, 2016 [9 favorites]
I had hoped Reno was tough enough to survive 2016. If she wasn't, what hope do the rest of us have?
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:45 AM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:45 AM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
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posted by dinty_moore at 9:48 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by dinty_moore at 9:48 AM on November 7, 2016
There's nothing to criticize about the Elian decision.
She spat in the face of the safety and freedom his mother gave her life to give him and sent la migra to tear him from his home at gunpoint. It's okay to think her decision was a valid outcome, but to say there was nothing to criticize is just flat wrong.
posted by corb at 9:53 AM on November 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
She spat in the face of the safety and freedom his mother gave her life to give him and sent la migra to tear him from his home at gunpoint. It's okay to think her decision was a valid outcome, but to say there was nothing to criticize is just flat wrong.
posted by corb at 9:53 AM on November 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
Those Clintons are ALWAYS killing people! SEE WHAT THEY DID NOW? Not even Janet Reno was left in peace!
But actually - I find this synchronicity interesting given the current political climate.
posted by symbioid at 9:59 AM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
But actually - I find this synchronicity interesting given the current political climate.
posted by symbioid at 9:59 AM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
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posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:00 AM on November 7, 2016
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:00 AM on November 7, 2016
There's nothing to criticize about the Elian decision.
There is plenty to criticize about the decision to put the kid a hair's breath from a fast moving bullet.
posted by ocschwar at 10:01 AM on November 7, 2016 [5 favorites]
There is plenty to criticize about the decision to put the kid a hair's breath from a fast moving bullet.
posted by ocschwar at 10:01 AM on November 7, 2016 [5 favorites]
She was the first lady I ever saw/was aware of who held a position of power and wasn't "camera ready"(read that as groomed to within an inch of her life) . She looked like a person. She stood up for what she believed in. I am glad and grateful she served our country.
posted by LuckyMonkey21 at 10:07 AM on November 7, 2016 [12 favorites]
posted by LuckyMonkey21 at 10:07 AM on November 7, 2016 [12 favorites]
Some years back, Frontline did a documentary on Florida child abuse cases dating from her time as Attorney General. She did not come off well. Still, read the comments.
posted by IndigoJones at 10:11 AM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by IndigoJones at 10:11 AM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Those Clintons are ALWAYS killing people! SEE WHAT THEY DID NOW? Not even Janet Reno was left in peace!
Consider the possibility that the body count from the final assault on the Waco compound had something to do with the alienation and polarization we're seeing in the lower class, and thus had something to do with why we have Cheeto Benito to vote against tomorrow. Janet Reno was in command of large teams of armed personnel. She had a hand in deciding how these teams were deployed in many cases around the country, she made calls that are questionable at best, and that qualifies her as exempt from de mortuis, nil nisi bonum.
posted by ocschwar at 10:11 AM on November 7, 2016 [5 favorites]
Consider the possibility that the body count from the final assault on the Waco compound had something to do with the alienation and polarization we're seeing in the lower class, and thus had something to do with why we have Cheeto Benito to vote against tomorrow. Janet Reno was in command of large teams of armed personnel. She had a hand in deciding how these teams were deployed in many cases around the country, she made calls that are questionable at best, and that qualifies her as exempt from de mortuis, nil nisi bonum.
posted by ocschwar at 10:11 AM on November 7, 2016 [5 favorites]
In what is essentially an obit, I don't think it appropriate to recall a parody of the person being memorialized.
She spoke at my college when I was an undergrad. She prefaced questions by saying she loved the SNL attention. So there's that.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 11:18 AM on November 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
She spoke at my college when I was an undergrad. She prefaced questions by saying she loved the SNL attention. So there's that.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 11:18 AM on November 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
I heard Janet Reno speak at my university in 2002. There were two notable things about the speech. First, she proposed greatly reducing the use of juries in trials, which was a pretty shocking surprise. Then she passed out in the middle of the speech, which was arguably more surprising.
posted by Jahaza at 11:20 AM on November 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Jahaza at 11:20 AM on November 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
See, that's something that I don't think is appropriate for the thread. The author of those tweets seems to blame Reno solely or primarily for the "Satanic Panic", which isn't even remotely true.
Reno didn't just bring the full power of the state against a 14-year-old boy on no evidence beyond the manipulated, coerced testimony of alleged victims. Because she thought she had won the case and wanted to reap the publicity that a successful prosecution would garner, she made the defendant wait 2 and 1/2 hours for the jury to deliver it's verdict so she could be in the courtroom when it was announced. (That's after he spent two years in jail on the trumped-up charges.)
It's true she isn't solely to blame for the Satanic Panic, but she certainly took advantage of it to advance her career, and I think it's appropriate to include that episode in a review of her life.
posted by layceepee at 11:28 AM on November 7, 2016 [12 favorites]
Reno didn't just bring the full power of the state against a 14-year-old boy on no evidence beyond the manipulated, coerced testimony of alleged victims. Because she thought she had won the case and wanted to reap the publicity that a successful prosecution would garner, she made the defendant wait 2 and 1/2 hours for the jury to deliver it's verdict so she could be in the courtroom when it was announced. (That's after he spent two years in jail on the trumped-up charges.)
It's true she isn't solely to blame for the Satanic Panic, but she certainly took advantage of it to advance her career, and I think it's appropriate to include that episode in a review of her life.
posted by layceepee at 11:28 AM on November 7, 2016 [12 favorites]
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I met her when I was 10 years old, she was a pallbearer at my grandfather's funeral. I remember her doting over my little sister, comparing her eyes to Brooke Shields' (a very 1980's thing to say).
She had been a partner in my grandfather's law firm. But even that wasn't easy:
Anyway, Ms. Reno had been generous a few times in appearing at events that raised money for a memorial scholarship in my grandfather's name at University of Florida. My mom exchanged Christmas cards with her for the past three decades. Mom stopped watching Saturday Night Live because of the parody, finding it petty and unfair.
posted by peeedro at 11:30 AM on November 7, 2016 [41 favorites]
I met her when I was 10 years old, she was a pallbearer at my grandfather's funeral. I remember her doting over my little sister, comparing her eyes to Brooke Shields' (a very 1980's thing to say).
She had been a partner in my grandfather's law firm. But even that wasn't easy:
[After graduating Harvard Law] Reno returned to Miami and was unable to land a job at one of the city’s best-known law firms, Steel Hector & Davis, “because I was a woman,” she recalled in 2003 speech at Harvard. She found jobs at smaller firms before joining state government in 1971, working in the legislature and then as administrative assistant to the state attorney for Dade County, Richard Gerstein.At the funeral, Janet Reno was doing what my kid brain considered a man's job, so I had a lot of questions. To free up my parents, my sister and I were left with a young lawyer for most of the funeral. He used the socratic method to make my kid brain begin to break down the arbitrary barriers between gender roles; why can't a woman be a pallbearer, why can't a woman be an attorney, why can't a woman be the boss? It's a conversation I've thought about a lot lately with this election going on.
In 1976, she was hired by Steel Hector & Davis as a partner in the trial section.
Anyway, Ms. Reno had been generous a few times in appearing at events that raised money for a memorial scholarship in my grandfather's name at University of Florida. My mom exchanged Christmas cards with her for the past three decades. Mom stopped watching Saturday Night Live because of the parody, finding it petty and unfair.
posted by peeedro at 11:30 AM on November 7, 2016 [41 favorites]
I didn't agree with her about a lot of things, but , she seemed like someone you could respect even if you disagreed with her. In this of all years, that's an important legacy.
posted by kevinbelt at 12:09 PM on November 7, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by kevinbelt at 12:09 PM on November 7, 2016 [7 favorites]
It's heartbreaking that half the country seems motivated to hate her for it.Well, I don't/didn't hate her, exactly, but her shortsightedness on encryption and information technology in general always annoyed me. It was against her will that the Clinton administration permitted the export of strong encryption in 1999, opening the way for the internet to be much more usable for things like banking and commerce. With Reno explicitly linking encryption to terrorism and criminality in general, people wishing to create or use it had to fight harder against the tide of "if you have nothing to hide, encryption shouldn't be necessary." Everyone has stuff to hide--banking and routing numbers, medical information, unpopular opinions.
posted by xyzzy at 12:19 PM on November 7, 2016 [9 favorites]
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posted by longsleeves at 12:26 PM on November 7, 2016
posted by longsleeves at 12:26 PM on November 7, 2016
It's sad that the bio at the top notes she'll most be recognized for Waco and the Gonzales
She came to the AG office just as the militarization of law enforcement was ramping up, and rather than pushing to halt it, she helped it right along. Now half the country is set to vote for a narcissistic quasi-fascist, with a retinue of highly competent fascists ready to take the ball and run with it once he dies. They're pissed because they feel the wrong people have been made to stare up the barrel of SWAT team rifles. Janet Reno had a chance to prevent all this.
People died in Waco, and countless others have died since. Yes, she should be recognized for having been part of the problem.
But yes, it was unfair that she was mocked for being gay and not caring to dress sharp. Unfair in more ways than one.
posted by ocschwar at 1:57 PM on November 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
But yes, it was unfair that she was mocked for being gay...
Cite?
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:42 PM on November 7, 2016
Cite?
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:42 PM on November 7, 2016
But yes, it was unfair that she was mocked for being gay...
Cite?
True or not, the insinuation was the basis of a lot of mockery of her.
posted by Navelgazer at 2:59 PM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Cite?
True or not, the insinuation was the basis of a lot of mockery of her.
posted by Navelgazer at 2:59 PM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
The 00s really were a different time. Elián González bust/wassup parody.
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posted by alex4pt at 3:00 PM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
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posted by alex4pt at 3:00 PM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
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posted by Joey Michaels at 3:10 PM on November 7, 2016
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:10 PM on November 7, 2016
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posted by spinifex23 at 3:51 PM on November 7, 2016
posted by spinifex23 at 3:51 PM on November 7, 2016
Luther Campbell from 2 Live Crew makes a surprisingly moving tribute.
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posted by psoas at 4:33 PM on November 7, 2016 [6 favorites]
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posted by psoas at 4:33 PM on November 7, 2016 [6 favorites]
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posted by Token Meme at 6:13 PM on November 7, 2016
posted by Token Meme at 6:13 PM on November 7, 2016
She was great. I always liked this 'tribute' to her on the Simpsons.
posted by anothermug at 6:39 PM on November 7, 2016
posted by anothermug at 6:39 PM on November 7, 2016
Uncle Luke: "She meant so much to the African American community. She always stood up for us when no else would."
And now you know why Conservatives actually hate her so much. Nevermind the fire David Koresh himself started. Nevermind Ruby Ridge, which didn't happen on her watch. Nevermind her sending in SWAT to rescue a kidnapped hostage to take him home to Papa.
She would also answer any goddamn question you lobbed at her, sincerely and earnestly. Press, congress, random person on the street. You can see echoes of Janet Reno in Hillary Clinton as Congress attempted to crush her under the weight of Benghazi: "Get real, I'm made of steel, this is nothing. Hi girls!"
As stern and intimidating as she actually no-kidding was, she loved a joke, especially at her own expense. She had a fund-raiser event in her bid for the FL Governorship named after a recurring SNL skit making fun of her. She was just that tough.
I'm with her.
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posted by Slap*Happy at 6:48 PM on November 7, 2016 [10 favorites]
And now you know why Conservatives actually hate her so much. Nevermind the fire David Koresh himself started. Nevermind Ruby Ridge, which didn't happen on her watch. Nevermind her sending in SWAT to rescue a kidnapped hostage to take him home to Papa.
She would also answer any goddamn question you lobbed at her, sincerely and earnestly. Press, congress, random person on the street. You can see echoes of Janet Reno in Hillary Clinton as Congress attempted to crush her under the weight of Benghazi: "Get real, I'm made of steel, this is nothing. Hi girls!"
As stern and intimidating as she actually no-kidding was, she loved a joke, especially at her own expense. She had a fund-raiser event in her bid for the FL Governorship named after a recurring SNL skit making fun of her. She was just that tough.
I'm with her.
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posted by Slap*Happy at 6:48 PM on November 7, 2016 [10 favorites]
In case you didn't follow the 2 Live Crew link, but you might actually be interested in the first State Attorney to be featured in a rap single by a pair of women rappers - The year is 1988. The Track is Janet Reno.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:11 PM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:11 PM on November 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
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posted by moonlight on vermont at 7:47 PM on November 7, 2016
posted by moonlight on vermont at 7:47 PM on November 7, 2016
This is going to sound stupid, but I've always wondered how much Attorney General Reno and her blue dress (the real one, the one she wore when being sworn in) inspired Brienne of Tarth. A goofy Florida paper called them both "The warrior woman tasked with the mission of returning a child to their ancestral home." I'm sorry she didn't make it to see HRC sworn in.
posted by moonlight on vermont at 8:14 PM on November 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by moonlight on vermont at 8:14 PM on November 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
Ignorant Canadian - can someone explain what the attorney general does? How come she could order a decision? I've googled around and I'm still confused. They can prosecute the government? But they're not a judge? But then what about the Supreme Court - does the AG answer to them? So confus
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:55 PM on November 7, 2016
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:55 PM on November 7, 2016
Ignorant Canadian - can someone explain what the attorney general does? How come she could order a decision? I've googled around and I'm still confused. They can prosecute the government? But they're not a judge? But then what about the Supreme Court - does the AG answer to them? So confus
The Attorney General wears two hats.
The Judiciary Act of 1789 established the position thusly:
And there shall also be appointed a meet person, learned in the law, to act as attorney-general for the United States, who shall be sworn or affirmed to a faithful execution of his office; whose duty it shall be to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the President of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments, touching any matters that may concern their departments Attorney General can represent the United States government in court (including in the Supreme Court), advise the President and other executives on legal matters
The Attorney General still has those powers and responsibilities, though they are routinely delegated, e.g. to the Solicitor General for Supreme Court cases and the White House Counsel for advising the President.
The other hat is worn as head of a major executive department, namely the Department of Justice, created in 1870.
Dozens of agencies and offices fall under the Department of Justice, and the Attorney General ultimately leads all of them. A few you might have heard of are the U.S. Marshals, the FBI, DEA, and ATF. The Immigration and Naturalization Service also fell under the DoJ at the time, though it has since been moved to the Department of Homeland Security.
It is with authority over the Immigration and Naturalization Service that she made the order. Here is the transcript of her announcement.
posted by Fongotskilernie at 11:55 PM on November 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
The Attorney General wears two hats.
The Judiciary Act of 1789 established the position thusly:
And there shall also be appointed a meet person, learned in the law, to act as attorney-general for the United States, who shall be sworn or affirmed to a faithful execution of his office; whose duty it shall be to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the President of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments, touching any matters that may concern their departments Attorney General can represent the United States government in court (including in the Supreme Court), advise the President and other executives on legal matters
The Attorney General still has those powers and responsibilities, though they are routinely delegated, e.g. to the Solicitor General for Supreme Court cases and the White House Counsel for advising the President.
The other hat is worn as head of a major executive department, namely the Department of Justice, created in 1870.
Dozens of agencies and offices fall under the Department of Justice, and the Attorney General ultimately leads all of them. A few you might have heard of are the U.S. Marshals, the FBI, DEA, and ATF. The Immigration and Naturalization Service also fell under the DoJ at the time, though it has since been moved to the Department of Homeland Security.
It is with authority over the Immigration and Naturalization Service that she made the order. Here is the transcript of her announcement.
posted by Fongotskilernie at 11:55 PM on November 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
I was watching an old interview that Reno did around the time of the Elian Gonzales incident, and her hand was visibly shaking. I hadn't realized that she went public with news of her Parkinson's while she was still serving (she announced it just three weeks after getting the diagnosis from her doctors). It seems like something that would have caused a rumour mill frenzy, especially since this was back before Michael J. Fox went public when there was less understanding of Parkinson's. But Janet Reno didn't let it faze her. This is from a 1999 NYT article:
''Janet handles this disease the way she handles everything else: open, upfront, straightforward,'' said Donna E. Shalala, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and one of Ms. Reno's closest friends in the Clinton Administration. ''She hides nothing.'' Other patients and doctors say she is shattering myths, not by talking about the disease -- she rarely does -- but simply by living with it.posted by Banknote of the year at 12:56 AM on November 8, 2016
And to add a little more to the AG-for-Canadians explanation: The two hats the U.S. Attorney General wears are roughly equivalent to a mix of the Public Safety Minister (head of law enforcement agencies, like the RCMP and CSIS), and the Justice Minister (head of Crown prosecutors).
However, some provincial Justice Ministers are also responsible for administering the court systems in their provinces. Unlike them, the U.S. Attorney General does not run any courts -- American courts are an independent branch of government.
posted by Banknote of the year at 1:08 AM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
However, some provincial Justice Ministers are also responsible for administering the court systems in their provinces. Unlike them, the U.S. Attorney General does not run any courts -- American courts are an independent branch of government.
posted by Banknote of the year at 1:08 AM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
Assistant Director Skinner had a photo of her in his office. Who knows how many alien invasions were thwarted on her watch? Thank you for keeping the galaxy safe, Ms Reno.
posted by Brocktoon at 1:53 PM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Brocktoon at 1:53 PM on November 8, 2016 [3 favorites]
.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:01 PM on November 8, 2016
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:01 PM on November 8, 2016
The Attorney General still has those powers and responsibilities, though they are routinely delegated, e.g. to the Solicitor General for Supreme Court cases and the White House Counsel for advising the President.
The Attorney General's authority to advise the president is exercised through the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department. The White House Counsel is an official of the White House Office, itself an office found within the Executive Office of the President. His or her authority comes from the President, not from the Attorney General.
This long journal article is an exhaustive history of the White House Counsel.
Since both the White House Counsel and the Attorney General (through the Office of Legal Counsel) exercise a role of representing the president in official matters there are occasional calls to merge/abolish/transform the offices' somewhat overlapping jurisdiction.
posted by Jahaza at 1:24 PM on November 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
The Attorney General's authority to advise the president is exercised through the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department. The White House Counsel is an official of the White House Office, itself an office found within the Executive Office of the President. His or her authority comes from the President, not from the Attorney General.
This long journal article is an exhaustive history of the White House Counsel.
Since both the White House Counsel and the Attorney General (through the Office of Legal Counsel) exercise a role of representing the president in official matters there are occasional calls to merge/abolish/transform the offices' somewhat overlapping jurisdiction.
posted by Jahaza at 1:24 PM on November 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
The rap song thing... this is how important this was. Before the song, a scared and out-of-options mother, more often than not, was in court to testify against the deadbeat father, who would loom over her and menace her attorney in court. Janet Reno was 6'2" and 3' wide, none of it anything other than muscle and bad-ass. The single mother could and did testify against the father with the understanding that Janet Reno had the full force of the law behind her, and she could actually choke-slam the asshole if she had a mind to. She was mindful and respectful of the race and ethnicity of the victims in her care, and that meant she was the hero Miami needed, and got.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:22 PM on November 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:22 PM on November 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
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