Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased the Senate is considering Brian Benczkowski to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division. This is a critical position at the Department of Justice and its extended vacancy has hindered the agency's effectiveness. Mr. Benczkowski has the experience and qualifications to lead the Criminal Division. I am proud to support his nomination on the floor today.

Mr. Benczkowski was nominated 400 days ago. The Judiciary Committee held his confirmation hearing nearly a year ago. A fully staffed and well-functioning Criminal Division is vitally important to the Department of Justice's mission.

Over a dozen former U.S. Attorneys, from both the Bush and Obama administrations, support his nomination. They wrote that the head of the criminal division is ``the nerve center of federal prosecution, and the absence of a confirmed occupant can diminish the effectiveness of our law enforcement program throughout the country.''

The former prosecutors went on to state: ``Those of us who know Brian recognize that he is the right person to provide that leadership and to be a strong and effective partner with the United States Attorneys' Offices.''

Mr. Benczkowski already has an impressive legal career. He previously served as the Republican staff director on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2009-2010.

He also served as a counsel on the House Judiciary Committee. Before that time, he worked on the Senate Budget Committee and served as a counsel to Senator Domenici for 4 years.

Mr. Benczkowski excelled as a leader during his time on the Judiciary Committee. During his time as staff director, he was instrumental in passing the Fair Sentencing Act. This law reduced the disparity in federal criminal sentencing between crack and powder cocaine. His leadership was instrumental in several pieces of bipartisan legislation, including the Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act of 2009, the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2009, the Judicial Survivors Protection Act of 2009, and the Combat Meth Enhancement Act of 2009.

Mr. Benczkowski also served in several different roles at the Department of Justice. In 2008, he became the chief of staff to the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General. He also served as the chief of staff to the ATF. In total, he held five senior leadership positions in different divisions in the Department of Justice, working with components and law enforcement agencies across the Department.

During Mr. Benczkowski's decade in the private sector, he gained extensive litigation management experience that will serve him well as he oversees the Criminal Division.

Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have said they will not support his nomination because he allegedly lacks experience. They say this because Mr. Benczkowski was never a prosecutor.

But the head of the Criminal Division is not a prosecutor. The position oversees criminal matters and formulates and implements criminal enforcement policy. It requires a deep knowledge of Federal criminal law, experience in government investigations, and strong management skills. Mr. Benczkowski, with his years of experience in relevant fields, is clearly qualified for this position.

But don't just take my word for it. Five former heads of the Criminal Division appointed under the Bush and Obama administrations said this about Mr. Benczkowski's nomination: ``Mr. Benczkowski has the necessary leadership, management and substantive experience to lead the Division.'' They noted that, ``by virtue of our service in the position to which Mr. Benczkowski has been nominated, we are familiar with the qualifications and experience necessary for success in the job.''

They went on to say ``throughout his career, on the criminal defense side in private practice and in the Department, he has worked on complex criminal investigations on a range of issues; significant criminal legislation matters; important criminal policy matters; and domestic and international law enforcement matters.''

These former heads of the Criminal Division know better than anyone the background and qualifications required to do the job, and they think that Mr. Benczkowski is a good fit for this role.

Some of my colleagues have raised a different concern, related to Mr. Benczkowski's legal representation of Alfa Bank while he was working at the law firm of Kirkland and Ellis. The Senate learned of this matter when reviewing his FBI background investigation.

Normally the committee doesn't publicly discuss any matters contained in the background investigation but because this matter raised some concerns for some senators, Mr. Benczkowski voluntarily waived his privacy rights, so we could freely and publicly question him on this matter.

At his hearing, the committee members extensively questioned him about his representation of Alfa Bank. He answered all our questions. He was not evasive. His testimony was public. It was very credible and uncontroverted.

Mr. Benczkowski also then responded in writing to several rounds of written questions submitted to him.

After this hearing, I helped Senator Durbin arrange an intelligence briefing with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence related to Alfa Bank.

I also helped arrange for the Deputy Attorney General to call Senator Durbin to explain the Department's long-standing tradition that it does not confirm nor deny investigations, particularly when it comes to a nominee's client.

When clients are under investigation, they need lawyers to represent them. Are we now going to have a political litmus test for nominees based upon the clients they stepped forward to represent in private practice?

There is no credible allegation that Mr. Benczkowski did anything wrong or unethical related to his limited representation of Alfa Bank or otherwise. He has promised to recuse himself from handling any matters involving Alfa Bank, and he has promised to consult with ethics officials regarding any other times he may need to recuse.

I believe Mr. Benczkowski will be an outstanding head of the Criminal Division. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting his nomination.

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