Executive Session

Floor Speech

EXECUTIVE SESSION -- (Senate - September 19, 2006)

NOMINATION OF ALICE S. FISHER TO BE AN ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, which the clerk will report.

The assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Alice S. Fisher, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Attorney General.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of a person from my hometown of Louisville, KY, Alice S. Fisher, who has been nominated to be Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice.

As I remarked at her confirmation hearing last year, Ms. Fisher is a battle-tested veteran of the war on terror. For the last year, she has again been on the front lines of that struggle.

She has, really, an outstanding and impressive record. She first joined the Justice Department in July of 2001 as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division. She was placed in charge of its counterterrorism efforts. Just 2 months later came September 11.

After that horrific day, our Government responded forcefully and quickly. Ms. Fisher's role was absolutely vital to that fight. She was responsible for coordinating all matters related to September 11 investigations and prosecutions. In addition, she headed up the implementation of the USA PATRIOT Act.

As a Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Ms. Fisher also headed up the Department's efforts to combat corporate fraud just when the collapse of Enron and other corporate scandals were front-page news. She also helped draft the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and worked closely with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In July of 2003, Ms. Fisher left the Department to become a partner at Latham and Watkins, where she concentrated on litigation and white-collar crime.

Last spring, Alice Fisher again answered the call to join her country by rejoining the front lines on the war against terror when the President nominated her to head the Criminal Division.

As I mentioned earlier, the Criminal Division has many important responsibilities, among them national security prosecutions, both counterterrorism and counterintelligence, combatting gang violence and organized crime, prosecuting corporate fraud and identity theft, going after public corruption and protecting kids from child pornography.

For the last year Ms. Fisher has impressively led the Department in all facets of its operations while serving as a recess appointment. In this capacity, she has further demonstrated her expertise, determination and integrity. Alice Fisher is a proven leader.

Under her tenure, the counterterrorism section has convicted numerous terrorists, including Zacarias Moussaoui, the 20th September 11 hijacker. She created a new gang squad of experienced prosecutors to combat national and international gangs such as MS-13. She supervised the Enron task force resulting in the convictions of top executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. She heads the Katrina Fraud Task Force which combats all fraud and corruption resulting from this national disaster. As of the end of July, the task force has charged 371 defendants. Under her leadership the Public Integrity Section has prosecuted major public corruption cases.

In addition, since the beginning of her tenure, the Department has aggressively prosecuted crimes against children. It is now coordinating 18 national child pornography operations.

Ms. Fisher was born and raised in my hometown of Louisville, KY, and is part of a close-knit family. Her father ran a chemical plant. Her mother worked the night shift as a nurse. She still has a lot of family back home in Louisville.

She earned her B.A. degree from Vanderbilt University and her law degree from Catholic University. Her husband, Clint, also serves our Nation as the Director of Aviation Policy for TSA. Last, but certainly not least, she is the mother of two boys, Matthew, age nine, and Luke, age five.

In a relatively short time, Alice Fisher has accomplished a great deal. She served her country after the September 11 attacks. She rose to become a partner in one of America's most prestigious law firms, and she then chose to forego a more lucrative career in private practice to come back in and serve her country again.

Alice Fisher knows that every day she works on behalf of her country she is working to build a stronger and safer America for her two children and for all of ours. Thanks to her, America is a safer place than it was on September 11, 2001.

A man who held the job for which Ms. Fisher has been nominated is her old boss, Michael Chertoff, a pretty good lawyer in his own right. Alice earned praise when he called her ``one of the best lawyers I've seen in my entire career.''

America needs Alice Fisher to be confirmed as the next Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division. I look forward to her confirmation. She is a wonderful person, an accomplished lawyer, and a Kentuckian of whom all America can be proud.

She has support from a number of groups I will make reference to, including the support of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and the National District Attorneys Association. I ask unanimous consent those letters of endorsement be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows: http://thomas.loc.gov/

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