Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 21, 1993 TAG: 9307210153
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"Our country must be made safe again," Freeh declared at an upbeat Rose Garden appearance.
The ceremony provided a sharp contrast to the previous day, when a grim-faced Clinton had announced he was firing William Sessions as FBI director because of questions about his conduct and leadership.
Clinton said the firing of Sessions "was not hard, but it was sad for me." He said he loved the FBI and, "I hated to be the first president ever to have to fire a director."
Clinton said in an interview with CNN's Larry King, however, that Sessions made it clear "that's the way he wanted it" and had refused to resign.
Freeh, 43, a federal district judge from Manhattan, was appointed to the bench by then-President Bush in 1991 after five years as an FBI agent and a decade as a federal prosecutor.
"He is experienced, energetic and independent," Clinton said. "He will be both good and tough - good for the FBI and tough on criminals."
Clinton said that Freeh, working with Attorney General Janet Reno and drug policy director Lee Brown, would give the administration "a street-smart front line against crime."
Freeh, for his part, pledged "total commitment to a Federal Bureau of Investigation whose only beacon is a rule of law, whose sole task is protecting all of our people from crime and violence."
Clinton called him "a law enforcement legend," citing his drug and mail-bomb investigations as a prosecutor and his work as an FBI agent against racketeering.
"The FBI must not only catch those who have committed crimes, it must be an important step ahead of criminals as often as possible to prevent crime from being committed," Freeh said.
by CNB