Pubdate: Tue, 20 Nov 2001
Source: Charleston Gazette (WV)
Copyright: 2001 Charleston Gazette
Contact:  http://www.wvgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/77
Author: Lawrence Messina

DISTRICT'S U.S. ATTORNEY SWORN IN

Warner Focuses On Homeland Defense, Drugs

Southern West Virginia's U.S. Attorney will focus his new office's sizeable 
resources on drug use among teens, gun-wielding criminals and any possible 
aftermath of Sept. 11, he pledged at his swearing-in Monday.

Fresh from U.S. Special Operations Command, Kasey Warner singled out 
homeland defense as the top priority of his new post.

"The terrorist knows he will not be successful unless he reaches the 
heartland and the common people," Warner told the large crowd that gathered 
for his ceremony at the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse in Charleston.

The attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center may only be the 
first, Warner said, citing his decades of military experience. He retired 
last week as a U.S. Army colonel in the judge advocate general corps.

Warner, 49, said he fears terrorists will slink into places like West 
Virginia to convince citizens "to doubt their government's ability to 
protect them."

Warner promised also to combat drugs and the peer pressure exerted on youth 
to experiment with them.

"I have no use whatsoever for those who violate well-known laws against 
drugs," he said.

As a firm believer in the Second Amendment, Warner said he plans to wield 
federal firearms laws against gun-toting offenders.

"Whenever someone uses a firearm in the commission of a crime, they have 
endangered the constitutional rights of all of us," Warner told the crowd.

The afternoon ceremony packed two courtrooms with judicial, political and 
military brass. U.S. District Chief Judge Charles H. Haden presided over 
the swearing-in at the building's ceremonial courtroom, with the spillover 
crowd watching via closed-circuit television two floors down.

Southern West Virginia federal judges, including its two on the 4th U.S. 
Circuit Court of Appeals, attended the event. Several of Warner's 
predecessors, including Rebecca Betts and Mike Carey, were also on hand.

The array of Army colonels, majors and other officers included two of 
Warner's brothers, a daughter and a brother-in-law. Several of Warner's 
former superiors, including two generals and an admiral, also attended.

Haden introduced many of the dignitaries, including several state 
Republican Party officials and stalwarts. As an appointee of President 
Bush, Warner was backed by attendees James "Buck" Harless, White House aide 
John McCutcheon and state GOP Chairman David Tyson.

One of Warner's civilian brothers, GOP executive committee Vice Chairman 
Kris Warner, and their father, former legislator George "Brud" Warner, were 
also considered influential in securing the appointment. Haden pointed out 
their attendance as well.

Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. administered the oath to Warner. As U.S. 
Attorney, Warner is the top Justice Department official for the state's 
southern federal court district. His office handles both criminal and civil 
cases, and works with a wide array of law enforcement and regulatory agencies.

A 1974 West Point grad, Warner attended high school in Charleston but has 
spent his military career out-of-state or abroad.

After law school at West Virginia University, Warner served with the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C. His last post, with U.S. Special 
Operations Command in Tampa, Fla., involved the elite and commando-type 
units of three of the nation's four military branches. Some of those 
special forces are now deployed in Afghanistan and elsewhere as part of 
Operation Enduring Freedom.
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