Pubdate: Mon, 08 Aug 2005
Source: Washington Times (DC)
Copyright: 2005 News World Communications, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/492
Author: Jerry Seper

SECURITY CHALLENGES LEAD PROSECUTOR'S RESTRUCTURING

The District's top prosecutor has ordered a reorganization of his 
department's criminal division to enhance its national security program and 
has updated a program to rotate trial lawyers.

"Our criminal division is one of the premier federal prosecutorial 
components in the country," U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Wainstein said 
Thursday in a memo to employees. "It handles the most significant and 
challenging terrorism, white-collar and violent drug and gang cases.

"Over the past year, we have been evaluating the division's organizational 
structure and rotator program. ... While we have found the division's 
current structure serves the office very well for the most part, we have 
decided to change the structure in certain respects," he said.

The two primary objectives behind the changes, he said, are:

* A responsibility to develop and maintain the capacity and expertise to 
meet threats to the country and to the city -- from the D.C. anthrax 
investigation to the filing of charges last month in the first prosecution 
of a violent insurgent in Iraq.

The reorganization includes a new section to focus exclusively on national 
security matters.

It also will bring the department in line with the Bush administration's 
plan to consolidate the Justice Department's intelligence, counterterrorism 
and counterespionage lawyer staffs into a new National Security Division.

Improving the federal court rotation system, to provide a more diverse mix 
of cases and broader exposure for trial lawyers and to ensure that 
assistant U.S. attorneys who rotate through the system have the support 
they need to "generate strong cases and produce high-quality written and 
courtroom work."

Mr. Wainstein said this would include the creation of a Federal Major 
Crimes Section and the consolidation of the bulk of the rotator caseload in 
national security, major crimes, organized crime and narcotics trafficking, 
fraud and public corruption and asset forfeiture components.

In the post-September 11 world, Mr. Wainstein said, the National Security 
Section will consist of 12 senior prosecutors, who will be responsible for 
handling all terrorism, terrorism-hoax, export-enforcement and espionage 
cases and all investigations into leaks, the mishandling or other 
disclosure of classified information and national security concerns.

"This new section -- and its additional personnel -- will enable us better 
to focus on the national security matters that are a top priority of the 
Justice Department, the administration and the American people," he said.

Matthew G. Olsen, a veteran prosecutor who for the past 15 months has 
served as special counsel to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, will serve 
as chief of the National Security Section.

He formerly was the deputy chief of the office's Organized Crime and 
Narcotics Trafficking Section, and has been involved in numerous 
prosecutions of drug dealers, violent criminals and white-collar cases.

Prior to joining the office, Mr. Olsen was a trial lawyer in the Justice 
Department's Civil Rights Division. William M. Blier has been named as 
special counsel to the U.S. attorney for national security.

Mr. Blier has overseen the investigation, indictment, extradition and 
prosecution of dozens of terrorism, export-enforcement and other national 
security matters.

Jeffrey Ragsdale, a deputy chief in the Organized Crime and Narcotics 
Trafficking Section, will head the Federal Major Crimes Section, the memo said.

James H. Dinan will continue to head the Organized Crime and Narcotics 
Trafficking Section, and John Roth will continue to head the Fraud and 
Public Corruption Section, according to the memo.
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MAP posted-by: Beth