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To set the stage, recall that Bill Clinton ensured his loyal minions populated the US Attorneys' offices nationwide when he fired every last US Attorney at the dawn of his Administration, then appointed his own. Next, as we have seen through Jamie Gorelick's startling memo[1], he saw to it that domestic law enforcement was blinded to foreign intelligence information.

Also interesting is this story from Chris Ruddy of Newsmax, from 1999:

The truth is that Janet Reno was the most important appointment made to the Clinton cabinet. Bill and Hillary Clinton, professional white-collar criminals, knew that their attorney general would be critical to their hold on the presidency. They also knew their choice for the Cabinet post would come under close scrutiny by Senate Republicans.
[snip]
According to Reno's former associate, the big problem with Reno was she probably wouldn't pass the FBI background check and the almost certain Senate confirmation process. So, the Clintons devised a brilliant plan to get their nominee approved without an FBI inquiry and with no real Senate review.
First, Bill Clinton nominated Zoe Baird, a well-regarded attorney, for the post. She seemed to be sailing through the process, when damaging information from her FBI file was leaked that disclosed Baird had hired a housekeeper and had not paid social security taxes.
Baird withdrew, and Clinton nominated New Your Judge Kimba Wood. Again FBI file details were leaked to the press, and Wood too had not paid social security taxes for her domestic help. She also withdrew.
The Clinton administration, renown for putting positive spin on damaging information, made no effort to condemn the inappropriate leaks from Baird's and Wood's FBI files. "Baird and Wood were pawns to be sacrificed," my confidential source said.
However, with these nominees thrown overboard, the famed Clinton spin team went into overdrive with the nomination of Janet Reno. It was suggested that she was a tough, Eliot Ness-like prosecutor. After two failed nominations and with the standoff with the David Koresh cult in Waco, Texas escalating into a hot crisis, the White House press machine urged an immediate confirmation for the vacant Attorney General post.
Incredibly, the Clintons pulled it off, getting Janet Reno to head the Justice Department of the United States with virtually no vetting by the FBI, Congress, or the press.
Their control of Justice became complete when Web Hubbell, described as the president's best friend and an intimate of Hillary's from the Rose Law Firm, was named as Associate Attorney General.

-PJ