New U.S. attorney arrives at tough time

By Gene Johnson

Associated Press

SEATTLE – As the new U.S. attorney for Western Washington, John McKay finds himself learning a job in daunting circumstances.

Federal prosecutors are on the front lines of the war against terrorism, chasing every lead since the hijacking attacks of Sept. 11. And McKay’s staff is still reeling from the murder of a colleague last month.

But the affable, 45-year-old Seattle native also has some big things going for him.

He has received plenty of advice from his predecessors – including his brother Mike, the last Republican U.S. attorney in Seattle. He’s been involved in high-level terrorism discussions before, as a special assistant to the director of the FBI, and he already knew many of the approximately 60 lawyers in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which has made his transition easier.

“It’s frankly not an ideal situation to come in and try to lead the office in the middle of that,” McKay says. “But I’ve been really welcomed here.”

The office is responsible for prosecuting violations of federal law and representing the U.S. government in civil cases. Last spring, its lawyers won a conviction of Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian linked to Osama bin Laden who tried to sneak bomb-making materials into the United States from Canada. Since then, Ressam has cooperated by giving details of what he learned at a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.

Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, the office helped investigate four Seattle-area Iraqi immigrants accused in federal court in Pennsylvania of fraudulently obtaining licenses to transport hazardous materials.

At a cluttered desk on the 51st floor of Two Union Square, McKay says he knows the threat of terrorism is a top concern. Hiring more women and minorities and communicating better with state, local and federal law enforcement agents are also important, he says.

But while the office tackles those issues, no one is about to forget Tom Wales. Wales, an 18-year fraud prosecutor, was gunned down in his home Oct. 12; McKay was sworn into office less than three weeks later.

“I feel it pretty strongly, coming here as the leader, to walk into a situation where one of our prosecutors has been murdered,” McKay says. “I can’t tell you how many times in the last week an inquiry I made was answered, ‘Well, you know, Tommy handled that.’ “

Still, he laughs easily. He wonders how the government can afford his office, with its open-air deck and view of Elliott Bay. He jokes about living in his sister’s basement, where he’s staying until his condo on Lake Union becomes available in March.

And he speaks proudly of the work he has done for the poor, including one case in which he helped a former postal worker win back his house. He was named the state bar association’s pro bono lawyer of the year in 1995.

Those who have worked with McKay say he handles his duties with aplomb, and they expect this time to be no different – no matter how sensitive or stressful the conditions.

John Hempelmann, a Seattle lawyer who recruited McKay to work at his firm of Cairncross and Hempelmann seven years ago, has known McKay for decades and points to his last job, as head of the Legal Services Corp.

The organization, which was created by Congress to provide civil legal help to the poor, had been wracked by poor record-keeping and was scheduled to be eliminated in 1997, the year McKay took over.

Under his leadership, Legal Services managed to save its approximately $300 million budget from senior Republicans who wanted it gone.

“Whether it was John McKay dealing with his 11 brothers or sisters, or John McKay dealing with a very, very high-powered law firm, or John McKay dealing with an embattled federal agency that had huge, huge problems – political, legal and budgetary – he has come through with flying colors every time,” Hempelmann says. “He’s got the magic touch.”

His staff is confident in his abilities.

“It’s safe to say these are very challenging times not only for this office but for all Americans,” says federal prosecutor Andrew Hamilton. “But John has come into this with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm. … He’s very much a hands-on manager, and his door’s open.”

Over at least the next several months, McKay’s office, like those of other U.S. attorneys, will be consumed with pursuing terrorism leads.

Attorney General John Ashcroft has charged federal prosecutors with heading local anti-terrorism efforts, most recently asking them to find and interview 5,000 immigrant men.

In the meantime, the investigation into Wales’ murder is being handled by the Seattle Police Department, the King County Prosecutor’s Office and an organized crime expert sent in by the Justice Department. They’re checking into Wales’ cases, personal life and his work as a gun-control activist.

The lawyers in the U.S. Attorney’s Office are sidelined because they’re too close to the case.

“Clearly, it’s an office that has a lot of stress,” says Jose Gaitan, a Seattle lawyer who has worked with McKay to recruit minorities to the profession. “But John has incredible sensitivity to these sorts of challenges.”