Ron Machen, the new top lawman in the nation’s capital, is a scary guy– and that’s a good thing.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia is without question the most powerful law officer in the city and in the region. If the FBI nabs a bank robber, or the DEA busts a drug ring or a D.C. cop arrests a murder suspect, the U.S. attorney and his or her assistants prosecute. If an FBI agent from the D.C. office arrests a suspected terrorist in London, our U.S. attorney handles the prosecution. If a D.C. mayor gets busted for smoking crack or doesn’t pay taxes, our top prosecutor has the discretion to charge him — or not.
But for those of us living and working in the nation’s capital, the most important matter is whether the U.S. attorney will be tough on crime. Having no district attorney, we rely on the federal prosecutor to keep assorted thugs off of our streets.
So it was with much anticipation that I arranged a meeting with Ronald Machen; his investiture took place this week, and he’s official. I met Machen in the office where I have been interviewing top prosecutors since Joe diGenova went after Marion Barry in 1989.
First impression: Ron Machen could kick your butt. He’s got degrees from Stanford and Harvard Law, and he’s been in private practice with Wilmer Hale for the past seven years. But the dude stands about six feet two and probably weighs over 250. He’s fit. He could hurt you.
Why is this important?
Because when Machen goes to meet residents in D.C. communities, as he does a few times a week, people in the tough neighborhoods plagued by crime need to know that he’s a man to be feared. They need to know he will make the bad guys pay.
“We are not the enemy — we are here to serve,” he says. “You set that tone at the top. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Let me be blunt: Machen can relate to black Washington better than any of his predecessors, in my humble opinion. In matters of snitching and cooperating with the cops, he could tip the balance toward the law.
He acknowledges that national security is his top priority.
“We are in D.C.,” he says. “This is a target.”
But he took a pay cut and switched to the public side to fight crime. He and his wife are raising three kids here; two go to public school. He’s invested.
Machen looks tough, but in his first dealings with the local cops, he got surprised by Police Chief Cathy Lanier. She said he and his people could have arrested one of the shooters in March’s South Capital street massacre before the shootings — but failed.
“Interesting induction into the city,” he tells me.
Machen should know the turf. He was a prosecutor from 1997 into 2001.
“I probably have more homicide detectives in my cell phone than I do prosecutors,” he says.
Let’s hope it stays that way.
Harry Jaffe’s column appears on Tuesday and Friday. He can be contacted at [email protected].
