Villegas ends bid for U.S. attorney

Victoria Villegas has requested that Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., withdraw her name from consideration for the position of Nevada's U.S. attorney.

Time proved to be the major factor behind the Clark County deputy district attorney's decision: She's been waiting almost two years for confirmation since the senator recommended her in 1997, and there's little likelihood that she could win U.S. Senate confirmation before year's end.

Had she stayed in the running and won confirmation, her term would expire with President Clinton's in 2000.

"If at this point I would go for U.S. attorney, my problem is what would I do afterwards?" the veteran prosecutor said. "If it was 1997, I could still make a difference in the U.S. attorney's office. Now if I'd start implementing changes, I wouldn't be able to see the fruits of those changes before I left."

The wait would be a different case altogether, Villegas said, had she been waiting for a chance at a lifetime term like the federal judgship that current U.S. Attorney Kathryn Landreth was simultaneously recommended for by Reid in June 1997.

Two months later, however, Landreth removed her name from consideration for the federal position that would have meant lifetime appointment, citing personal reasons. Because Reid had already nominated her successor, Landreth said she would continue serving until Villegas was confirmed.

Landreth could not be reached for comment this morning regarding her plans.

"Victoria's decision to withdraw her name from consideration for the U.S. attorney's job is a loss for both the country and for Nevada," Reid said this morning. "She was a strong candidate who had a wide variety of experience, especially in criminal justice matters. Her frustration with the time delays associated with the process and the fact that her career and life have been in limbo are completely understandable. I share her view."

Reid said the events in Washington, including the lengthy impeachment proceedings, "significantly slowed an already slow nomination process for both the White House and Congress."

Since Reid's recommendation in June 1997, Villegas has flown back East at least twice as part of the process for White House clearance.

"As the days, weeks, months and now years have past," Villegas wrote in her resignation letter earlier this month, "my life and the lives of my fellow nominees have been in limbo. ... As I look toward the coming months and the end of this administration, it does not appear that this logjam will be clearing any time soon, and nominations are not expected to move quickly in a deeply divided Senate."

A self-described "diehard prosecutor," Villegas said she will be more than content to remain for years to come with the district attorney's office.

"It was a very pleasant moment when Sen. Reid called," Villegas said, recalling the early morning telephone conversation back in 1997 when the senator, in their first conversation ever, told her he wanted Villegas to be the state's next U.S. attorney.

"It's a great honor to even be considered for nomination. I've been very happy with everything the senator has done for me and for all the support his office has offered," Villegas said.

"To become U.S. attorney would be a great opportunity, but there are problems in Washington, D.C., and judicial positions that still need to be filled. ... I think I made the right decision."

Villegas, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from the Philippines, was a prosecutor in Nye County before hiring on at the Clark County district attorney's office in 1989.

She built a reputation as one of the county's top prosecuting experts in gang and organized-crime cases, and handled many high-profile trials that produced lengthy prison terms for murderers and convicted casino-takeover robbers.

Reid said in 1997 that he chose Villegas because of her trial experience.

Villegas currently works in case assessment, evaluating all cases submitted by county law-enforcement agencies to determine whether sufficient evidence and cause exist to file charges.

archive