STATEMENT OF U.S. ATTORNEY RON PARSONS ON ATTORNEY GENERAL SESSIONS

SIOUX FALLS, SD – “Jeff Sessions served as our nation’s 84^th Attorney General with tremendous dignity, dedication, and distinction.  He advanced the Administration’s priorities with strong leadership and purposeful expectations.  He reinvigorated and motivated federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement professionals to perform at the highest levels and produce results that have greatly benefited and will continue to strengthen all communities in South Dakota.  The trajectory he set in the Department of Justice will continue to serve our nation on multiple fronts – most particularly in the fights against violent crime, drug trafficking organizations, and the opioid crisis.”

“Personally, I am extraordinarily grateful for the opportunity to have served under Attorney General Sessions.  He is a dedicated public servant – with decades of service as a U.S. Attorney, a U.S. Senator, and as the Attorney General of the United States.  I have come to know him as a kind and gracious gentleman, sincere in his desire to make our nation an even better place.  I will never forget sitting at his conference table next to the majestic fireplace in his office last year before I was nominated for this position, as Attorney General Sessions cross-examined me in his soft and courtly manner, seeking to assure himself that I would be able to live up to the high standards of the Department of Justice.”

“I look forward to working under the leadership of the next Attorney General, and will continue to pursue the rule of law as part of this Administration.  As always, our office will seek to continue with the high caliber of work expected of all public servants working in the Department of Justice and to be as productive as possible in performing our collective mission.”