Asa Hutchinson
Encyclopedia
William Asa Hutchinson is a former U.S. Attorney
for the Fort Smith
-based Western District of Arkansas
, U.S. Congressman
from the Third District of Arkansas, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
and the first-ever Under Secretary for Border & Transportation Security at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In 2006, Hutchinson ran as Republican
candidate for governor of Arkansas
and lost to Democratic
candidate Mike Beebe.
for 21 years and handled more than 100 jury trials. It was during this time that he was appointed by President
Ronald W. Reagan as U.S. Attorney
for the Western District of Arkansas
. At the age of 31, Hutchinson was the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation and made national headlines after successfully prosecuting The Covenant, The Sword, and The Arm of the Lord
(CSA), a white supremacist organization founded by polygamist James Ellison
. The CSA forced a three-day armed stand-off with local, state and federal law enforcement. As U.S. Attorney, Hutchinson put on a flak jacket
and personally negotiated a peaceful conclusion to the stand-off.
During his tenure as U.S. Attorney for the Western District, Hutchinson was described as aggressive in his efforts to prosecute criminals. However, there are continuing suspicions regarding his actions surrounding the investigation of infamous pilot and drug smuggler Barry Seal
, a key operator in the Iran-Contra scandal. Hutchinson opened the investigation into Seal but chose not to see the case through to completion when he resigned to run for the Senate. Hutchinson would later be appointed to run the DEA. In 2007, Hutchinson was briefly considered as a replacement for Alberto Gonzales
as Attorney General
; however, Michael Mukasey was eventually named instead.
. It was a nationally Democratic year, and he fared worse than had Bumpers' previous challenger, Little Rock investment banker William P. "Bill" Clark, in 1980. In 1990, Hutchinson's race against Winston Bryant
for attorney general
of Arkansas also ended in defeat in another nationally Democratic year, but the race was very tight up to the end. After losing that race, Hutchinson became the co-chairman, with Sheffield Nelson
of Little Rock, of the state Republican Party, a position he would hold for five years. During that period, Hutchinson was credited with helping build the GOP organization in Arkansas dramatically by leading the effort to require the state to finance polling stations throughout the state, allowing more Republican voters to get to the polls and vote. Hutchinson considered a rematch with Bumpers in 1992 before he deferred to Mike Huckabee
, who also lost to Bumpers. That same year, Hutchinson's brother, Tim Hutchinson
, was elected to represent the northwest quadrant of Arkansas in Congress on the retirement of veteran Republican U.S. Representative John Paul Hammerschmidt
of Harrison
.
In 1996, when his brother decided not to run for re-election to the House in order to seek the open U.S. Senate seat that year caused by the retirement of popular Democrat David Pryor
, Asa Hutchinson ran for the seat and won. (His brother also won his campaign for Senate, and served for one term.) Hutchinson, who had at first decided to run for an open seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives from Sebastian County, defeated Ann Henry, a long-time friend of Bill
and Hillary Clinton who outspent Hutchinson during the campaign.
Hutchinson was re-elected to the House twice more, in 1998 and 2000. In office, he led efforts to crack down on illegal drugs, particularly methamphetamine
s. Hutchinson also served as one of the managers (prosecutors) during the Senate
impeachment trial
of President
Bill Clinton in 1998. In 1999, Hutchinson was involved in the effort to reform campaign finance laws and offered an alternative proposal to the bill by Christopher Shays
and Marty Meehan
, which he opposed on the grounds that it "went too far" because it attempted to ban television commercials by legal third party organizations. Hutchinson did support the bill by John McCain
and Russ Feingold
in the Senate. He also attempted, unsuccessfully, to gut the Hyde civil asset forfeiture reform bill that sought to prevent police abuse of its power to seize private property on mere suspicion of being linked to any criminal investigation. His amendment, allegedly, would have empowered the police to continue profiting from drug money.
(DEA) in 2001. Washington Post columnist David Broder praised Hutchinson's appointment to head the DEA, writing: "The high esteem in which former Rep. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas is held by his colleagues was demonstrated by the 98-1 Senate vote confirming him last month as the new director of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Even more telling was the fact that Rep. John Conyers
of Michigan
, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and an ardent opponent of the impeachment of President Clinton, appeared at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to praise Hutchinson, who had been one of the Republican House managers presenting the case against Clinton to the full Senate. In his 4½ years in the House, Hutchinson, a former U.S. attorney, earned an estimable reputation as a thoughtful conservative and, as liberals
like Conyers and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy
of Vermont
affirmed, as a fair-minded advocate."
Broder, however, questioned the effectiveness of the traditional approach to the war on drugs
and called for a new direction. Hutchinson did just that. During his tenure at the DEA, he led a re-evaluation of the DEA's mission and resources, concluding that too many resources were focused on 1980s-era drug enforcement priorities. Hutchinson called greater attention to newly emergent drug threats such as methamphetamine
in rural America, Ecstasy among youth, and Predatory Drugs (also known as date rape drug
s) against women. He also lobbied aggressively for greater investments in prevention and treatment. He particularly focused on using Drug Treatment Courts as a way to help non-violent drug offenders beat addiction.
After the September 11 attacks
, Congress created the Department of Homeland Security. President George W. Bush
tapped Hutchinson to lead the Border and Transportation Security Directorate, the largest division of the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) with more than 110,000 employees. Hutchinson was confirmed by unanimous consent
by the U.S. Senate on January 23, 2003. Later, during his campaign for Governor of Arkansas, Hutchinson's opponent attempted to portray him as mishandling immigration issues. Hutchinson's critics particularly focused on his efforts to limit the Border Patrol to patrolling the border and stopping illegal immigrants from crossing the border, while giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sole responsibility for removing aliens already in the country.
While serving as Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security in the Bush Administration, Hutchinson supported Bush's proposals to provide more job opportunities for illegal aliens without criminal records, while tightening security on the border. In September 2004, he said: "Eliminating the fear of deportation
will be an incentive." In his written response to Senate questions, Hutchinson also said "Undocumented aliens will tell you they often have trouble sleeping at night, and leaving for work each day, not knowing if they will make it home at the end of the day." Hutchinson also said that Americans are not willing to put in the resources that would be required to remove the estimated 12 million or more population of illegal immigrants. In that same testimony, Hutchinson emphasized that any debate over immigration reform must start first with enforcement of immigration laws and border security, asserting, "You have to start with the proposition that in order to be effective in the war against terrorism our nation must be able to secure its borders."
Hutchinson was also careful to temper his support for Bush's Temporary Worker Proposal with a call for strengthening security first. In his testimony, he asserted:
Mike Beebe.
He told the Associated Press
he agreed to join the task force because he believed it was
"something important for our national security and our war on terrorism."
and accepted a contract for a one-year position with Venable LLP
in Washington, D.C.
, as the chair of its Homeland Security practice. Hutchinson ended his contract with Venable LLP
in March 2006 to focus on his gubernatorial campaign and his consulting firm in Little Rock. In January 2007, Hutchinson rejoined Venable.
In June 2006, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported that Hutchinson's $2,800 investment in Fortress America Acquisition Corporation, a company that Hutchinson advises, was worth over a million dollars after the initial public offering
. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette story noted that Hutchinson is unable to touch his stock for another two years. The six founding shareholders in Fortress America besides Hutchinson include: former U.S. Representative Tom McMillen of Maryland, former U.S. Senator Don Nickles
of Oklahoma
, and a private-equity firm that has former CIA Director James Woolsey among its partners.
On May 4, 2006, Hutchinson filed a financial disclosure form, which he was required to submit as candidate for governor, that did not include the Fortress American holdings. On the form, Hutchinson listed his stock and options in two other companies, and even disclosed bank and credit-union accounts with balances under $1,000. He did not list his 200,000 shares in Fortress America, which were trading at about $5 per share. "Just totally an oversight," Hutchinson said when questioned by the media. Hutchinson filed an amended report the next day to correct the error.
, preceded him as U.S. Representative
from Arkansas's 3rd congressional district
and served one term as a United States Senator
from Arkansas
from 1997–2003, being defeated for a second term by then-Arkansas Attorney General
Mark Pryor
, a Democrat
, in 2002. Asa and Tim Hutchinson are both graduates of Bob Jones University
in Greenville, South Carolina
from the Class of 1972. His identical twin nephews, Jeremy and Timothy Hutchinson, sons of Tim Hutchinson, were the first twins to serve alongside each other in the Arkansas General Assembly
, both as members of the House of Representatives
. Hutchinson is also the brother-in-law of Arkansas state Senator Kim Hendren
who married his sister, Marylea Hutchinson, in 1958.
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the Fort Smith
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
-based Western District of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, U.S. Congressman
Congressperson
A Member of Congress is a term used for a politician who has become qualified, appointed or elected, and inducted into some official body , typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature...
from the Third District of Arkansas, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
and the first-ever Under Secretary for Border & Transportation Security at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In 2006, Hutchinson ran as Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate for governor of Arkansas
Arkansas gubernatorial election, 2006
The 2006 Arkansas gubernatorial election was won by Mike Beebe of the Democratic Party. The election occurred on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. Governor Mike Huckabee , was term limited and thus ineligible for re-election....
and lost to Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate Mike Beebe.
Legal career
Hutchinson practiced law in Fort SmithFort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
for 21 years and handled more than 100 jury trials. It was during this time that he was appointed by President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ronald W. Reagan as U.S. Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for the Western District of Arkansas
United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas is a United States District Court whose jurisdiction comprises the following counties: Ashley, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Calhoun, Carroll, Clarke, Columbia, Crawford, Franklin, Garland, Hempstead, Hot Springs, Howard,...
. At the age of 31, Hutchinson was the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation and made national headlines after successfully prosecuting The Covenant, The Sword, and The Arm of the Lord
The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord
The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord was a radical Christian Identity organization formed in 1971 in the small community of Elijah in southern Missouri, United States.- Leadership :...
(CSA), a white supremacist organization founded by polygamist James Ellison
James Ellison (polygamist)
James Ellison former student at Lincoln Bible College, Lincoln, IL was a white supremacist leader from San Antonio, Texas who, in 1971, founded the radical organization The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord. Ellison purchased a strip of land near Elijah, Arkansas to serve as his compound...
. The CSA forced a three-day armed stand-off with local, state and federal law enforcement. As U.S. Attorney, Hutchinson put on a flak jacket
Flak jacket
thumb|300px|The two components of an obsolete British military flak vest. On the left, the nylon vest. On the right, the several layers of [[ballistic nylon]] that provide the actual protection...
and personally negotiated a peaceful conclusion to the stand-off.
During his tenure as U.S. Attorney for the Western District, Hutchinson was described as aggressive in his efforts to prosecute criminals. However, there are continuing suspicions regarding his actions surrounding the investigation of infamous pilot and drug smuggler Barry Seal
Barry Seal
Adler Berriman Seal , better known as Barry Seal, was a United States drug smuggler and aircraft pilot who flew covert flights for the Central Intelligence Agency and the Medellín Cartel.-Early life:...
, a key operator in the Iran-Contra scandal. Hutchinson opened the investigation into Seal but chose not to see the case through to completion when he resigned to run for the Senate. Hutchinson would later be appointed to run the DEA. In 2007, Hutchinson was briefly considered as a replacement for Alberto Gonzales
Alberto Gonzales
Alberto R. Gonzales was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Attorney General in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Hispanic government official ever...
as Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
; however, Michael Mukasey was eventually named instead.
Political career
In 1986, Hutchinson challenged popular Democratic U.S. Senator (and former governor) Dale BumpersDale Bumpers
Dale Leon Bumpers is an American politician who served as the 38th Governor of Arkansas from 1971 to 1975; and then in the United States Senate from 1975 until his retirement in January 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Senator Bumpers is currently counsel at the Washington, D.C...
. It was a nationally Democratic year, and he fared worse than had Bumpers' previous challenger, Little Rock investment banker William P. "Bill" Clark, in 1980. In 1990, Hutchinson's race against Winston Bryant
Winston Bryant
Winston Bryant is a former Democratic Secretary of State , the tenth Lieutenant Governor and attorney general of the U.S. state of Arkansas.He was born in Malvern, the seat of Hot Spring County...
for attorney general
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
of Arkansas also ended in defeat in another nationally Democratic year, but the race was very tight up to the end. After losing that race, Hutchinson became the co-chairman, with Sheffield Nelson
Sheffield Nelson
Sheffield E. Nelson is a lawyer, businessman, and politician from Little Rock, Arkansas. Originally a Democrat, Nelson in 1990 ran for governor of Arkansas as a Republican against then governor and future U.S. President Bill Clinton and in 1994 against the Democratic Governor Jim Guy Tucker.Nelson...
of Little Rock, of the state Republican Party, a position he would hold for five years. During that period, Hutchinson was credited with helping build the GOP organization in Arkansas dramatically by leading the effort to require the state to finance polling stations throughout the state, allowing more Republican voters to get to the polls and vote. Hutchinson considered a rematch with Bumpers in 1992 before he deferred to Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
, who also lost to Bumpers. That same year, Hutchinson's brother, Tim Hutchinson
Tim Hutchinson
Young Timothy Hutchinson, known as Tim Hutchinson is a Republican politician and former senator from the state of Arkansas.Hutchinson was born in Bentonville, Arkansas, and he graduated from Bob Jones University...
, was elected to represent the northwest quadrant of Arkansas in Congress on the retirement of veteran Republican U.S. Representative John Paul Hammerschmidt
John Paul Hammerschmidt
John Paul Hammerschmidt is an American politician from the U.S. state of Arkansas. A Republican, Hammerschmidt served for thirteen terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from the northwestern Arkansas district before he retired in 1993...
of Harrison
Harrison, Arkansas
Harrison is a city in Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is the county seat. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 13,108. Boone County was organized in 1869, during reconstruction after the civil war. Harrison was platted and made the county seat. It is...
.
U.S. Congress
David Pryor
David Hampton Pryor is a former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 and was a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1960 to 1966...
, Asa Hutchinson ran for the seat and won. (His brother also won his campaign for Senate, and served for one term.) Hutchinson, who had at first decided to run for an open seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives from Sebastian County, defeated Ann Henry, a long-time friend of Bill
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and Hillary Clinton who outspent Hutchinson during the campaign.
Hutchinson was re-elected to the House twice more, in 1998 and 2000. In office, he led efforts to crack down on illegal drugs, particularly methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
s. Hutchinson also served as one of the managers (prosecutors) during the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
impeachment trial
Impeachment of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton, President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice on December 19, 1998, but acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of...
of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton in 1998. In 1999, Hutchinson was involved in the effort to reform campaign finance laws and offered an alternative proposal to the bill by Christopher Shays
Christopher Shays
Christopher H. Shays is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives and represented the 4th District of Connecticut....
and Marty Meehan
Marty Meehan
Martin Thomas "Marty" Meehan is an American attorney and politician from the state of Massachusetts. He is the current Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell, a position he assumed on July 1, 2007...
, which he opposed on the grounds that it "went too far" because it attempted to ban television commercials by legal third party organizations. Hutchinson did support the bill by John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and Russ Feingold
Russ Feingold
Russell Dana "Russ" Feingold is an American politician from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He served as a Democratic party member of the U.S. Senate from 1993 to 2011. From 1983 to 1993, Feingold was a Wisconsin State Senator representing the 27th District.He is a recipient of the John F...
in the Senate. He also attempted, unsuccessfully, to gut the Hyde civil asset forfeiture reform bill that sought to prevent police abuse of its power to seize private property on mere suspicion of being linked to any criminal investigation. His amendment, allegedly, would have empowered the police to continue profiting from drug money.
Executive branch
After being re-elected to his third term in Congress in November 2000, Hutchinson was appointed Administrator of the Drug Enforcement AdministrationDrug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
(DEA) in 2001. Washington Post columnist David Broder praised Hutchinson's appointment to head the DEA, writing: "The high esteem in which former Rep. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas is held by his colleagues was demonstrated by the 98-1 Senate vote confirming him last month as the new director of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Even more telling was the fact that Rep. John Conyers
John Conyers
John Conyers, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1965 . He is a member of the Democratic Party...
of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and an ardent opponent of the impeachment of President Clinton, appeared at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to praise Hutchinson, who had been one of the Republican House managers presenting the case against Clinton to the full Senate. In his 4½ years in the House, Hutchinson, a former U.S. attorney, earned an estimable reputation as a thoughtful conservative and, as liberals
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
like Conyers and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senator from Vermont and member of the Democratic Party. He is the first and only elected Democratic United States Senator in Vermont's history. He is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy is the second most senior U.S. Senator,...
of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
affirmed, as a fair-minded advocate."
Broder, however, questioned the effectiveness of the traditional approach to the war on drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
and called for a new direction. Hutchinson did just that. During his tenure at the DEA, he led a re-evaluation of the DEA's mission and resources, concluding that too many resources were focused on 1980s-era drug enforcement priorities. Hutchinson called greater attention to newly emergent drug threats such as methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
in rural America, Ecstasy among youth, and Predatory Drugs (also known as date rape drug
Date rape drug
A date rape drug is any drug that can be used to assist in the execution of a sexual assault, such as date rape. Drugs used to facilitate rape may have sedative, hypnotic, dissociative, and/or amnesiac effects, and can be added to a food or drink without the victim's knowledge.The act of adding...
s) against women. He also lobbied aggressively for greater investments in prevention and treatment. He particularly focused on using Drug Treatment Courts as a way to help non-violent drug offenders beat addiction.
After the September 11 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, Congress created the Department of Homeland Security. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
tapped Hutchinson to lead the Border and Transportation Security Directorate, the largest division of the Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
(DHS) with more than 110,000 employees. Hutchinson was confirmed by unanimous consent
Unanimous consent
In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house, is a situation in which no one present objects to a proposal. The chair may state, for instance: "If there is no objection, the motion...
by the U.S. Senate on January 23, 2003. Later, during his campaign for Governor of Arkansas, Hutchinson's opponent attempted to portray him as mishandling immigration issues. Hutchinson's critics particularly focused on his efforts to limit the Border Patrol to patrolling the border and stopping illegal immigrants from crossing the border, while giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sole responsibility for removing aliens already in the country.
While serving as Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security in the Bush Administration, Hutchinson supported Bush's proposals to provide more job opportunities for illegal aliens without criminal records, while tightening security on the border. In September 2004, he said: "Eliminating the fear of deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
will be an incentive." In his written response to Senate questions, Hutchinson also said "Undocumented aliens will tell you they often have trouble sleeping at night, and leaving for work each day, not knowing if they will make it home at the end of the day." Hutchinson also said that Americans are not willing to put in the resources that would be required to remove the estimated 12 million or more population of illegal immigrants. In that same testimony, Hutchinson emphasized that any debate over immigration reform must start first with enforcement of immigration laws and border security, asserting, "You have to start with the proposition that in order to be effective in the war against terrorism our nation must be able to secure its borders."
Hutchinson was also careful to temper his support for Bush's Temporary Worker Proposal with a call for strengthening security first. In his testimony, he asserted:
The necessary elements to tackle this enormous problem [of illegal immigration] effectively are: (1)Increasing the funding of technology and security personnel along the border, (2)Making it more difficult for illegal aliens to get jobs in this country, and (3) providing a workable and practical means for migrant workers to meet the job needs in this country when those jobs cannot be filled otherwise. When, and only when, these security measures are established then it is appropriate to begin a conversation on providing a temporary legal status to the eight million illegal workers already in this country.
It is a significant security vulnerability to allow such a large population live and work anonymously in our communities, with no legal identities or other common connections to society. It is, in fact, a terrorist’s dream. Moreover, any legal status should be a
temporary work permit with a point of return to the alien’s home country."
2006 Governor's race
Shortly after his return to Arkansas, Hutchinson announced his intention to run for governor in 2006. Initially, Hutchinson was to face the three-term Lieutenant Governor Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, who was favored in most pre-election polls, in the Republican Primary. Rockefeller's withdrawal and death from a blood disorder in early 2006 left the field to Hutchinson. He was defeated in the general election by the Democratic candidate, then-Arkansas Attorney GeneralArkansas Attorney General
The Arkansas Attorney General is an executive position and constitutional officer within the Arkansas government. The Attorney General is the chief law enforcement/legal officer and lawyer for Arkansas. The position is elected every four years, e.g...
Mike Beebe.
Agreed to serve on The Constitution Project's Guantanamo Task Force
Hutchinston agreed to serve on The Constitution Project's Guantanamo Task Force in December 2010.He told the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
he agreed to join the task force because he believed it was
"something important for our national security and our war on terrorism."
Business career
In early 2005, Hutchinson founded a consulting firm, Hutchinson Group, LLC with partners Betty Guhman and Kirk Tompkins, in Little RockLittle Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
and accepted a contract for a one-year position with Venable LLP
Venable LLP
Venable LLP is a law firm formerly known as Venable, Baetjer & Howard LLP. The firm is . It was founded in Baltimore in 1900. Today the firm maintains 7 offices throughout the country and includes over 500 attorneys practicing in over covering corporate and business law, complex litigation,...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, as the chair of its Homeland Security practice. Hutchinson ended his contract with Venable LLP
Venable LLP
Venable LLP is a law firm formerly known as Venable, Baetjer & Howard LLP. The firm is . It was founded in Baltimore in 1900. Today the firm maintains 7 offices throughout the country and includes over 500 attorneys practicing in over covering corporate and business law, complex litigation,...
in March 2006 to focus on his gubernatorial campaign and his consulting firm in Little Rock. In January 2007, Hutchinson rejoined Venable.
In June 2006, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported that Hutchinson's $2,800 investment in Fortress America Acquisition Corporation, a company that Hutchinson advises, was worth over a million dollars after the initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette story noted that Hutchinson is unable to touch his stock for another two years. The six founding shareholders in Fortress America besides Hutchinson include: former U.S. Representative Tom McMillen of Maryland, former U.S. Senator Don Nickles
Don Nickles
Donald Lee Nickles is an American businessman and politician who was a Republican United States Senator from Oklahoma from 1981 until 2005. He was a fiscal and social conservative.-Early life:...
of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and a private-equity firm that has former CIA Director James Woolsey among its partners.
On May 4, 2006, Hutchinson filed a financial disclosure form, which he was required to submit as candidate for governor, that did not include the Fortress American holdings. On the form, Hutchinson listed his stock and options in two other companies, and even disclosed bank and credit-union accounts with balances under $1,000. He did not list his 200,000 shares in Fortress America, which were trading at about $5 per share. "Just totally an oversight," Hutchinson said when questioned by the media. Hutchinson filed an amended report the next day to correct the error.
Family
Asa Hutchinson's older brother, Tim HutchinsonTim Hutchinson
Young Timothy Hutchinson, known as Tim Hutchinson is a Republican politician and former senator from the state of Arkansas.Hutchinson was born in Bentonville, Arkansas, and he graduated from Bob Jones University...
, preceded him as U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Arkansas's 3rd congressional district
Arkansas's 3rd congressional district
Arkansas's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The district covers Northwest Arkansas and takes in Bentonville, Fayetteville, Springdale and Fort Smith....
and served one term as a United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
from 1997–2003, being defeated for a second term by then-Arkansas Attorney General
Arkansas Attorney General
The Arkansas Attorney General is an executive position and constitutional officer within the Arkansas government. The Attorney General is the chief law enforcement/legal officer and lawyer for Arkansas. The position is elected every four years, e.g...
Mark Pryor
Mark Pryor
Mark Lunsford Pryor is the senior United States Senator from Arkansas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party and former Attorney General of Arkansas....
, a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, in 2002. Asa and Tim Hutchinson are both graduates of Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University is a private, for-profit, non-denominational Protestant university in Greenville, South Carolina.The university was founded in 1927 by Bob Jones, Sr. , an evangelist and contemporary of Billy Sunday...
in Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
from the Class of 1972. His identical twin nephews, Jeremy and Timothy Hutchinson, sons of Tim Hutchinson, were the first twins to serve alongside each other in the Arkansas General Assembly
Arkansas General Assembly
The Arkansas General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 members. All 135 representatives and state senators...
, both as members of the House of Representatives
Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the state. Each district has an average population of 26,734...
. Hutchinson is also the brother-in-law of Arkansas state Senator Kim Hendren
Kim Hendren
Kim D. Hendren is the Republican minority leader and the chairman of the Energy Committee of the Arkansas State Senate. A native and resident of Gravette in Benton County in northwestern Arkansas, Hendren represents District 9. He is a former Democrat in the most Republican part of the state....
who married his sister, Marylea Hutchinson, in 1958.
External links
- Hutchinson is a contributor to Security Debrief, a blog of homeland security news and analysis
- Hutchinson gubernatorial campaign site
- Hutchinson Group consulting site
- record maintained by the Washington Post
- KFI-AM interview after Hutchinson stops illegal immigrant roundups by US Border Patrol (Requires WMPWindows Media PlayerWindows Media Player is a media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices...
or equivalent) - Paper, Plastic, or Republican: One Race That's Not in the Bag, by William Booth, November 6, 2006, Washington Post