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Dennis DeConcini

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Dennis DeConcini
Chair of theSenate Intelligence Committee
In office
January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byDavid Boren
Succeeded byArlen Specter
United States Senator
fromArizona
In office
January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byPaul Fannin
Succeeded byJon Kyl
Personal details
Born
Dennis Webster DeConcini

(1937-05-08)May 8, 1937(age 87)
Tucson, Arizona,U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpousePatty
EducationUniversity of Arizona(BA,LLB)
WebsiteOfficial website
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1959–1960 (active)
1960–1967 (reserve)
RankArmy Judge Advocate General's Corps
Battles/warsVietnam War

Dennis Webster DeConcini(/ˌdiːkənˈsiːni/;born May 8, 1937) is an American lawyer, philanthropist, politician and formerU.S. senatorfromArizona.The son of former Arizona Supreme Court judgeEvo Anton DeConcini,he representedArizonain the Senate as aDemocratfrom 1977 until 1995. After hisre-election in 1988,no Arizona Democrats were elected to the Senate for 30 years untilKyrsten Sinemawon his former seat in2018.

Early life and education

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DeConcini was born in Tucson, Arizona, the son of Ora (née Webster) andEvo Anton DeConcini.[1]

His father was judge on the Arizona State Superior Court for 10 years, then served as theArizona Attorney Generalfor one two-year term from 1948 to 1949 before being appointed to the Arizona State Supreme Court, where he served as a judge for four years, from 1949 to 1953. DeConcini received his bachelor's degree from theUniversity of Arizonain 1959, and his LLB from the University of Arizona in 1963. He then worked as a lawyer for the Arizona Governor's staff from 1965 to 1967. DeConcini attendedThe JAG Schoolat theUniversity of Virginiaand enteredU.S. Army JAG Corps.

Dennis DeConcini rejoined the law firm of DeConcini McDonald Yetwin and Lacy, which he and his father had co-founded in 1968, after leaving the Senate in 1995.[2][3]

He is a member of the advisory council of theVictims of Communism Memorial Foundation.[4]

Career

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DeConcini served one elected term asPima County, Arizona,Attorney (1973–1976), the chief prosecutor and civil attorney for the county and school districts within the county.[3]

He was elected to the U.S. Senate in1976as aDemocrat,defeatedRepublicanrepresentativeSam Steigerfor the open seat left by retiring Republican senatorPaul Fannin.DeConcini served three terms in the Senate.

Panama Canal

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DeConcini sponsored an amendment (the DeConcini Reservation) to thePanama Canal Treatyof 1977 which allows the United States "to take such steps as each [the U.S. or Panama] deems necessary, in accordance with its constitutional processes, including the use of military force in the Republic of Panama, to reopen the Canal or restore the operations of the Canal, as the case may be." The DeConcini amendment, which establishes the use of US military force in Panama, is written and signed by Omar Torrijos in the Instrument of Ratification, but it is alleged that it does not exist. "The DeConcini amendment does not exist, and I maintained that and I continue to maintain it," is what Carlos López Guevara expressed. In the same statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mentioned above by former negotiator Carlos López Guevara, the De Concini Amendment is addressed, arguing that it "was neutralized by the leadership amendment or Church amendment", contained in the Treaty of the Panama Canal. López Guevara spoke about the book "Panama Odyssey" by former US ambassador, William Jorden. "I am going to quote in English what the Senate, President Carter, Undersecretary of State Christopher Warren, Ambassador Jorden and the Panamanian team did, to explain why the Church amendment is the rebellion of a group of liberal senators against the DeConcini amendment," he said. "Why was the Church amendment made?" López Guevara asked himself, before answering by quoting Jorden's book: To disown (page 563), to undo (page 567) to neutralize (page 567).. 571) to balance (page 571), as content move (page 583), etc. "These are the arguments that a Panamanian patriot has to use to say that what the Senate did when approving the Church amendment was to eliminate the interventionist effects of the DeConcini amendment, because in this way, it was" neutralized, "said the lawyer. Asked if the fact that the Church amendment is part of the Panama Canal Treaty, which ends next December, is a reason for it not to have effect on the Neutrality Treaty, which does not end on that date, and which has no termination date, López Guevara responded that" it doesn't matter because it is part of that negotiation. " "INTERVENTIONIST "PACT.[5]

Keating Five

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DeConcini was widely noted as a member of theKeating Fivein a banking and political contribution ethics investigation during the 1980s which grew out of theU.S. Savings and Loan Crisis.The Senate investigation involvedCharles KeatingandLincoln Savings/Continental Homes, the sixth largest employer in the state of Arizona at the time. The Senate Ethics Committee looked into the actions of five United States senators in relation to their actions connected with Charles Keating and concluded that Senators DeConcini, McCain, Glenn and Riegle "broke no laws or Senate ethics rules, but were aggressive in their actions on behalf of Charles Keating." Specifically, DeConcini was judged to have "acted improperly" and did not run for a fourth term.[6][7]

Senate committees

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Portrait of U.S. Senator Dennis DeConcini

In the101st Congress,DeConcini served on theSenate Appropriations Committee,chairing the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government. He also served on the Subcommittees on Defense, Energy and Water Development and Foreign Operations, and on theSenate Judiciary Committee,chairing the Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks. He served on the Subcommittees on Antitrust, Monopolies and Business Rights, the Constitution and the Courts.[8]

In 1993 and 1994, DeConcini chaired theSelect Intelligence Committee.[9][10][11]

Appointments

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In February 1995 DeConcini was appointed by PresidentBill Clintonto the board of directors of theFederal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation(Freddie Mac), where he served until May 1999.[12][13][14]

In 2006, he and formerDel E. Webb Construction CompanyPresident Anne Mariucci were selected byGovernor of ArizonaJanet Napolitanoto sit on theArizona Board of Regents.[15]

Congressional papers

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DeConcini's congressional papers are held at the University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections.[16]

Business career

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DeConcini served on the board of directors of theCorrections Corporation of America(now known as CoreCivic) from 2008 to 2014.[17]Starting in 2010, some individuals protested his membership on the board, saying his involvement is "not suitable for a public figure like DeConcini." Although he claims he has not lobbied for harsher immigration laws and sentencing practices, he admits meetings with the Arizona Department of Corrections Director Chuck Ryan and "publicly speaking in favor of" for-profit prisons.[18][19][20]

It was alleged that, in 1979, DeConcini had insider knowledge about the proposed route of the Central Arizona Project and that he used this knowledge to purchase land that he resold six years later to the federal government for a gain of almost $1,000,000.[21][22]

Philanthropy

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Dennis DeConcini (top row, far right) with the Board of Directors of theInternational Centre for Missing & Exploited Children.

DeConcini is a member of the board of directors of theInternational Centre for Missing & Exploited Children(ICMEC), a global nonprofit organization that combatschild sexual exploitation,child pornography,andchild abduction.[23]

Book

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  • Senator Dennis DeConcini: From the Center of the Aisleby Dennis DeConcini &Jack L. August Jr.,(University of Arizona Press February 1, 2006);ISBN978-0-8165-2569-0

References

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  1. ^United States Code Congressional and Administrative News.2007-01-04.Retrieved2017-06-24.
  2. ^Krueger, Cindy (2013-05-24)."Tucson-based law firm celebrates 45 years of service".Inside Tucson Business.Retrieved2018-08-27.
  3. ^abUA Alumni Association (2017-04-17)."Dennis DeConcini to Receive UA Veterans Award".UA News.Retrieved2018-08-27.
  4. ^"National Advisory Council".Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-06-10.Retrieved2011-05-20.
  5. ^Contacto, Giovanna Ort\u00c3\u00adz \/ (1999-05-23)."&#191Una neutralidad condicionada?".Panamá América(in Spanish).Retrieved2023-10-15.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^Dan Nowicki and Bill Muller, The Republic (September 25, 2018)."John McCain gets into 'a hell of a mess' with the Keating Five scandal".azcentral.
  7. ^"Sen. Dennis DeConcini, Former Senator for Arizona".govtrack.us.
  8. ^"SENATE COMMITTEES, 101st CONGRESS".CQ Weekly:3476–89. 1989-12-23.
  9. ^"1993 COMMITTEES SPECIAL REPORT: SENATE -- Select Intelligence".CQ Weekly:43. 1993-05-01.
  10. ^"1994 COMMITTEE SUPPLEMENT: Senate Select Intelligence".CQ Weekly:44. 1994-03-05.
  11. ^Deconcini, Dennis (18 May 1993)."Opinion | Bomb the Serbs. Now".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 2015-05-26.Retrieved2015-05-26.
  12. ^"William J. Clinton Foundation" President Names Four to Freddie Mac Board "".Archived fromthe originalon 2007-11-15.Retrieved2008-02-07.
  13. ^"Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy Foundation".Archived fromthe originalon 2010-04-11.Retrieved2009-04-28.
  14. ^"The Spokesman-Review - at Freddie Mac, it helps to have contacts".Archived fromthe originalon 2010-04-13.Retrieved2009-04-28.
  15. ^"Governor appoints DeConcini, Mariucci to Board of Regents", Northern Arizona University News
  16. ^"Dennis DeConcini Papers".University of Arizona.RetrievedMarch 5,2016.
  17. ^"Three CCA directors set to step down".The Nashville Post.April 4, 2014.RetrievedJune 24,2017.
  18. ^Hodai, Beau (June 21, 2010)."Ties That Bind: Arizona Politicians and the Private Prison Industry".In These Times.RetrievedDecember 7,2010.
  19. ^Cook, Nancy (June 30, 2010)."How the Recession Hurts Private Prisons".Newsweek.RetrievedDecember 7,2010.
  20. ^Herraras, Mari (March 29, 2012)."Morals Before Profit".Tucson Weekly.RetrievedDecember 4,2012.
  21. ^"DeConcini bought CAP land after planning began",The Prescott Courier,October 21, 1988, page 11 (via Google news); retrieved July 10, 2017.
  22. ^Arizona Republic, September 18, 1993, page 8.
  23. ^"ICMEC Board Members".icmec.org.Archived fromthe originalon 2015-07-03.
[edit]
Party political offices
Preceded by
Sam Grossman
 Democraticnominee forU.S. SenatorfromArizona
(Class 1)
1976,1982,1988 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Arizona
1977–1995
Served alongside:Barry Goldwater,John McCain 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of theJoint Helsinki Commission
1989–1991 		Succeeded by
Chair of theJoint Helsinki Commission
1993–1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of theSenate Intelligence Committee
1993–1995 		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence(ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Senator Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Senator 		Succeeded byas Former US Senator
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