Warner becoming federal magistrate

Paul Warner says he has followed the philosophy of doing something because it's right, not because it's politically expedient.

Staying out of politics and pursuing justice appears to be key to the fact that Warner survived through both Democrat and Republican presidential administrations and has been the longest currently serving U.S. attorney in the country.

But now, 57-year-old Warner is stepping down as U.S. district attorney for Utah and changing pace to be appointed as a federal magistrate judge in Salt Lake City.

In his 7 1/2 years as U.S. attorney, Warner has earned the respect of state and federal law enforcement as well as becoming known for his dedication to combating crime among Utah's minority communities.

Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1998, Warner was retained by President Bush in 2003. Warner jokes that he survived through two "nail-biter" presidential elections.

"I've tried to be honest. I've tried to maintain my integrity, which I think I have," Warner told the Deseret Morning News on Friday, his last day as U.S. attorney.

He says he has taken a "broken windows" approach to his job, meaning to target crime proactively. Stolen mail, he said, may seem like a small deal but when it's used for identity theft it can be the source of a much larger societal problem.

In the politically "shark-infested waters" of immigration control, Warner said he has tried to focus on illegal immigrants who have victimized members of their community.

Right after 9/11, Warner was criticized heavily when federal agents raided the Salt Lake International Airport and rounded up illegal immigrants working there. Warner said he learned a big lesson that day: the need to explain his actions and not to be misunderstood. "That was a counter-terrorism move," Warner said, and not a move targeted toward the Latino community. Since then, Warner said he feels he has tried to improve his relationships with the Latino community.

Warner said he was also the first U.S. attorney to use the federal racketeering statute to go after two violent gangs based in Utah's corrections system. More recently, Warner's attorneys went after a dozen members of the Soldiers of Aryan Culture, a white-supremacist group whose members were known for violent attacks and drug dealing from within the Utah State Prison.

By charging them with federal counts, SAC members were dispersed throughout the country's federal penal system.