Robert Cleve Bonner (January 29,1942) is an American lawyer and arbitration neutral,a former prosecutor,former United States District Judge,former Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and former Commissioner of United States Customs and Border Protection. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the California Institute of Technology,a retired partner at the law firm Gibson,Dunn &Crutcher and former Chair of the California Commission on Judicial Performance.
Bonner was born in Wichita,Kansas. He grew up in Wichita where his father practiced law and his mother was a school teacher. He credits his mother for infusing him with a strong commitment to public service. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from the University of Maryland,College Park in 1963 and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 1966. [1] He was a law clerk for Albert Lee Stephens Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California from 1966 to 1967. He was on in the United States Navy Reserve Judge Advocate General Corps from 1967 to 1971,rising to the rank of Lieutenant,USNR. During that time,he served for nearly two years on an aircraft carrier,the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVA-42). He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California from 1971 to 1975,and then went into private practice in Los Angeles for nine years. Afterwards he became the United States Attorney for the same district in 1984. [1] As a United States Attorney,he worked closely with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on two record-breaking money laundering cases,Operations Pisces and Polar Cap,led the prosecution team against the killers of a DEA special agent,and personally prosecuted the first FBI agent charged with espionage. [2] [3]
On February 28,1989,Bonner was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to be a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California,to a seat vacated by Judge Pamela Ann Rymer. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 18,1989,and received commission on May 24,1989. Bonner resigned on August 12,1990,to become the Administrator of the DEA. [1]
On May 11,1990,President Bush nominated him to be Administrator of the DEA. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 27,1990,and sworn in as the DEA's fifth Administrator on August 13,1990. Bonner served as Administrator from August 13,1990,to October 31,1993. [4] As DEA Administrator,Bonner is credited with implementing the Kingpin Strategy,which allows law enforcement to target and attack key vulnerabilities of major transnational drug trafficking organizations. [5] He oversaw DEA's efforts with the Colombian government to destroy the Medellin Cartel,the final blow of which was the killing of Pablo Escobar by the Colombian National Police in late 1993. While at DEA,he also established the first Division of Intelligence within DEA and pioneered the use of highly effective intelligence gathering and analytical tools.
In 1992,Administrator Bonner issued a ruling that incorporated the FDA's "safe and effective" standard to evaluate marijuana. After reviewing the record,he found that there were no valid scientific studies that indicated that smoking marijuana was safe and effective for any medical purpose. On that basis,he denied an application for the removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act,stating that,"Those who insist that marijuana has medical uses would serve society better by promoting or sponsoring more legitimate scientific research,rather than throwing their time,money and rhetoric into lobbying,public relations campaigns and perennial litigation. [6]
In November 1993,just after leaving his post as head of the DEA,Bonner appeared on 60 Minutes and criticized the CIA for permitting a drug shipment of one ton of pure cocaine to be smuggled into the U.S. without first notifying and securing the approval of the DEA. From 1993 to 2001,Judge Bonner was a partner in the Los Angeles and Washington,D.C. law firm Gibson,Dunn &Crutcher,an international law firm. His practice focused on business and white-collar crime matters,complex civil cases,internal corporate investigations,and corporate compliance programs. [2] Among his clients were Occidental Petroleum Chairman Ray Irani,French entrepreneur Francois Pinault,former President of Serbia Milan Panic,ConAgra,Walmart,Waste Management,Inc.,the California Institute of Technology,and the cities of Long Beach and Thousand Oaks. He also defended Heidi Fleiss in her federal tax evasion prosecution.
On June 24,2001,President George W. Bush nominated Bonner as Commissioner of the United States Customs Service,later known as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP),and he was confirmed on September 19,2001,a little more than a week after the September 11 attacks. During his time as Commissioner,Bonner implemented far-reaching security changes,including the establishment of the National Targeting Center,the Container Security Initiative (CSI),and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT).
As part of the homeland security re-organization of 2003,Bonner was appointed the first Commissioner of CBP,a merger of the Border Patrol and other front line immigration and agriculture protection functions with most of the United States Customs Service to create the first unified border agency in U.S. history. It remains the largest merger of people and functions within the Department of Homeland Security,affecting nearly 60,000 employees. Bonner announced his resignation as Commissioner on September 28,2005,and retired on November 25,2005,after four years of service. [2] He is featured in the documentary "The New Colossus," by Professor Alan Marcus,where he discusses post-9/11 border security measures.
After returning to Gibson,Dunn &Crutcher,Bonner was hired by Representative Jerry Lewis in 2006 after Lewis was linked to an investigation being conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice (see Jerry Lewis - Lowery lobbying firm controversy). Lewis did not ultimately face charges. On August 12,2007,Bonner was named by the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee as a member of the campaign's "Immigration Advisory Board". Bonner has continued his involvement with border security and immigration,and was appointed to several task forces of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC),including the Southwest Border Task Force in 2009,and the HSAC Integrity Advisory Panel in 2015. In addition,he has served on the Council on Foreign Relations task forces on U.S. Immigration Policy and North America,is the co-chair of the Pacific Council task force on U.S.‑Mexico border issues,is the chair of the Civilian Oversight Commission for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department,and is the co-chair of the International Summit on Borders. He retired as a partner of Gibson,Dunn &Crutcher to become a Senior Principal of The Sentinel Company,a Washington,D.C.–based homeland security consulting firm, [7] and also heads Bonner Arbitration Disputes and Settlement Services and serves as an American Arbitration Association neutral arbitrator for high stakes disputes. [8]
Bonner is married to Kimiko Tanaka Bonner,and they have a daughter,Justine. He runs three miles a day,[ citation needed ] and enjoys playing tennis and chess,a game he mastered[ citation needed ] while serving in the United States Navy on board an aircraft carrier.
Theodore Bevry Olson was an American lawyer who served as the 42nd solicitor general of the United States from 2001 to 2004 in the administration of President George W. Bush. He previously served as the Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1981 to 1984 under President Ronald Reagan,and he was also a longtime partner at the law firm Gibson Dunn.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act,sharing concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The DEA is responsible for coordinating and pursuing U.S. drug investigations both domestically and internationally.
The United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security,the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the United States. The position was created by the Homeland Security Act following the attacks of September 11,2001.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from cross-border crime and undocumented immigration that threaten national security and public safety.
Debra Wong Yang is the former United States Attorney for the Central District of California. She was appointed in May 2002 by President George W. Bush,who made her the first Asian American woman to serve as a United States Attorney. In 2009,Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa nominated Yang to a vacancy on the Los Angeles Police Commission. In 2016,she was listed as the potential choice for SEC Chief in Donald Trump's cabinet.
The United States Customs Service was a federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31,1789,it collected import tariffs,performed other selected border security duties,as well as conducted criminal investigations.
William French Smith II was an American lawyer and the 74th United States Attorney General. After attaining his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1942,Smith went on to join the law firm of Gibson,Dunn &Crutcher LLP in 1946. Smith became acquainted with California governor candidate Ronald Reagan in 1966,after which Reagan appointed him to the University of California Board of Regents. Smith was nominated for U.S. Attorney General shortly after Reagan's victory in the 1980 United States presidential election,assuming the title on January 23,1981,and serving until February 25,1985.
Aulana Louise Peters is a retired partner at the law firm of Gibson,Dunn &Crutcher LLP,where she was active partner from 1980 to 1984 and from 1988 to 2000.
Meldon Edises Levine is an American attorney and former Democratic Congressman from California. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1993.
Alan Douglas Bersin is a senior advisor at the international law firm Covington &Burling. He also serves as an Inaugural Senior Fellow in the Homeland Security Project at the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government,as a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars,and as Inaugural North America Fellow at the Canada Institute and the Mexico Institute. He is Chairman of the consulting firm BorderWorks Group,and Executive Chairman of Altana Trade.
Richard Freer is a leading American academic in civil procedure and the dean and Robert Howell Hall Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta,Georgia. He has written numerous articles and has published 11 books during his career. Currently,his book on civil procedure is the preferred text on the subject at many law schools throughout the country. Freer is also a member of the Barbri staff and has lectured for Barbri for over thirty years.
Gibson,Dunn &Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles,California. Founded in 1890,the firm has more than 1,900 attorneys and 1,000 staff in 21 offices across the world,including North America,Europe,Asia,and the Middle East. It is one of the largest and most profitable law firms in the world. The firm is known for its litigation practice,particularly in appellate law.
Arif Alikhan is a former senior official with the U.S. Department of Justice who has served in several high-level law enforcement and homeland security positions with the federal government and City of Los Angeles. He was also the Deputy Executive Director for homeland security,law enforcement,and fire/EMS at Los Angeles World Airports. He was appointed to the new position in October 2011 and is responsible for the 1,200 sworn police officers and civilian security officers that protect Los Angeles International Airport,Ontario International Airport,and Van Nuys Airport. He is also responsible for all fire and emergency medical services at LAWA's three airports. Alikhan is a former distinguished professor of homeland security and counterterrorism at the National Defense University (NDU),College of International Security Affairs in Washington,D.C. He teaches and lectures on a variety subjects involving homeland and national security issues for U.S. military and civilian security professionals. and is a recognized expert on U.S. government homeland security and counter terrorism policies.
Norman Sedgwick Sterry was an American lawyer and football player. He represented movie stars and prominent persons as a lawyer in Los Angeles and successfully represented Major League Baseball in the case that resulted in the United States Supreme Court's exemption of baseball from the antitrust laws. As a law student at the University of Michigan,Sterry played at the halfback and end positions on the Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1900 to 1902.
Alejandro Nicolas Mayorkas is an American attorney and government official who was the 7th United States secretary of homeland security,serving from 2021 until 2025. A member of the Democratic Party,Mayorkas previously served as the director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services from 2009 to 2013,and the 6th deputy secretary of homeland security from 2013 to 2016.
Caroline Diane Krass is an American attorney and government official who had served as the General Counsel of the Department of Defense.
John Arthur Arguelles was an American attorney and associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from March 18,1987,to March 1,1989. Arguelles was the second Latino to serve on California's high court and was one of the founding members of the Mexican American Bar Association of Los Angeles.
Operation Diablo Express was a cross-border raid launched on 29 January 2016,by a combined force of Mexican and American police to apprehend members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Lukeville,Arizona,and the neighboring border town Sonoyta,in northwestern Sonora.
Project Wildfire was a nationwide,multi-agency investigation of various transnational criminal gangs in 2015 that resulted in the arrests of 976 individuals,representing 239 different organizations,in 282 cities in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Eighty-two firearms,5.2 kilograms of methamphetamine,7.8 kilograms of marijuana,5.6 kilograms of cocaine,1.5 kilograms of heroin,US$379,399,counterfeit merchandise with a suggested retail price of US$547,534 and five vehicles were also seized.
Kevin Kealoha McAleenan is an American attorney and government official who served as the acting United States secretary of homeland security from April to November 2019.
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