On April 19, 1993, the FBI moved against the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas. The compound burned, and 76 people inside died, 25 of them children. Attorney General Janet Reno had approved the operation.
That night she went on television. On Nightline she said: “This was a judgment I made.” And: “I think the responsibility lies with me.” On Larry King Live she said: “It is my decision. The buck stops with me. I am responsible for it.” Newsweek wrote that her candor gave her “instant cachet.”