NSA Hearings: Senator Leahy's Opening Statement

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Senator Leahy:

Let me give you a message, Mr. Attorney General, to you, to the President and to the administration. This is a message that should be unanimous from every member of Congress, no matter what their party or their ideology.

Under our Constitution, Congress is a co-equal branch of government and we make the laws.

If you believe you need new laws, then come and tell us. If Congress agrees, then we'll amend the law. If you do not even attempt to persuade Congress to amend the law then you are required to follow the law as it's written. That is true of the President, just as it is true of me and you and every American.

That is the rule of law. That's the rule on which our nation was founded and that's the rule under which it endures and prospers.

I understood that Gonzales was going to be sworn in. Apparently, Specter decided that he did not want him to be. I think that's a good debate to begin with -- why are Republicans so eager to avoid putting Gonzales under oath ? He's testifying as a fact witness, and his prior statements at issue -- including his false assuarances to Sen. Feingold at his confirmation hearings -- were under oath, so this testimony should be, too....

...Gonzales begins his Opening Statement by quoting Osama bin Laden and Zawahri. We used to quote Madison, Jefferson and Lincoln to decide what the principles of our Government are going to be. Now we quote Al Qaeda. The Administration wants Al Qaeda and its speeches to dictate the type of Government we have. It is the centerpiece of everything they do and say.