Political Quotes

“This drumbeat for hearings was 11 or 12 years after the allegation. So when we talk about the Whitewater events happening a few years ago, that it is not germane or that it happened when our Chief Executive Officer was Governor--``October Surprise'', 11 to 12 years after the allegation. It was so unrelenting that we saw our Democratic friends on the Foreign Relations Committee finally agree and they authorized expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars on worthless hearings. There was no ``October Surprise'' nor was there any political surprise in the thrashing around because there was only one motivation to the hearing and that was to tweak the Republicans. Can Congress engage in oversight during an investigation by special counsel? The answer is, Mr. President, of course we can. We are certainly able to set our agenda, establish our timetable for hearings, to determine issues relating to the immunity for witnesses to decide whether to subpoena documents and control all other facets involved in oversight hearings. We can do all of this by conferring with the special counsel, as the Senator from New York has indicated and suggested time and time again. We can accommodate legitimate concerns of witnesses and others. We do not have to get tangled in the operations of a grand jury.”