Political Quotes

“Madam President, in September, we learned shocking news that the U.S. Secret Service--armed agents of the Executive--violated the law to intimidate a congressman from doing his constitutional duty. Forty-five Secret Service employees accessed the personal records of Congressman Jason Chaffetz in violation of the Privacy Act. They shared with hundreds of personnel the fact that Congressman Chaffetz had unsuccessfully applied to join the Service, leading to a leak of the information to the news media. This activity was not limited to low-level employees. The Service's Assistant Director and head of training, Ed Lowery, encouraged the sharing of information, writing in an email: Some information that he might find embarrassing needs to get out. Just to be fair. The Director of the Service, Joe Clancy, failed to act to rein in the behavior when the information was raised to him. He had no reaction when he heard what he deemed to be a speculative rumor about the information. He apparently forgot that he had been informed of Congressman Chaffetz's personal records, incorrectly telling the Homeland Security Department's inspector general that he didn't learn of the matter until it was about to be published in the Washington Post. The White House's reaction to this criminal violation was equally muted. The White House implied that an apology to Congressman Chaffetz would suffice in the absence of formal discipline and a criminal investigation. This was unacceptable.…”