Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise as chairman of the Intelligence Committee to speak against amendment 753 to this appropriations bill. In sum, this amendment will require members of al-Qaida to be prosecuted only by military commissions. It will cripple executive authority and flexibility to go after terrorists. Of all things in this area where we should be agreed and the President should have maximum flexibility, it is with the disposition of people who commit acts of terror in this country. I feel very strongly about this. The military commission system has been in effect since 2006. It has had six convictions. By comparison, terrorists have been tried by previous administrations, including the Bush administration, in article III courts, and more than 400 of them have been convicted and are serving time in Federal prisons. One case may be brought up where somebody disagrees with a verdict. You can disagree with a Federal jury, but you cannot disagree with the record of conviction and the strong sentences imposed. I will go into this in a little more detail in a few minutes. Just to say again, I have never seen a time when Congress has tried so much to constrain the power of the president and our professionals in law enforcement in their efforts to defeat terrorism.…”