Henry Waxman: “I just want to point out the statement made by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon) was completely irresponsible.…”

“I just want to point out the statement made by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon) was completely irresponsible. No one has evidence to substantiate an accusation that the Administration sold out national security for campaign contributions. But we can substantiate the following: The Republicans have taken foreign money. We can substantiate the allegations that they have used illegal conduit payments, that money has been raised on government property. And today is the anniversary of the Trent Lott-Newt Gingrich $50 billion tax break for the tobacco companies snuck into a bill in the middle of the night after they received millions of dollars of campaign contributions from the tobacco industry. Why are we not investigating those issues? Because the Republican Congress is on a partisan witch-hunt. Do not do the same thing in this committee that we are seeing on the Burton committee: a one-sided, partisan witch-hunt where Republican abuses are ignored and Democrat abuses are blown out of all proportion, where the evidence does not lend credibility to the conclusions that are stated.”