Mike Levin: “today the issue of detainee abuse at Guantanamo Bay is very much on our minds and in the headlines as we debate how we…”

“today the issue of detainee abuse at Guantanamo Bay is very much on our minds and in the headlines as we debate how we will treat detainees in the future. In this context, the nomination of Ms. Alice Fisher for the position of Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice is not just a routine appointment. Alice Fisher was the deputy at the Criminal Division while the abuse at Guantanamo was occurring and while concerns about interrogation tactics were being raised within the Criminal Division at that same time. We are being asked to confirm Ms. Fisher today with unanswered relevant questions about any knowledge she may have had or actions she might have taken relative to those interrogation tactics. I want to share with my colleagues longstanding unanswered questions regarding Ms. Fisher's nomination to this position. The constitutional duty of the Senate to provide its advice and consent to nominations is a solemn one. Instead of respecting this constitutional duty, the administration has consistently sought to thwart it by denying us relevant information. The administration has put up barrier after barrier, hurdle after hurdle to efforts to get legitimate information that bears on Ms. Fisher's fitness to serve in this important position. Why the administration has stonewalled for so long instead of answering questions and providing information can only be speculated by me.…”