Victor Fazio: “Congress should not obstruct justice. On July 22, 1993, we joined in this very debate. When, at the request of a…”

“Congress should not obstruct justice. On July 22, 1993, we joined in this very debate. When, at the request of a gentleman named Ramsey Johnson who was appointed as chief prosecutor by a Republican Virginia gentleman named Jay Stephens who was the U.S. attorney for the previous administration, the House decided to honor the Justice Department's request and not interfere in the House Post Office investigation. I stood before this house that day and said, ``* * * we ought not interfere.'' Today, and I say again, we ought to honor the U.S. attorney's request and, ``* * * we ought not interfere.'' Nothing has changed. I would like to take a moment to remind my colleagues about a famous example of what happens when Congress interferes with a Justice Department investigation. When Oliver North was subpoenaed to appear before Congress, he used the fifth amendment to claim that he could not testify on the grounds that anything he said may be used to incriminate him in a court of law.”