Political Quotes

“As a Member of the House Armed Services Committee and having the honor to serve under Mr. McKeon and Ranking Member Smith, I would like to just share a couple of thoughts, having sat through the hearing with Secretary Hagel where he was held accountable that day, he was asked very probing, difficult questions about a very difficult decision, which was happening at Mach speed, when an opportunity--a small window of opportunity opened up to recover an American soldier held in captivity by the enemy. When the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act, including the 30-day notice, the administration put up a big red warning flag saying that article II of the U.S. Constitution, which empowers the President to be the Commander in Chief, conflicted with that section, and they reserved their rights to continue to act pursuant to the Constitution. Now, any first-year law student--frankly, almost any high school student who takes American history--knows that a constitutional provision trumps a statute, that when there is a conflict of law between a constitutional provision and a statute, the Constitution prevails. The President, as Secretary Hagel laid out in excruciating detail when he was asked about the sequence of events which led up to the decision that was made, again reviewed through the Justice Department their authority.…”