Joe Lieberman: “I have known John Ashcroft for almost 40 years, as a college classmate, a fellow State attorney general and a colleague…”

“I have known John Ashcroft for almost 40 years, as a college classmate, a fellow State attorney general and a colleague in the Senate. Throughout that time, our views on important issues very often have diverged, but I have never had reason to doubt his sincerity or his integrity. It strikes me in this regard that the often-noted and sometimes derided notion that Senators judge their colleagues more leniently than outsiders misses an important point. It is not that we reflexively defer to our former colleagues. It is instead that we as human beings find it tremendously difficult to pass judgment on those we have worked with and know well. And it is because I have known Senator Ashcroft for so long that I find the conclusion I have reached--which is to oppose his nomination--so awkward and uncomfortable. But that is where my review of the record regarding this nomination and my understanding of the Senate's responsibility under the advice and consent clause lead me.”