Richard Blumenthal

I want to begin by thanking our Chairman as well as Senator Collins for their dedication to the really profoundly important issue of abuse and neglect of our elderly and our senior population generally.

Congress under the United States Constitution has an equal responsibility to protect the Constitution.

The client is the individual or group whose constitutional rights may be imperiled.

Appearance and perception has to be served because of the immense and in many respects undemocratic powers that courts exert

The Supreme Court is not necessarily an absolutely clear and non-controversial source of law.

The pending appropriations bill, the omnibus bill, contains some provisions which I have added that will finally make public, as much as can be made public, a lot of specific data about what has been collected, why it has been collected…

The provision of an adversarial proceeding such as you have described, which reflects the change in the role of the Court.

The U.S. Government must protect at once two different forms of security: national security and personal privacy.

I think that is a very important point--would not necessarily delay it or imperil security if there were preclearance and if warrants were granted and then reviewed afterward.

In war, law is the first casualty.

I regret that Osama bin Laden brings us to the airport about an hour earlier than we used to go, and I regret that Edward Snowden brings us together today.

I want to join in expressing my appreciation for the work that you do on whistleblowers, really a profoundly important cause.

Do you have a view as to what the division of responsibility should be between the United States Attorneys and the Department of Justice?

And do you think that there need to be enhanced training programs for the attorneys in either the Criminal Division or the Department of Justice generally?

Your position is really one of the most important in the whole Federal Government because your recommendations very often will be final as to the charges that are brought either by a United States Attorney

That sort of anticipates my next question.

Thank you, Senator, for that question.

Her trial experience, her knowledge of the courtroom and the law, and her devotion to improving our communities leads me to believe she will be fair and devoted to justice.

I consider this hearing and others like it one of the most important things we do in the U.S. Senate.

I believe the integrity of a judge is, in fact, the cornerstone of our judicial system.

I would submit respectfully that that distinctly American system involves exactly what the President's panel recommended, namely, an advocate, an open system where possible, more transparency.

I have proposed that there be a constitutional advocate to protect privacy rights and civil liberties.

Your work is so critical to the credibility and trust of the public in our justice system.

Thank you, Senator Blumenthal, for the question.

I offer my own concluding remarks by saying that Senator Whitehouse earlier referred to our failure. He characterized it as a failure to accomplish legislation during the last session of Congress. Senators Blunt and Graham were very…