Political Quotes

“this morning the front page of the Washington Post tells the story about our intelligence agencies intercepting some communications among the Saudi Government officials. It appeared they were exchanging information about how to lure a man named Khashoggi back into Saudi Arabia. Khashoggi is a person who has been openly critical of the Saudi Arabian leadership. He has published articles around the world, including in the Washington Post. We have a video that shows Mr. Khashoggi entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. We have no video that shows him exiting that same building. He has disappeared. This intelligence data, as well as other information, leads us to believe he has been assassinated--assassinated because he was critical of the leadership of the Saudi Arabian kingdom. That is what happens in a country of authoritarian rule that does not protect the right of dissent. We see it over and over in history--strong authoritarian rulers can't stand dissenters. Many of them are killed, imprisoned, tortured, or run out of the country. It still happens in China. It still happens in Russia. It happens, obviously, when it comes to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and other countries. We are different. I hope we are. The reason we are different is because of 45 words--45 words--that were written over 200 years ago. They are worth repeating. These are 45 words that have guided our country and still should guide us today. I am going to take a minute to read them.…”