Dick Durbin: “Opening Statement of Senator Richard J. Durbin”

Public executions have no place in a democracy.

We ask that you immediately provide all committee records that you have withheld, commit to fully complying with Senate Rules XXVI and XXVII going forward, and apologize to Mr. Smith on behalf of the Committee.

Changes of this magnitude with no discernible justification must be scrutinized.

For decades, America has stood as the bastion of freedom against tyranny, and American presidents have embodied our nation’s resistance to tyrants. Putin is a tyrant.