Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, it is kind of deja vu to hear the four Attorneys General routinely trotted out by the opposition. They have been referred to as the four horsemen of Swan Lake. But we also have our retinue of Attorneys General who disagree with them, led by Griffin Bell, William Barr, Richard Thornburg, the late William French Smith. But I have a celebrity to trump all of those Attorneys General on the subject of habeas corpus, and his name is President Clinton. Mr. Chairman, he said on June 5 of last year, 2 days before the Senate passed the identical bill overwhelmingly that we seek to pass in this legislation; here is what the President, Mr. Clinton, said on 'Larry King Live.' He said in death penalty cases it normally takes 8 years to exhaust the appeals. It is ridiculous. And, if you have multiple convictions, it could take even longer. So there is a strong sense in the Congress, I think among members of both parties, we need to get down to sort of one clear appeal.”