Steny Hoyer: “I want to say, on behalf of myself and, I believe, the overwhelming majority of my caucus, perhaps every Member of my…”

“I want to say, on behalf of myself and, I believe, the overwhelming majority of my caucus, perhaps every Member of my caucus, we have great respect for General Petraeus. It does not help, in my opinion, the debate to impugn the integrity of those who are serving our country in uniform in harm's way. I believe that General Petraeus is an honorable man of great integrity who has served our country well. I may disagree with him; he may disagree with me on issues. But that does not in any way, any more than you and I might disagree and we are good friends, undermine our respect for each other's opinion. And as I say, I want to articulate, because you bring up the issue, that I believe that that impugning of his integrity and of his patriotism and of his commitment to this country was inappropriate.”