Political Quotes

“My good friend from Michigan is one of the best debaters in the Chamber. He is a thoughtful Member. I suspect he may at one time in his career have been an extraordinary trial lawyer. However, we are not putting Judge Chertoff on trial. This is a confirmation hearing. This debate is not about the names of certain employees within the Justice Department. It is about whether we feel the need to challenge the sworn testimony of a distinguished public servant. Judge Chertoff has already told us, under oath, that he was not aware of any practices at Guantanamo that 'even approach torture.' So what does my good friend from Michigan want to ask these Justice Department officials? The answer is, whether they talked to Michael Chertoff about interrogation techniques, the precise question that Judge Chertoff has already answered in the negative. There is no basis to doubt Judge Chertoff's sworn testimony before the committee. He has answered all of the questions over and over again. The only reason to get the names of these Justice Department employees is to challenge the veracity of his answers. There is no basis for that. There is nothing in his background, in his testimony, in his answers to us that should lead us to question him further about this unless there is new evidence that appears that suggests he was less than truthful with the committee. There is no such evidence. This issue is not related to his fitness to serve in this very important position. I yield the floor.…”