Political Quotes

“Mr. Chief Justice, I send a question to the desk on behalf of myself and Senators Crapo, Blunt, and Rubio. The CHIEF JUSTICE. Thank you. The question from Senator Collins and the other Senators for both parties: Are there legitimate circumstances under which a President could request a foreign country to investigate a U.S. citizen, including a political rival, who is not under investigation by the U.S. government? If so, what are they and how do they apply to the present case? The House goes first. Mr. Manager SCHIFF. Mr. Chief Justice, Senator. It would be hard for me to contemplate circumstances where that would be appropriate, where it would be appropriate for the President of the United States to seek a political investigation of an opponent. One of the, I think, most important post-Watergate reforms was to divorce decisions about specific cases, specific prosecutions from the White House to the Justice Department, to build a wall. One of the many norms that has broken down in this Presidency is that wall has been obliterated, where the President has affirmatively and aggressively sought to investigate his rivals. I cannot conceive of circumstances where that is appropriate. It may be appropriate for the Justice Department, acting independently and in good faith, to initiate an investigation. There is a process for doing that. We heard testimony about doing that.…”