Kevin Roberts: “Well, if this is a bad precedent and all that the distinguished chairman of the Armed Services Committee has said it is…”

“Well, if this is a bad precedent and all that the distinguished chairman of the Armed Services Committee has said it is with regard to my actions, I will remind him that there has been a precedent before this time. The year was 2009, and this issue came up. Obviously, it was a campaign promise by the President. There was a lot of concern, a lot of frustration, a lot of anger. I asked myself at that particular time what on Earth I could do to stop this effort to move detainees to Fort Leavenworth. Again, I would stress that it is the intellectual center of the Army. The commander staff school is there--think Pershing, think Eisenhower, think MacArthur, think Petraeus. Bad fit. Sixteen thousand people at Leavenworth have signed a petition saying no to the detainees. Back then, in 2009, John McHugh--a wonderful Congressman, a great friend to me, and a great Secretary of the Army--was being nominated. I took the very same action, I would tell the distinguished Senator from Arizona, and put a hold on John. I called him up. I said: John, I have some bad news and some good news. He said: Well, give me the bad news. I said: Somebody here in the Senate has put a hold on you. He said: Who on Earth would do that? I said: It is me. He was a little stunned--I think a lot--and would probably make the same statement and speech the Senator from Arizona has given. I said: Not to worry.…”