Harry Reid: “last evening, there was a lot of talk about whether memos at the Solicitor General's Office had ever been made public. I…”

“last evening, there was a lot of talk about whether memos at the Solicitor General's Office had ever been made public. I am going to talk about that, but I think we should put this whole debate involving Miguel Estrada in a framework that people who are watching the debate who are not familiar with Senate procedure can better understand what is going on. In effect, Miguel Estrada has asked his employer, the Federal Government, to give him a job to last for life. As with any job, one usually has to have an interview. In this instance, in addition to an interview, you bring whatever papers you have, whether it is a resume or other documents that your employer may want to find out if you should be hired. In the instance of Miguel Estrada, he simply has not filled out the requisite papers, he has not answered the questions or supplied the necessary information. An employer in Nevada, whether a company that sold tires or a company that sold food--it would not matter what it is--if somebody applied for a job, they would have to answer the questions that employer asked and give the requisite papers. In this instance, Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee believe he has not answered the questions. By reading the transcript, it is quite clear that is true.”