Chuck Schumer: “Honestly, I had come to the floor to submit a resolution on behalf of myself and 14 of my colleagues, including Senators…”

“Honestly, I had come to the floor to submit a resolution on behalf of myself and 14 of my colleagues, including Senators Kennedy, Byrd, Lieberman, Clinton, Corzine, Dodd, Johnson, Hollings, Reid from Nevada, Lautenberg, Dorgan, Durbin, Daschle, and Nelson to ask the President to allow Condoleezza Rice to testify under oath and in public. I heard NBC News has announced she will do just that. So the resolution is moot. I will make a couple of points, though. One is I suppose all of the protestation that this would violate separation of powers has gone by the wayside. We all knew that was just a smokescreen because this commission is not congressional, and the whole theory of separation of powers is congressional. The bottom line is the real reason the administration did not want Condoleezza Rice to testify, that they did not want her out there speaking about this, is quite apparent and had nothing to do with separation of powers. The second point I make is to compliment the Commission. The Commission has done an incredible job. I think when Tom Kean, the former Governor of New Jersey, a Republican, one known for integrity, said the only way she would testify was under oath--she has been on every talk show. She is on television 24/7. So she has plenty of time to go public and say what she wants, but not what the Commission will ask her under oath. Her statements, her public statements contradicted some of Dick Clarke's. Dick Clarke's were given under oath.”