Chuck Schumer: “I thank my colleague. Again, he is on the money. That is all we seek here now--the truth. The spokesperson for the…”

“I thank my colleague. Again, he is on the money. That is all we seek here now--the truth. The spokesperson for the President, Mr. McClellan, said we are referring it to the Justice Department and the professionals. If you look at the chain of command, it goes right up to the Attorney General. As I mentioned earlier, the Attorney General is a close political ally with the President. There is nothing wrong with that. That is one model of the Attorney General. But it certainly sacrifices the appearance of independence, and perhaps independence itself particularly goes very high up. Why we have asked for a special counsel is very simple: It is to allow professional law enforcement to do the job unfettered so they know they will not pay a price if they pursue it completely and fully. That would entail a special counsel of great legal background and sterling repetition for independence and integrity. I think it would behoove the administration to do that. There are all sorts of doubts now. Are they telling the truth about this, that, or the other thing when it comes to foreign policy? Were we to appoint a special counsel, people would say: Yes, maybe they are. But I will say this: The effort to sort of sweep this under the rug and say, oh, this is just one of the leaks that occurs every day, that makes me angry, to be honest with my colleague.”