Political Quotes

“let us recall what this is all about. We are here today because the now-resigned Chief of Staff to former attorney, Alberto Gonzalez, ran a plan over a period of just under 2 years during which he maintained a revised list of U.S. attorneys to be fired or retained. If prosecutors were placed on this list for political reasons, or alternatively kept off because of a willingness to engage in political prosecutions, these actions are not only improper and illegal, but they constitute criminal abuse. These are serious allegations, and we have a constitutional duty to pursue this proceeding today. Congress is not only entitled to look into this matter, we must conduct a thorough oversight of the executive branch. Now, some of my colleagues argue that the United States attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President. However, it is very critical to note that throwing out this term, 'at the pleasure of the President,' may be accurate in the sense that the President may fire somebody for no reason, Alberto Gonzalez can fire somebody for no reason, but they can't fire him for an illegal reason. And that is what we are looking at here.”