James Traficant: “I had cited earlier this whole issue dealing with the Totten doctrine. Totten versus United States, the Supreme Court…”

“I had cited earlier this whole issue dealing with the Totten doctrine. Totten versus United States, the Supreme Court ruling in 1876, dealt with a secret contract where Abraham Lincoln, President Lincoln, had an individual working in an underground capacity. Upon the death of this individual, there was a lawsuit that emanated from those services, and from there came the decision that secret contracts are unenforceable and not eligible for adjudication. So the Totten doctrine, in essence, bars the judiciary from adjudicating disputes arising out of secret government contracts. Now, that is in 1876. Now we have come to an intelligence community where we have many intelligence operatives that believe they have been wronged. If they attempt to adjudicate these matters or seek relief through the courts, the Totten doctrine is simply cited and they are barred from any further adjudicative action. What the Traficant amendment would do, and I understand the point of germaneness here, but there must be some commitment coming from the leadership of intelligence if we are to do anything about the camaraderie and the ability to have good field operatives. We must look at the Traficant amendment. Now, let me just close out here. The amendment calls for a three-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court in the U.S. District Court of Appeals in the Nation's Capital. They would review these claims, they would have the option of saying there is meritorious claim here or not.…”