Political Quotes

“Mr. President, absent Senate action, at midnight tonight, this Senate will make one of the biggest mistakes in surveillance policy in years and years. Without a single congressional hearing, without a shred of meaningful public input, without any opportunity for Senators to ask their questions in a public forum, one judge with one warrant would be able to authorize the hacking of thousands--possibly millions--of devices, cell phones, and tablets. This would come about through the adoption of an obscure rule of criminal procedure called rule 41. Rule 41 isn't something folks are talking about in coffee shops in Alaska, in Oregon, and in other parts of the country, but I am convinced Americans are sure going to come to Members of Congress if one of their hospitals-- one of their crucial medical programs--is hacked by the government. It is a fact that one of the highest profile victims of cyber attacks are medical facilities, our hospitals. The Justice Department has said this is no big deal. You basically ought to trust us. We are just going to take care of this. I will tell you, generally, changes to the Federal rules of procedure are designed for modest, almost housekeeping kinds of procedural changes, not major shifts in policies. When you are talking about these kinds of rules, they talk about who might receive a copy of a document in a bankruptcy proceeding. That is what the Rules Enabling Act was for.…”