Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am announcing my intent to object to any unanimous consent request to proceed to the nomination of John Bradford Wiegmann to be the General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), subject to the Department of Justice fulfilling its commitment to me to provide a list of certain legal opinions. Opinions of the Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) carry enormous weight, guiding government agencies and providing legal bases for entire programs. They have precedential value, continuing in force from administration to administration. Yet Congress and the public have limited insight into these opinions. The potential risks of this secret law are most apparent in the world of intelligence, where the OLC wrote opinions green-lighting warrantless surveillance and torture without the oversight or awareness of the congressional intelligence communities. In December 2023, I made a modest request of the Justice Department. Christopher Fonzone, then ODNI General Counsel, had been nominated to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of OLC. I asked him for a list of OLC opinions directed to an element of the intelligence community and any other opinions related to surveillance authorities. The Department of Justice then committed to responding to my request ``as expeditiously and thoroughly as possible.'' Nine months later, I have not received the list. It is my intent to lift the hold on Mr.…”