On the recordJune 28, 2012
I thank the gentleman. I served for many years on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. I've been involved in a lot of these investigations over time. I served for many years on the House Ethics Committee. The Congress should be embarrassed about the conduct of this investigation and the charade that brings us to the floor today. The Attorney General can't provide these documents. The President has protected them under executive order, executive privilege, which means that the person who works for the President can't provide them to the Congress. We all know that. So to take a decent man who's served his country in almost every capacity--as a military veteran, as a U.S. attorney here in D.C., as a judge--and to drag his name wrongfully before this House, this majority, which clearly has lost its way--in their pursuit of power, they have lost all sense of principle--this is a disgraceful act. But we will get through it. We are a big country, and the American people will recognize the disservice that the Republican majority brings to this floor today. I wouldn't be surprised, at the end of the day, whether we couldn't even find this Congress held in more contempt than it is now. I think we're at a 9 percent approval rate. That's because of the actions of this majority. And the public will have to take account of that as we go forward.
