Summer Lee

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for your courtesies. Thank you to the Ranking Member and other Members who are here on the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance and this hearing of examination of clemency at the Department of…

Thank you all for being here today. This has been such an illuminating and important conversation for us to have.

So, whatever preference or bias could have been imposed, we should ask that Republican-appointed U.S. Attorney what his or her reasoning might have been in this instance of him.

I hope we can find common ground on one conspicuous set of facts is that the backlog is just unacceptable.

We need to invest in the people and tech needed to ensure that our constituents get the service they are owed from their government.

Republicans have starved these agencies' resources for more than a decade, and the current backlog is turning routine applications into emergencies.

It is our most vulnerable populations, the low income, the people of color, and the elderly, who suffer the most when our agencies cannot do their jobs.

As Members of Congress, we have a duty to ensure that our government is both funded and functional.

I was really baffled by a filing of articles of impeachment for what is really both a historical fact.

We are actually in an era, in a decade, maybe 2, of the greatest migration.

We need to be a major positive force in those regions.

You mentioned earlier during your testimony that the failures identified during your investigation, that if they were not addressed, they would result in national security risks and continued public lack of confidence in our institutions…

So, it solely rests with the government, the responsibility to ensure that this power, that this surveillance power that is being used is being done in a way that is appropriate and compliant with the law.

As a former Federal prosecutor, I want to begin by telling you how much I appreciate your work, that of your team, and your presence here today.

It seems that rather than having--an independent investigation there was a lot of interaction between the Attorney General and the special prosecutor--which shows that the Attorney General was actively directing your work.

Yes, and independent. They're supposed to be independent. Is that correct?

You value the independence of a Special Counsel, do you not?

That's why I reintroduced the VA Zero Suicide Demonstration Project Act in March 2023, alongside my colleague, Representative Tony Gonzales.

We need to do more to advance suicide prevention efforts among veterans across our communities--keeping in mind the truth that even one suicide is too many.

After Years of Political Hype the Durham Inquiry Failed to Deliver.

It starts with Republican pro-gun obsession that seizes every opportunity to prevent agencies, like the ATF and the FBI, from enforcing regulations.

No basis for the Secretary to be impeached but go right ahead.

We have got to come together as a country and stop scaring our constituents because America is getting more diverse...

It never fails that whenever Republican administration is in, my Republican friends are in the Majority, there is an enormous crisis, and the Executive does nothing.

It is undeniable that we have a national security and a humanitarian crisis at our Southern Border.