Political Quotes

“Madam President, the Attorney General of the United States holds a vital and also somewhat unique position in the Federal Government. The Attorney General of the United States is tasked with significant responsibilities that must be executed independently, sometimes even in defiance of the White House's wishes and interests. The Attorney General of the United States is tasked with enforcing our laws fairly, justly, and evenhandedly, as well as with protecting the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans of all persuasions, of all backgrounds. The Attorney General of the United States does not work for the President so much as for the people and does not serve the administration so much as the law. I have served in the U.S. Department of Justice. I have felt its esprit de corps, its pride. That pride is founded on a firm sense of the Department's willingness to stand on what is right, even against the wishes of the White House. One fine example of this was Attorney General Ashcroft challenging and refusing to accede to the wishes of the White House on the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping of Americans. The Department of Justice is well aware of the importance of its independence. A successful Attorney General must be stalwart in protecting the Department from political meddling by the administration or by Congress.…”