Political Quotes

“A question I have with regard to an issue that was raised by my friend a few minutes ago, my friend, my distinguished colleague, the senior Senator from Illinois, touches upon an important point, upon a principle of law which dates back centuries and has application in myriad contexts, one that deals with the concept of imminence. My friend from Illinois is certainly correct in pointing out the white paper leaked by the Obama Department of Justice to the news media recently does include some analysis that talks about imminence. It is significant, however, to point out, on page 7 of that white paper the administration goes on to essentially eviscerate that concept of imminence. In fact it makes clear that this condition, that is the condition dealing with imminence, with the idea of protecting an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States ``does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future.'' That is at the top of the first full paragraph on page 7 of the very same white paper that my friend from Illinois was quoting. In response to that question, it is important to point out that they have taken the imminence out of imminent. There is no more imminence in this standard. So if, in fact, we are to believe the white paper is the correct assessment of the administration's position, it is no longer an imminent standard. It is something else.…”