Orrin Hatch: “I wish to respond to some of the extraordinary remarks President Clinton made during the recent congressional recess on…”

“I wish to respond to some of the extraordinary remarks President Clinton made during the recent congressional recess on crime and judicial appointments. Let me note, again, that there is simply no substitute, as a practical matter, for the sound exercise of Presidential judgment in nominating persons to lifetime Federal judgeships. I find President Clinton's remarks on April 2--which have been echoed by Vice President Gore and by White House aides--concerning the administration's record on judges to be a remarkable effort to dodge the consequences of his own judicial selections and to deflect the attention of the American people from these selections. I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight and to dispel the administration's myths they are attempting to weave to protect their judges and themselves. myth no. 1 The President said, regarding criticism of his judicial selections, that this side is ``sort of embarrassed'' by our crime record. Vice President Gore repeated this assertion before a group of newspaper editors, and Jack Quinn, the White House counsel, echoed it in yesterday's USA Today. This simply is not true, no matter how many times the President repeats himself. And this from a President AWOL-- absent without leadership--in the war on drugs.”