Political Quotes

“today the Senate is considering one of the most troubling executive branch nominations that this President has made to date--the nomination of Brian Benczkowski to lead the Criminal Division of the Justice Department. For years, I have studied and have been aware of the Criminal Division. This is an amazing nomination. I think it is enough to oppose Mr. Benczkowski's nomination because he is objectively unqualified for this important position, but there are also compelling reasons to believe that it would be uniquely reckless to confirm him to this position. Now, speaking about Mr. Benczkowski's lack of qualifications for this role is not meant to denigrate. Many of us know him, as I did, from his service in the Judiciary Committee as the staff director for the then Ranking Member Jeff Sessions. The fact is, this nominee to head the Criminal Division has virtually no criminal law experience. Even at this age, he has never tried a case. He has never served as a prosecutor. He has almost zero courtroom experience. Instead, his experience has been to serve as a political aide to various officials. As a former prosecutor, I know there is no substitute for actual courtroom experience, actually going into a courtroom and trying a criminal case, arguing criminal cases on appeal, determining whether you bring a charge or don't bring a charge. These are things an experienced prosecutor has to do.…”