Political Quotes

“So, contrary to what the bill sponsors claim, they have not incorporated the administration's requests, and the current language does not remove the risk of impeding intelligence investigations or prosecutions of terrorist suspects. As currently written, the language in this bill would authorize the military to indefinitely detain individuals--including U.S. citizens-- without charge or trial. I am fundamentally opposed to indefinite detention, and certainly when the detainee is a U.S. citizen held without charge. It contradicts the most basic principles of law that I subscribed to when I was a prosecutor, and it severely weakens our credibility when we criticize other governments for engaging in similar conduct. I fought against the Bush administration policies that left us in the situation we face now, with indefinite detention being the de facto administration policy, and I strongly opposed President Obama's Executive order on detention when it was announced last March because it contemplated, if not outright endorsed, indefinite detention. I am also deeply troubled by the mandatory military detention requirements included in this bill, which I believe dangerously undermine our national security. In the fight against al-Qaida and other terrorist threats, we should be giving our intelligence, military, and law enforcement professionals all the tools they need-- not limiting those tools. But limiting them is exactly what this bill does.…”