Political Quotes

“Today we received a report from the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility about their investigation of allegations of politicized hiring and other improper personnel actions in the Civil Rights Division. I held hearings on this situation. At the time, there was a Mr. Bradley Schlozman who testified. I stated, at the time, that I did not find his testimony credible. Today's report confirms some of our worst fears about the Bush administration's political corruption of the Justice Department. Not only did senior Republican appointees violate Federal law by hiring based on politics in the Civil Rights Division, they also lied about it. Indeed, they lied about it under oath when they were called to explain themselves to Congress. I am particularly disturbed about the findings that a senior Justice Department appointee, a very senior Justice Department appointee, Bradley Schlozman, made false statements under oath when appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Lying to Congress undermines the very core of our constitutional principles and blunts the American people's right to open and transparent Government. It is one thing to have a witness come and say they disagree with the Members of Congress. That is fine. Everybody has a constitutional right to do that. Nobody has a right to lie under oath. Nobody has the right to break the law.”