Patrick Leahy

It's reassuring to have someone of your stature, intellect, and experience, which is extraordinarily important as the top American diplomat.

It is very rare in a Supreme Court opinion that a Justice provides a road map to Congress as to what to do.

But I would urge you to also consider legislation that addresses the jurisdictional issue.

I would like to go forward in a nonpartisan commission, as I have said before, but that is going to require support from both sides of the aisle, one that could get to all the truth of what happened.

The rule of law in the United States means that no one is above the law--none of us as Senators, nobody in this room, and not the President of the United States.

It was America that provided the model of a Nation that would not engage in such practices.

It was America that led the world in the recognition of human dignity and human rights.

I wish he would testify before us to help complete the record, and opining on why he refused, it is appropriate in this case because he has not done anything but maintain silence about it.

It is one of the most important hearings the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold this year.

I invited him to come forward to tell the truth, the complete truth, before the Committee.

Let us listen to the witnesses who are going to be testifying rather than raising hypotheses and facts really not in the record.

I applaud Chairman Whitehouse for doing this.

I'm not quite sure how I see you doing this--how you get away from no more cross-leveling, and the rating.

What I have been concerned about are the increased use of roadside bombs.

I would add, again, Secretary and General, that I don't raise this just out of a parochial concern for the 1,800 from Vermont, but for obviously, for everybody who is there.

I know you both know the 86th Mountain Brigade, that's upward of 1,800 very proud citizen soldiers from the Vermont Army National Guard are going to begin a deployment, either end of this year or early next year, to Afghanistan.

We've written to you on the question of more transparency of where equipment goes--we appropriate the money for it, and we kind of lose sight as it comes off the assembly line, where it goes.

The task forces can be very helpful. But many times they need the kind of funding that comes from your office.

We owe them our gratitude and our honor, but we also owe them our commitment to do whatever we can to help them in their vital mission.

I want to emphasize what Senator Sessions said about the joint task force and all.

The Federal Government could not get it out or act quickly enough.

This is National Police Week. We are going to pay tribute to the men and women who work every day to protect our communities, our schools, and our homes.

I am not convinced that just providing bodies, small numbers of police bodies and certain selected few departments who are fortunate enough to win the lottery is necessarily an effective crime-fighting technique.

Experience and wisdom will benefit all Americans.

I hope you felt that it has been a fairly conducted hearing. That has been my goal.