Patrick Leahy

We gave unprecedented powers to the administration. I've never known any administration, Republican or Democrat, when the Congress has just said, 'Here, here's a blank check.'

We went to war in Iraq for a lot of reasons that turned out not to be valid.

The Vice President repeatedly tried to link Saddam Hussein with 9/11.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I would like a detailed report, and perhaps a briefing, of where that is.

Are you aware--are you, Mr. Secretary--aware of reports that Iraqi women detainees in U.S. custody were assaulted or raped?

Are there any plans, tentative or otherwise, when that day comes, for us to stay in Iraq?

You've said, and all have said, that we want the Iraqis to be able to take over----

So have you ruled out the establishment of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq?

Now, does the Pentagon--Mr. Secretary, does the Pentagon plan to maintain any permanent military bases or combat troops in Iraq?

Aren't we adding more billions to the deficit? More than the White House wants the American people to know about?

My point was that this--the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on these wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are not in our budgets when we talk about the size of the budget.

You said it's beyond your pay grade. Well, unless you exclude the Commander in Chief, there's nothing beyond your pay grade in the Department of Defense; you're the Secretary of Defense, you're the one who's supposed to make that decision.

You knew the war's going to go on a lot longer.

I wonder if some of the planners were simply listening to some of the rosy scenarios coming out of the administration that somehow we're going to be greeted as liberators when we came in there.

Now, the White House has put tens of billions of dollars for continuing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan off budget.

I have worked with Mike Chertoff and appreciate his background as a prosecutor. He is very capable. He works hard. What one sees when you consider his career is that much of the time he acts as a consummate professional in our best…

I might say, I worked with Sir Paul and his wife on the issue of landmines and landmine removal. I must admit that he has aged better than some of us who were Beatle fans when he first started. He has his own hair, among other things. The…

Does that mean--it just boggles the mind-- this goes way beyond the wildest dreams, for example, of J. Edgar Hoover. Does that mean, for example, if somebody in the press criticizes the chairman or if a constituent wrote in and criticized…

The Justice Department in the first Bush term was the least accountable Justice Department in my lifetime. Meaningful oversight and accountability were thwarted for years. We will be looking to see if Judge Gonzales intends to change that.

The Judiciary Committee and the Governmental Affairs Committee have a shared history of working together to preserve privacy and civil liberties, and to promote open and accountable government. Our committee members have developed…

We all recognized that we were giving this Board substantial responsibility. Given the enormous powers we were granting the government, we needed a Board capable of counter-balancing these powers. But we also know that this does not end…

If I might respond to that, if we were doing this right, we would not have brought out something put together behind closed doors. I am not accusing the Senator from Connecticut of doing that, but we suddenly have this thing plopped on our…

The fact is, they are a distinct entity within homeland security. We have carved out that distinct entity for the Secret Service because of their law enforcement role.

I concur about the seriousness of these locust swarms. Hunger and famine increase the susceptibility to malaria and other dangerous diseases, and we must help our friends in West Africa fight the spread of locusts. I will call on the USAID…