Political Quotes

“First of all, let me say we had hearings on this last February and March. We had language in our bill which we passed in May. This issue has been thoroughly debated. Now, I've heard a couple of times that the Judiciary Committee has not heard this issue. This has been going on for 10 years under both Democratic and Republican control. I don't know why the Judiciary Committee has not chosen to have hearings on this issue, but that's hardly our fault. We have. We've had endless discussions on this. It has, in fact, been debated. And let me also say that I am very concerned about these very issues. On our committee, I have been one of the strongest voices of concern. I support closing Guantanamo. I know a lot of people don't. I think we should have all of the suspects here in the U.S. and that we should try them. I also strongly believe that the criminal justice system has to be part of how we combat al Qaeda. I have heard the argument. People say, this is a war, not a criminal matter. Why are we bothering with things like article III courts? I disagree with that and have spoken out publicly and strongly and in many cases even when popular support has been on the other side of issues like closing of Guantanamo. I care deeply about this issue; and from the very start, I fought hard to protect precisely the things Mr. Nadler is referencing. I fought hard in the conference committee to make sure they were protected, and they were.…”