I have been paying attention the the senate's web sites and their press releases. I diaried about him http://www.dailykos.com/... a couple of weeks ago. He hasn't failed yet. Yesterdays hearings were amazing. In this Diary, there was a great link to the audio clips. 1 2 3
The hearing was great... But this PR is just beautiful.
This is his statement
http://leahy.senate.gov/...
Today, this Committee holds an important hearing to examine the operations of the Department of Justice – the federal agency entrusted with ensuring the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. I take our oversight responsibility very seriously.
Restoring Privacy and Civil Liberties
In the 32 years since I first came to the Senate – during the era of Watergate and Vietnam – I have never seen a time when our Constitution and fundamental rights as Americans were more threatened by their own government. Just this last weekend, the President and Vice President indicated that they intended to override the will of the American people, as expressed in the most recent national elections, and ignore actions of Congress in order to escalate the war in Iraq. This Administration has circumvented express congressional prohibitions on creating databanks of information on law-abiding Americans over the last five years.
The bold is all mine. So they are breaking the law...for the last five years. The Republicans did not want anything to do with this. They punted away our civil liberties.
The President has issued signing statement after signing statement declaring the law to be not what Congress passed and he has signed, but what he finds convenient. And, regrettably, the Administration has all too often refused to answer the legitimate oversight questions of the duly-elected representatives of the American people. Unfortunately, this Justice Department has been complicit in advancing these government policies which threaten our basic liberties and overstep the bounds of our Constitution.
Human Rights
The Department has also played a pivotal role, in my view, in eroding basic human rights and undercutting America’s leading role as an advocate for human rights throughout the world. Last week, the world marked the fifth anniversary of the arrival of the first prisoners at Guantanamo Bay with protests. That facility has replaced Abu Ghraib in the eyes of many, including some of our closest allies, as a symbol of repression.
This Justice Department has been GW Bush's personal lawyer/advocate. He has done nothing for the American people, just covering his life long friend's ass. Remember it took John Dean Nixon's White House Counsel stepped up and told the truth. But Bush learned from history... He kept those positions for his closest friends and the republican congress did not care if Gonzales would do his job. http://www.usdoj.gov/...
Mission Statement
To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.
I don't think he has been doing his Job.
I remain disappointed that the Department of Justice and the White House have continued to refuse to provide the requested documents to the Committee.
We have a democratic government in which Congress is entitled to know and review government actions. The President and Vice President of the United States should not be operating a secret and separate regime in which their official acts and policies cannot be known by the people’s elected representatives.
...
And, after the Administration and the Republican-led Congress eviscerated the Great Writ of habeas corpus -- not just for detainees but for millions of permanent residents living in the United States -- this Department of Justice filed a legal brief expressly supporting that result, raising the specter that millions living in the United States today can now be subjected to indefinite government detention.
Civil Rights and Crime
...
Despite mounting evidence of widespread corruption, contracting fraud and billions unaccounted for, the Department of Justice has not brought a single criminal case against a corporate contractor in Iraq.
The Department must also do better at addressing the dangers that Americans face at home. According to the FBI’s preliminary crime statistics for the first half of 2006, violent crimes in the United States rose, again. Some of us are concerned that this Administration has forgotten the lessons that led to our success during the Clinton years and that the rise in violent crime is related to this Administration’s $2 billion cut in aid to state and local law enforcement programs. While it is more than willing to spend more and more American taxpayers’ funds for police in Iraq, this Administration is cutting back funding for our state and local police at home.
Conclusion
This Committee has a special stewardship role to protect our most cherished rights and liberties as Americans and to make sure that our fundamental freedoms are preserved for future generations. There is much work to be done to repair the damage inflicted on our Constitution and civil liberties during the last six years.
Checks and Balances. Something this administration knows nothing about. A pure power grab, I wonder how this administration is going to act when a spotlight is shined on their incompetence /lawbreaking. I only hope that we have a new "Deep Throat" willing to out this president and his cabal. I don't think there is much chance of that. Maybe Libby will. I doubt it.
NY Times
WaPost
He released a statement on the 17th, before the hearing.
Here is the link.
He has a PDF of the letter Justice sent him.