Congressional Record—Senate S10856
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
S10856 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 10, 2008 This statement summarizes some of my ef- Without going into the issues of position to speak for himself. But by forts to maintain a strong U.S.-Israel rela- politicization, they were rampant dur- analogy to the Gonzales tenure, I think tionship, to strengthen Israel as a key stra- ing the tenure of Attorney General it is imperative we be sure the Attor- tegic partner, and to promote an Israel-Syria peace treaty. Active participation by the Gonzales. I refer to an article, coau- ney General of the United States does Clinton Administration enabled the parties thored by the current chairman of the not bend his views to accommodate his to come very close to an accord in 1995 and committee and myself, which appeared appointer; that the Attorney General 2000. Israel potentially has much to gain if not too long ago in Politico, on Octo- does not bend his views in any way Lebanon is a strong, independent nation ber 28, 2008, where we said in part: which is partisan or political, to serve without undue Syrian influence or Hezbollah The Attorney General must be someone any interest other than the interests of domination. If Syria stopped supporting who deeply appreciates and respects the justice. Hamas, that entity committed to the de- work and commitment of the thousands of struction of Israel, might be sufficiently As noted in the article cited in Polit- men and women who work in the branches weakened to enable the Palestinian Author- ico, where you have the professionals and divisions of the Justice Department, day ity to negotiate a Peace Treaty with Israel. in and day out, without regard to politics or in the Department of Justice, they A corollary benefit could be to drive a wedge ideology, doing their best to enforce the law wouldn’t even meet with attorneys for between Syria and Iran. Mr. Rich, they thought it was such an For reasons amplified in my Senate floor and promote justice. statement on June 16, 2006 and my article in With respect to Attorney General open-and-shut case, and were opposed— The Washington Quarterly’s Winter 2006–2007 designate Holder, there is no doubt he at least according to information pro- issue entitled ‘‘Dialogue with Adversaries,’’ I comes to this nomination with an out- vided. This is all to be brought out at am firmly convinced that aggressive diplo- standing record, for the most part. Not a hearing. But to run counter to the macy holds the key to resolving inter- views of the professionals is a major national disputes, including the Mideast without question but for the most part. He has an excellent educational back- red flag which has to be inquired into peace process, and should be employed by the and inquired into with some depth. new Administration. ground from Columbia: undergrad and Then we have the situation where At- f law degree, a trial attorney in the De- partment of Justice, an associate judge torney General Reno recused herself on ATTORNEY GENERAL DESIGNATE of the Superior Court of the District of the issue of appointing an independent ERIC HOLDER Columbia, U.S. attorney, Deputy At- counsel to investigate alleged—and I Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, I torney General, Acting Attorney Gen- emphasize alleged—illegal fundraising further sought recognition to comment eral—a very distinguished re´sume´, by Vice President Albert Gore out of briefly about the scheduling of the which I have recited. the White House. There was the rel- hearing for Attorney General designate But there are questions which have atively notorious incident where the Eric Holder. to be inquired into fairly, as already Vice President was at a meeting and In looking toward the hearing proc- noted in the commentaries of the drank a lot of ice tea and absented ess, I am looking for a very construc- media on the editorial pages. There has himself from certain parts of the meet- tive engagement to determine the been considerable publicity about the ing where he was not able to—or had a qualifications of Mr. Holder. There is pardon of Marc Rich. There was a case rationale for not knowing certain no intent on my part or on the part of involving Mr. Rich, who was a fugitive, things. any of my colleagues on the Repub- who had given very substantial sums of I questioned Attorney General Reno lican side of the aisle to engage in par- money to entities connected to the in detail about that during Judiciary tisan sniping. As I say, we intend to be President. The regular procedures for a Committee hearings and she said: Well, constructive and not destructive. We pardon were bypassed. The Department there just wasn’t sufficient evidence. are looking to strengthen the Depart- of Justice was not consulted. The at- She had disregarded a document, a ment of Justice. torneys in the Southern District of The position of Attorney General is note taken by someone present, be- New York, which was handling the an extraordinarily important position. cause, as she said, it did not refresh Rich case, were opposed to the pardon. We have seen that during the adminis- that witness’s recollection. From my own days as district attor- tration of Attorney General Alberto I asked her about the doctrine of ney of Philadelphia, where I dealt with Gonzales, stated candidly, the Depart- prior recollection recorded, which is a celebrated cases involving people who ment was not well handled. That is a well-known exception to the hearsay were fugitives, who had fled, that is candid statement and also a very mild rule. She denied knowing about it. about as serious a matter as you could statement. find and hardly one where there would I note a frown on the face of the Pre- During the course of Attorney Gen- siding Officer, who is a distinguished eral Gonzales’ tenure, there were so be an expectation of leniency or pardon to wipe out the charge, eliminate the district attorney herself. Doubtless we many situations where the Attorney could speak at length about prior General molded his views to accommo- matter, while the defendant was in absentia. recollection recorded. I mention that date his appointer, the President of the because of the curious circumstances of United States. A great deal that went There was an extensive report filed on this issue by the House of Rep- what happened there. There we had an on in the Department of Justice was assistant U.S. attorney named LaBella, partisan and not in the interests of the resentatives Committee on Govern- ment Reform, the 107th Congress, sec- who was asked to take on the job of work of the Department or in the in- making a recommendation. According terests of the American people. ond session. It is available for anyone to read. There are quite a number of to the information provided to me, he We have seen, since 9/11/2001, a vast made a recommendation for an inde- extension of Executive authority. We very serious questions involving what pendent counsel and the professionals found the terrorist surveillance pro- happened with Mr. Holder and the peo- in the Department asked for an inde- gram was initiated by the President ple involved there. pendent counsel, and it was overruled. without consultation under the tradi- The concern that arises is why Mr. tion of notifying the chairman, which I Holder lent the recommendation, I am not going to comment about Mr. was during the 109th Congress, or the which has been characterized as neu- Holder’s role. Let him respond to that ranking member. We found there was tral leaning in favor, in this context. I and let us take that up in due course. an engagement with the telephone come to no conclusions on the matter. But here again is a potential situation companies to engage in electronic sur- I approach this matter, as I try to ap- where the interests of justice and ob- veillance, again without notifying the proach all matters, with an open mind. jectivity were not followed in the high- chairman or ranking member of the But in an extensive interview with Mr. est levels of the Department of Justice Judiciary Committee and without noti- Holder he has presented his views. I when Mr. Holder was in charge, with fying the intelligence committees of don’t think it is useful to get into the the Attorney General, Attorney Gen- both Houses, as mandated by law. Fur- specifics as to the precise concerns eral Reno, having recused herself. ther was the expansion of signing which I raised and his precise answers. There are many other matters which statements all during the tenure of the Let that await a day where we have a warrant inquiry, and I will not take Attorney General. hearing and where Mr. Holder is in a the time to go into them now. They are VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:16 Dec 11, 2008 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A10DE6.009 S10DEPT1 December 10, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10857 referenced in a letter which eight Re- 9. The Department of Justice’s investiga- a privilege of any kind, describe each such publican members of the Senate Judi- tion into the 1993 confrontation at the Mt. document by date, author(s), addressee(s), ciary Committee sent to Attorney Gen- Carmel Complex in Waco, Texas; recipient(s), title, and subject matter, and 10. Any clemency or non-clemency related eral Mukasey, requesting information set forth the nature of the claimed privilege matter regarding Marc Rich, Pincus Green, with respect to each document.