Senator Byrd on the Alberto Gonzales nomination for A.G.

[Martin Eden]

The Senior Democrat absolutely nails it with this speech!

Respecting the Spirit and Letter of the Law

On the Nomination of Alberto Gonzales to be Attorney General of the United States
by U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0202-32.htm

excerpts:
In praising his nomination of Alberto Gonzales, the President specifically stressed the quintessential “leadership” role that Alberto Gonzales has held in providing the President with legal advice on the war on terror. The President stated specifically that it was his “sharp intellect and sound judgment” that “helped shape our policies in the war on terror.” According to the President, Alberto Gonzales is one of his closest friends who, again in the words of the President, “always gives me his frank opinion.”

Imagine, then how perplexing and disheartening it has been to review the responses, or should I say, lack thereof, that were provided by Alberto Gonzales to Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee at his confirmation hearing on January 6. It seemed as if, once seated before the committee, Judge Gonzales forgot that he had, in fact, been the President’s top legal advisor for the past four years.
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When asked his specific recollection of weighty matters, Judge Gonzalez could provide only vague recollections of what might have been discussed in meetings of monumental importance, even during a time of war. He could not remember what he advised in discussions interpreting the U.S. law against torture, or the power of the president to ignore laws passed by Congress -- discussions which resulted in decisions that reversed over 200 years of legal and constitutional precedents relied on by 42 prior Presidents. That’s pretty hard to believe.
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The second but equally shocking and erroneous legal conclusion reached in the so-called “torture” memorandum states, “We find that in the circumstances of the current war against al Queda and its allies, prosecution under Section 2340A <– the relevant provision of U.S. law prohibiting torture –> may be barred because enforcement of the statute would represent an unconstitutional infringement of the President’s authority to conduct war” as the Commander-in-Chief. This means the White House believed that a President can simply “override” the U.S. law prohibiting torture, just because he disagrees with it. He can ignore the law by proclaiming, in his own mind, that the law is unconstitutional. Not because a court of the United States has found the law to be unconstitutional, but because a war-time President decides he simply does not want to be bound by it.
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This outrageously broad interpretation of Executive Authority is so antithetical to the carefully calibrated system of checks and balances conceived by the Founding Fathers, it seems inconceivable that it could be seriously contemplated by any so-called legal expert, much less attorneys of the U.S. Justice Department or the White House Counsel.

Has this White House no appreciation for the struggle that this nation endured upon its creation? Can it really believe that a President can circumvent the will of the people and their Legislature by adopting and disseminating a legal interpretation that would, in the end, protect from prosecution those who commit torture in violation of U.S. law?
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According to Art. II, Sec. 3 of the United States Constitution, as head of the Executive Branch, the President has a legal duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. The Constitution does not say that the President “should” or “may” undertake that responsibility: it clearly states that the President “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” He is duty-bound to undertake that responsibility under the Constitution of the United States. And the President and his Counsel must be held accountable for not only failing to faithfully execute our laws, but for trying to undermine, contravene, and gut them.

With such a track record, how can we possibly trust this man to be the Attorney General of the United States? What sort of judgment has he exhibited?

As I stated with respect to Dr. Rice, there needs to be accountability in our government. There needs to be accountability for the innumerable blunders, bad decisions, and warped policies that have led the United States to the position in which we now find ourselves: trapped in Iraq amid increased violence; disgraced by detainee abuses first in Guantanamo, then in Afghanistan, Iraq, and probably in locations we have yet to discover; shunned by our allies; and perceived by the world community, rightly, as careening down the wrong path.

I do not believe our nation can rely on the judgment of a public official with so little respect for the rule of law. We cannot rely on the judgment of someone with so little regard for our constitutional system of government. I simply cannot support the nomination of someone who, despite his assertions to the contrary, obviously contributed in large measure to the atrocious policy failures and the contrived and abominable legal decisions that have flowed from this White House over the past four years. For all of these reasons, I have no choice but to vote against the nomination of Alberto Gonzales to be the next Attorney General of the United States.

The entire speech is well worth reading:
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0202-32.htm

[sundancekid]

1. thanks for posting this -- it's a GREAT read, on a timely evening

alternative to the bushevik "lies, more lies, and NO videotapes"

[Laurab]

2. My favorite line:

"What an astounding assertion! Think of it! A President placing himself above the law, in effect, crowning himself King".



I watched Senator Byrd, who is quite old, and seemed shaky, but it certainly didn't affect the power of his speech or his knowledge - that line just made my day.

[peacetalksforall]

3. Now here is a man that will leave a legacy. To grow up a racist and

convert. To protect our law so eloquently. He is a hero on any day of the week.

[90-percent]

4. Byrd

Oh, if there were only more great statesmen like Byrd in the Senate. Those with actual knowledge of American history and principles. That have real and political courage.

The current principles of this administration seem to be striving to emulate Joeseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler more than Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington.

-85%