Proposing a "No Man Above the Law" Project

[BurtWorm]

In search of quotes in which prominent Americans made a statement to the effect that "no man is above the law, not even the president." Circa 1997-1999 is a ripe place to find them.

For starters, from wikipedia.org:


"I will have no part in the creation of a constitutional double-standard to benefit the President. He is not above the law. If an ordinary citizen committed these crimes, he would go to jail." (Bill Frist)

"This nation sits at a crossroads. One direction points to the higher road of the rule of law. Sometimes hard, sometimes unpleasant, this path relies on truth, justice and the rigorous application of the principle that no man is above the law. Now, the other road is the path of least resistance. This is where we start making exceptions to our laws based on poll numbers and spin control. This is when we pitch the law completely overboard when the mood fits us, when we ignore the facts in order to cover up the truth.

No man is above the law, and no man is below the law. That's the principle that we all hold very dear in this country." (Tom Delay)

"I suggest impeachment is like beauty: apparently in the eye of the beholder. But I hold a different view. And it's not a vengeful one, it's not vindictive, and it's not craven. It's just a concern for the Constitution and a high respect for the rule of law. ... as a lawyer and a legislator for most of my very long life, I have a particular reverence for our legal system. It protects the innocent, it punishes the guilty, it defends the powerless, it guards freedom, it summons the noblest instincts of the human spirit.

The rule of law protects you and it protects me from the midnight fire on our roof or the 3 a.m. knock on our door." (Henry Hyde)




Please add any such quotes you've come across. :patriot:

[electropop]

1. Great collection!

Feingold should be saying these regularly - with attribution.

[ck4829]

2. Whole list of quotes

http://impeachpac.org/?q=node/111

Conservative

[BurtWorm]

4. I'll bet there are some choice words from the gasbags and pundits

on the subject.

[devilgrrl]

3. Say, isn't that what wingnut attorney Larry Klayman does???

Going after those whom believe that they're above the law? Huh, Larry? Nobody's above the law but rightwing neo-con assholes in the Bush administration, right Larry? :sarcasm:

[BurtWorm]

5. David Limbaugh: On Congress's duty to check the Executive

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=18983


"When the entire executive branch is unleashed by presidential edict to commit this kind of mischief, our freedoms are gravely compromised. These freedoms depend on our adherence to the rule of law, a maxim holding that we are a government of laws, not men. This means that no man is above the law, and that government itself is restrained by law. Clinton's raid <on Elian Gonzalez's relative's home> violated both of these precepts.

"But checks and balances don't spring forth automatically. They depend on the integrity, courage and action of those entrusted with their enforcement. If one branch of government refuses to live within its constitutionally prescribed powers, it falls upon the other branches to hold it in check. If they don't, no one else will. If they don't, the president is given a green light to wield his power arbitrarily and commit further abuses, and we gravitate ever closer to tyranny. In terms of damage to the Republic, there is very little difference between a president abusing his power and a Congress abdicating its power -- its duty to hold the chief executive accountable."

[BurtWorm]

6. Kick