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Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Members of the U.S. Senate don't typically earn money from another job after they're elected to the august body because of concerns that they will be unduly influenced by customers or colleagues. Oklahoma pro-life Sen. Tom Coburn is an OBGYN and is coming under fire for helping his patients. When he is not in Washington, Coburn works at the Muskogee Regional Medical Center. The hospital changed from a public one to private ownership in April and, following that decision, Coburn has come under fire for working there. However, Coburn changed his practice and now delivers babies...

At last there's a liberal who's tough on terrorism: Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont). Too bad it's make-believe. Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a man who's done everything in his power to obstruct President George W. Bush's efforts to fight Islamofascist terrorism, has a cameo appearance in The Dark Knight.The Hill reports that in the movie Leahy confronts Batman's nemesis, the Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger. (See screen capture above from a clip of the movie on youtube.com.) "We're not intimidated by thugs," Leahy says. "You know you remind me of my father. I hated my father,"...

WASHINGTON — After four years pursuing one former Army scientist on a costly false trail, F.B.I. agents investigating the deadly anthrax letters of 2001 finally zeroed in last year on a different suspect: another Army scientist from the same biodefense research center at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md. /snip The other puzzle involved the skills necessary to produce the high-quality aerosol powder contained in the letters addressed to the senators, Tom Daschle .. and .. Patrick J. Leahy. Scientists familiar with germ warfare said there was no evidence that Dr. Ivins, though a vaccine expert with easy access to the...

Last week’s daring rescue of 15 Colombian hostages held by the Marxist FARC has been universally hailed as a triumph of military strategy. But at least one group besides the gulled guerilla jailers looks diminished in its aftermath: Congressional Democrats. While Colombia’s military will rightly reap praise for the rescue, the operation was in no small measure an American achievement. In addition to U.S. satellite intelligence that pinpointed the FARC guerillas’ jungle location, Colombian security forces have benefited from $4 billion in American aid since 2002. For this assistance – so vital in last week’s events – Colombia does not...

Two U.S. senators called on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to back off its assertion that it can search laptops and other electronic devices owned by U.S. citizens returning to the country without the need for reasonable suspicion of a crime or probable cause. Senators Russell Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, and Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, both urged CBP to reconsider its policy that apparently has lead to frequent searches of laptops, digital cameras and handheld devices at borders. "If you asked [U.S. residents] whether the government has a right to open their laptops, read their documents and e-mails,...

Don't blame us for prices - oil execsA Senate Judiciary Committee seeks answers from Big Oil execs for rising oil prices on day that crude crossed $130 a barrel. By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer Last Updated: May 21, 2008: 3:47 PM EDT NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Amid increasing public outcry over record-shattering oil and gas prices, senators on Wednesday hauled industry executives in to testify about the recent runup. **SNIP** The executives said it did, and that they are doing all they can to bring new oil supplies to market, but that the fundamental reasons for the surge in...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Friends of Sen. Chuck Hagel, the Senate's sharpest critic of President Bush's Iraq policy, say there is no chance he will endorse a Democrat for president this year. That does not mean, however, that Hagel necessarily will back the Republican candidate, his friend John McCain. That could depend on whether McCain devises an Iraq exit strategy. Hagel and McCain, who occupy offices in the same second floor corridor of the Russell Senate Office Building, have been spotted conferring on two recent occasions. A footnote: Although the conservative Hagel is an unlikely running mate for either Barack Obama...

Sen. Patrick Leahy is privately indicating interest in taking over the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee from an ailing Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) if necessary, four Democratic sources said Thursday. The Vermont Democrat, third-in-line on the panel, strongly denied those claims. But all four sources said Leahy has sent several signals to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) about the move. “It’s been going on. There have been lots of whispers in Reid’s ear,” said one Democratic source. Leahy “has tried to meet with Reid several times” about Byrd’s chairmanship, according to another source.The 90-year-old Byrd has been ailing for months, after...

Leahy Says Clinton Should Withdraw Mar 28 11:32 AM US/Eastern MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Sen. Patrick Leahy says Hillary Rodham Clinton should abandon her White House run. The Vermont Democrat says there is no way that Senator Clinton is going to win enough delegates to get the nomination. Leahy told Vermont Public Radio in an interview Wednesday that Clinton ought to withdraw and should be backing Senator Barack Obama. But Leahy said that's obviously a decision only Clinton can make. Leahy endorsed Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination in January.

Nineteen American senators are urging their government to scrap a new rule that will require travellers to show proof of citizenship and a photo identification card when entering the United States by car, boat, or on foot. The new rule takes effect on Thursday. The senators wrote a letter to Michael Chertoff, the U.S. secretary of Homeland Security, asking him to continue to allow travellers to cross land and sea borders with an official government-issued photo I.D., such as a driver's licence. As has always been practice, travellers would have to verbally state their citizenship, but would not have to...

Obama splits Black CaucusBy: Josephine Hearn Jan 17, 2008 06:03 AM EST The Clinton supporters have said their endorsements didn’t hinge on race. (Composite photo by Politico.com) Photo: AP Even though Barack Obama may become the first African-American ever to represent a major party as the nominee for president, many black lawmakers on Capitol Hill are not supporting him. And that’s creating tensions within the Congressional Black Caucus.More than a third of the black members of Congress are backing Hillary Rodham Clinton or John Edwards in the presidential primary, a stance that puts them at odds with many of their...

Sen. Patrick Leahy is preventing the Bush administration from requiring passports next year from people crossing the U.S.-Canada border and the U.S.-Mexico border by land. The Leahy-sponsored measure - rolled into the omnibus spending bill - will prevent the passport requirement from taking effect until Jan. 1, 2009 at the earliest

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has scheduled a committee vote Thursday on contempt resolutions against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former presidential political guru Karl Rove for failing to respond to subpoenas. Under Judiciary Committee rules, the vote could be postponed for a week, but Leahy said he intends to move the criminal contempt resolutions as soon as possible. Last week, he rejected the White House's executive privilege claim in preventing Rove and Bolten from appearing before his panel, calling it "overbroad, unsubstantiated, and not legally valid," setting the stage for Thursday's showdown. Rove and Bolten...

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy will vote against the nomination of Michael Mukasey as attorney general, a source close to the senator told CNN Friday. The Vermont Democrat, who is to make an announcement Friday afternoon, is the latest committee Democrat who will oppose Mukasey because of questions about his views on the interrogation technique called "waterboarding" and the president's power to order electronic surveillance.

  Home | Previous Page | Source URL: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/sep/07092403.html LifeSiteNews.com Monday September 24, 2007 Priest Blasts 'Usual Suspects' For Votes Against Pro-Life Policy FRONT ROYAL, VA, September 24, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, STL, president of Human Life International, (HLI) today blasted a gang of 16 Catholic senators for their votes on an amendment to HR 2764 to overturn the Mexico City Policy instituted by President Reagan to prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from funding overseas abortions. "For the most part it's the usual suspects who claim to be Catholic while their consistent pro-abortion votes amount to...

(CBS) Attorney General John Ashcroft launched a spirited defense of his controversial anti-terror actions Thursday, saying the Justice Department needs every policy it is using to meet that threat. Holding aloft an al-Qaida terrorism manual, the attorney general told the Senate Judiciary Committee: "We are at war with an enemy that abuses individual rights as it abuses jetliners.… Defending our nation and its citizens against terrorist attacks is now our first law enforcement priority." Ashcroft's appearance came in an atmosphere of mounting criticism by Senate Democrats that the Justice Department moved too far, too quickly, to implement a host ...

<p>".....my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to America's friends."</p> <p>WASHINGTON - Attorney General John Ashcroft vigorously defended the administration's anti-terrorism policies Thursday and suggested that critics of the Justice Department's actions were aiding the terrorists.</p>

<p>December 7, 2001 -- THE Senate Judiciary Committee convened yesterday so that chairman Patrick Leahy and his Democratic colleagues could rip into Attorney General John Ashcroft and, by extension, the entire Bush administration for their handling of the domestic-terrorism investigation and the plan for military tribunals.</p>

<p>The stampede you heard out of Washington yesterday was the sound of Senate Democrats and other liberals abandoning their two-week attack on military tribunals and Attorney General John Ashcroft. There may be some mopping up left, but this debate is over. It's one more sign that the obligation to community is reasserting itself as a core value in American politics.</p>

* Yesterday was yet another day of disappointment for many in the national press corps. * The press had worked itself into one of those frenzies it so enjoys over the spectacle of Attorney General John Ashcroft appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the issues of detaining suspected terrorists and the conduct of military tribunals.* For days members of the media had been denying themselves sleep, wearing itchy clothing, and wearing shoes a size too tight so they could match the anger, the fury, the rage, the ire of Democrats on the committee like its chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont).* ...

After 32 people were shot to death at Virginia Tech in April, the new Democratic House moved quickly to close an administrative gap that allowed the killer to buy two guns despite a history of mental troubles. It was a rare political alliance between the National Rifle Association and its foes on the left, who together seized the moment to try to make federal background checks on gun purchasers more effective. But with students back on campus the Democratic-controlled Senate has yet to act, and the bill is in jeopardy... For Democrats in Congress, this has been a frustrating year,...

Senators Plan Ways to Get Answers On Surveillance, Attorney Firings The three men on Capitol Hill who contributed the most to the downfall of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales return from vacation next week with a short list of priorities that will likely keep the Bush administration on the defensive. Instead of dulling the Senate Judiciary Committee's enthusiasm for investigating Bush administration policy, Mr. Gonzales's resignation Monday appears to have stoked it. That is despite Congress's low approval ratings and attempts by the White House to cast lawmakers as abdicating their legislative responsibilities. New potential areas for conflict include the confirmation...

Sen. Leahy Lands Role in Batman Movie BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Holy Beltway, Batman! Sen. Patrick Leahy has a part in the next Batman movie. "I don't wear tights," the Vermont Democrat said. Leahy's scene was filmed this summer for "The Dark Knight" and involves Batman, played by Christian Bale, The Joker, played by Heath Ledger, and Alfred Pennyworth, played by Michael Caine. The longtime Batman fan would reveal little about his role other than he is called the "distinguished gentleman." "It's a pretty tense scene," said Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It's going to be a very...

Vice President Dick Cheney’s office on Monday responded separately from the White House to a Senate subpoena for documents on warrantless wiretapping and resurrected the controversial contention that Cheney is not part of the executive branch. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) set Monday’s subpoena deadline after granting an extension request by the White House. Presidential counsel Fred Fielding, as expected, told Leahy in a letter that a second delay, until after Labor Day, would help Congress and the administration “expeditiously seek a means of accommodation that will negate the need for an assertion of executive privilege.” But the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A top Senate Democrat on Monday threatened to hold members of the Bush administration in contempt for not producing subpoenaed information about the legal justification for President Bush's secretive eavesdropping program. "When the Senate comes back in the session, I'll bring it up before the committee," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I prefer cooperation to contempt. Right now, there's no question that they are in contempt of the valid order of the Congress." Leahy's committee on June 27 subpoenaed the Justice Department, National Security Council and the offices of the...

A Most Unusual Family: International Music Stars Leahy Talk about Growing Up, Family, Fame, and Religion - Part 2 Family and Religion By John JalsevacTo read part 1 of the 3 part series see: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/aug/07081001.htmlA beautiful world-viewLAKEFIELD, Ontario, August 10, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - It is astonishing how much you can learn about someone in only a few hours, if only you ask the right questions, and, of course, if they are willing to answer. As my afternoon interrogating Donnell and Maria Leahy - of the world-famous Celtic band Leahy - progresses, I feel like I have been given a privileged look into the captivating...

When it comes to investigating Dems, the MSM is all Moveon.org. But when a Republican is potentially in the crosshairs, the liberal media suddenly goes Eliot Ness . . . Take the New York Times editorial of this morning, Mr. Rove Gets Out of Town, which amounts to an extended plea to Democrats to investigate Karl Rove on matters sundry. Huffs the Times:The American public needs to understand the full story of how this White House — with Mr. Rove pulling many of the strings — has spent the last six and a half years improperly and dangerously politicizing the...

A Most Unusual Family: International Music Stars Leahy Talk about Growing Up, Family, Fame, and Religion Part 1 of a 3 part feature By John JalsevacIntroductionLAKEFIELD, Ontario, August 9, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Some stories just seem too good to be true. Take the Leahys, for example. A family of 11 children who grew up working hard on the family farm, every one of them learning to play any number of instruments and mastering the art of Irish dancing in their spare time, who go on to form one of the most popular Celtic bands in music history, touring the world...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Though Congress is on vacation, majority Democrats are keeping alive various fights with the White House with one common thread: Congress' access to administration documents and testimony to which President Bush has claimed executive privilege. Smack in the middle of the August break, the White House faces a new deadline for producing subpoenaed information about the legal justification for the president's secretive eavesdropping program. And aides in both chambers are considering a selection of ways to deal with Bush's refusal to let current and former advisers testify publicly about their roles in the firings of federal prosecutors....

Sen. Patrick Leahy has mounted his high horse again and is on the warpath against all things Bush and all things Republican. It might be instructive to examine certain statements in his tirade disguised as an interview with Politico. Leahy said, "The president, with others, has stated in effect that he is a law unto himself and the president can overrule the law, the courts and congressional actions. We have seen this with regards to torture, signing statements and the president determining who will be prosecuted." For Leahy this is nothing new. Like a spoiled kid who can't always have...

WASHINGTON — Senators in both parties concede they don't have enough evidence make a perjury charge stick against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. But that doesn't mean they're going to quit trying to pry him from office. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is considering asking the Justice Department's inspector general to examine whether Gonzales' answers to questions from lawmakers amount to misconduct. "I am deeply concerned about the seriousness of his misleading testimony and the pattern that has developed with regards to the attorney general's testimony over the years," Leahy said Thursday. "At the very least, I am considering...

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday issued a subpoena for top White House adviser Karl Rove to compel him to testify about the firing of several U.S. attorneys. “The evidence shows that senior White House political operatives were focused on the political impact of federal prosecutions and whether federal prosecutors were doing enough to bring partisan voter fraud and corruption cases,” Leahy said. “It is obvious that the reasons given for the firings of these prosecutors were contrived as part of a cover-up and that the stonewalling by the White House is part and parcel of that same...

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE: Robert J. Conrad, Jr., of North Carolina, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit, vice James Dickson Phillips, Jr., retired. Catharina Haynes, of Texas, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit, vice Harold R. DeMoss, Jr., retired. Sean R. Mulvaney, of Illinois, to be an Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, vice John Marshall, resigned. Shalom D. Stone, of New Jersey, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, vice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., elevated. John Daniel Tinder, of Indiana, to be United...

Former White House aide Sara M. Taylor will refuse to testify today about matters President Bush has deemed shielded by executive privilege, but she will offer to respond to other questions from senators that do not breach White House confidentiality, her attorney said yesterday. The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Taylor to testify this morning about the dismissals of nine U.S. attorneys last year and the Bush administration's response to the controversy that followed. Bush this week invoked executive privilege, and White House counsel Fred F. Fielding sent Taylor a letter directing her not to discuss internal communications. "Ms. Taylor will...

John Conyers, prominent Democratic congressman, says that President Bush's decision to commute Scooter Libby's prison sentence creates "the suspicion was that if Mr. Libby went to prison, he might further implicate other people in the White House." Patrick Leahy, prominent Democratic senator, suggests that Bush "bought [Libby's] silence" with the commutation but withheld a full pardon as "a blatant way of guaranteeing" Scooter wouldn't talk. Cindy Sheehan, prominent insane person, says that she will run against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi unless the speaker files articles of impeachment against President Bush, in part because the president kept Libby out...

Washington, DC - The lawyer for former White House political director Sara Taylor -- who has been subpoenaed to testify before the senate this week about the firing of several U.S. attorneys -- sent a letter to Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, asking that she not be used as "the focus of the constitutional struggle." The former White House staffer is asking for compassion from the Senate Judiciary Committee in what may be another constitutional standoff between the legislative and executive branches, while the committee's Democratic chairman is sharpening his words. "In our view, it is unfair to Ms. Taylor that...

Congress: As Democrats insist on a constitutional showdown they know the White House will win, real work — such as confirming national security appointments and securing our porous border — remains undone. Just last month, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont personally spearheaded efforts to delay for at least 17 months the launch of the administration's plans for a new border-crossing card. A subcommittee of the panel he heads is charged with supervising border security.

FROM THE SPECIAL REPORT TRANSCRIPT. ROSEN: Well, the Vermont Democrat issued only a paper statement today dismissing the Fielding letter as an example of, and I quote, Nixonian stone walling. However, Senator Leahy took quite a different view of these kinds of matters back when there was a Republican Congress seeking documents from a Democratic president, namely Bill Clinton. In September of 1999, Senator Leahy told the Judiciary Committee, and I quote, in the context of a Congressional investigation, executive privilege would be more difficult to overcome. He added, the executive privilege may also be construed broadly to permit the...

Bush won't supply subpoenaed documents By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent 1 minute ago The White House, moving toward a constitutional showdown with Congress, asserted executive privilege Thursday and rejected lawmakers' demands for documents that could shed light on the firings of federal prosecutors. President Bush's attorney told Congress the White House would not turn over subpoenaed documents for former presidential counsel Harriet Miers and former political director Sara Taylor. "With respect, it is with much regret that we are forced down this unfortunate path which we sought to avoid by finding grounds for mutual accommodation," White House counsel...

The Bush White House has asserted executive privilege in a confrontation with congressional Democrats over the firings of several federal prosecutors.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's office Wednesday for documents relating to President Bush's warrant-free eavesdropping program. Also named in subpoenas signed by committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D- Vt., were the Justice Department and the National Security Council. The committee wants documents that might shed light on

WASHINGTON — When Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy wants privacy, he heads down one of the Capitol's marbled hallways and through a locked door next to a hulking, white marble statue. Then, through another locked door, into a hideaway secure from the bustle outside. Many of the 100 senators have these coveted, hard-to-find nooks scattered around the Capitol, a cherished perk on top of their official suites in the nearby Senate buildings where the staff works and constituents drop in. Hideaways have been popular places for legislative dealmaking — even a little monkey business, too. One senator drew on his roots...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When Sen. Patrick Leahy wants privacy, he heads down one of the Capitol’s marbled hallways and through a locked door next to a hulking, white marble statue. Then, through another locked door, into a hideaway secure from the bustle outside. Many of the 100 senators have these coveted, hard-to-find nooks scattered around the Capitol, a cherished perk on top of their official suites in the nearby Senate buildings where the staff works and constituents drop in. Hideaways have been popular places for legislative dealmaking — even a little monkey business, too. One senator drew on his roots...

WASHINGTON --When Sen. Patrick Leahy wants privacy, he heads down one of the Capitol's marbled hallways and through a locked door next to a hulking, white marble statue. Then, through another locked door, into a hideaway secure from the bustle outside. Many of the 100 senators have these coveted, hard-to-find nooks scattered around the Capitol, a cherished perk on top of their official suites in the nearby Senate buildings where the staff works and constituents drop in. Hideaways have been popular places for legislative dealmaking -- even a little monkey business, too.

Will the arrests of three illegal immigrants in an alleged plot to attack Fort Dix, N.J. hurt the effort in Congress to pass a major immigration bill? Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, said Thursday it would actually help the case for the legislation. “It makes it more compelling. I would rather know who is here in America to pursue the American dream versus who is here to destroy it,” he said, in a conference call with reporters. An immigration reform that requires all current illegal immigrants to register with the government and go through background checks “creates for...

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Pope Benedict XVI kicked off a historic five-day visit to Brazil on Wednesday by sending a tough anti-abortion message that sparked a hemisphere-wide debate over the Roman Catholic Church's efforts to influence politicians. In answer to a question about Mexico City's recent legalization of abortion, Benedict indicated that he would support Mexican bishops if they were to decide to excommunicate lawmakers who voted for the law. "It is part of the code," Benedict said, according to reporters aboard the plane. "It is based simply on the principle that the killing of an innocent human child is...

Peter Zefo, blogger and seminary student posed for a picture with Dennis Kucinich. Pete flashed a "W" sign while both he and Kucinich grinned widely adding Kucinich to the "Hall of Democrats Who Have Been Dubya'd." He joins Janet Reno and Patrick Leahy there. Click here to view the picturesFeel free to make your own additions to the Hall!

Colombia's fight against the FARC and ELN terrorists has become harder, due to the fact that $55 million in military aid has been frozen by a U.S. Senate subcommittee led by Senator Patrick Leahy. This freeze holds the potential to greatly aid FARC and ELN, simply by preventing Colombia from keeping up the pressure, and shows how the change in control of Congress affects the global war on terror. How? The answer lies in the fact that the new congressional majority is led by people who tend to view FARC and ELN in a more sympathetic light. The U.S. and...

Latin America: If the U.S. were neutral in Colombia's war against narco-terrorists, Congress' freeze on military aid might make sense. But we have a real stake in that victory. Withholding aid will hurt us directly. Sen. Pat Leahy, fresh from putting Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on show trial, also managed to find time Thursday for another low blow — against our ally Colombia. The Vermont Democrat froze $55 million in U.S. war-fighting aid based on unsubstantiated reports that Colombia's leaders were in cahoots with now-outlawed paramilitary guerrillas. The whisper campaign, spread by President Alvaro Uribe's enemies, probably was put out...

The US Senate has frozen the transfer of millions of dollars in funds to the Colombian military pending investigations into concerns over human rights abuses and alleged ties between the country's armed forces and paramilitary groups. The decision to suspend 25 per cent of US military aid, worth $55.2m (€40.6m, £27.5m), was adopted by Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate appropriations committee's subcommittee on state and foreign operations, who is an outspoken critic of the level of military aid being sent to Colombia.