Free Republic

Has President Obama's disrespectful attitude toward the United States Supreme Court caused a trickledown effect among the Democratic leadership in Congress, or was Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy's recent invective against Chief Justice John Roberts self-generated? You will recall that in April, President Obama launched a salvo against the court about a pending case -- concerning Obamacare -- seeking to either intimidate the justices into upholding the law or lay a foundation for political criticism should they strike it. At a news conference, Obama said, "Ultimately, I am confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would...

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee wants Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to find out if taxpayer dollars received by Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office through a federal grant program were used by his deputies to illegally detain Hispanics whom the government alleges were the victims of racial profiling. If so, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, wants the Justice Department to consider ways of getting the money back - a total that could exceed $25 million. “I urge the department to take all appropriate steps to determine whether taxpayer dollars - have been used in connection with the...

... If (Gaddafi) wins the current civil war, he will kill his enemies. A bloodbath is coming...He can be stopped, though. When President Ronald Reagan retaliated for the La Belle attack by bombing Libya, Gaddafi got the message and quieted down. When Gaddafi saw that America went after Saddam Hussein’s (suspected) weapons of mass destruction, he rid himself of his own. He even paid reparations for the Pan Am 103 bombing. Moammar Gaddafi is a madman, but not mad. ...it would be productive if the Obama administration got its marbles out of its mouth. Its pronouncements thus far have been...

Leahy fears Gitmo will stay open By MATT NEGRIN | 03/07/11 6:18 PM Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy warned late Monday that the White House’s order on renewing Guantanamo Bay military commissions will jeopardize the closing of the prison that President Obama has promised to shutter. In a statement released in the evening, Leahy, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Obama’s executive order “has done little to change” the damage that the Guantanamo prison has had on the American judicial system. “The process outlined in the Executive Order falls far short of core constitutional values by failing to provide judicial...

Democrats demand CIA detainee documents By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer 53 minutes ago A Senate Democrat who will chair its Judiciary Committee next year asked the Justice Department to release newly acknowledged documents setting U.S. policy on how suspects in the war on terrorism are detained and interrogated. "The American people deserve to have detailed and accurate information about the role of the Bush administration in developing the interrogation policies and practices that have engendered such deep criticism and concern at home and around the world," Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), D-Vt., wrote Attorney General Alberto Gonzales....

By mattie May 10, 2010 Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy’s comments on the confirmation of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. Seems he and barry find the birth certificate issue comical. If you aren’t aware Leahy was the one behind the Senate Resolution declaring Sen McCain a NBC. VIDEO

As appeals to bi-partisanship go, this could down as recent history's most contemptible and hypocritical . . . On this evening's Ed Show, bemoaning the lack of conservative support for Pres. Obama handling of the Times Square attempted bombing, Dem senator Patrick Leahy has accused Pres. Bush of having "dropped the ball" on 9-11, claiming "9-11 could have been avoided." View video here.

In the recent annals of senatorial vote-buying, there have been the Cornhusker Kickback and the Louisiana Purchase. Now make way for the Bismarck Earmark. Sen. Kent Conrad, North Dakota Democrat, seems to be demanding a sop for the Bank of North Dakota to guarantee his support for President Obama's proposed federal takeover of the entire student-loan industry, known as the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. The senator is willing to impose this awful idea on the rest of the country so long as North Dakota's own program is spared. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat, is seeking additional exemptions,...

Supreme Court nominee faces tough questioning from Republican senators about her ability to judge fairly

It’s one thing for the host of a new MSNBC show, trolling for ratings in Olbermann-land, to make outrageous accusations against a former Vice-President. It’s altogether a different matter for a sitting United States Senator to second the slander. Yet that’s just what happened on this evening’s Ed Show. Host Schultz accused Dick Cheney of wanting America to be “hit again” by terrorists. A few minutes later, Sen. Pat Leahy of Vermont agreed with him. ED SCHULTZ: I think that Dick Cheney wants this country to get hit again for political gain. I believe that he thinks in his mind...

SNIPPET: "Two of Congress's most radical members believe George W. Bush's America was the equal of apartheid South Africa. Last week, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy proposed that Congress establish a “truth commission” to investigate alleged Bush misdeeds. In the House, Judiciary committee chairman John Conyers seconded Leahy's request." SNIPPET: "If the investigation exposes the ongoing, covert measures Bush has taken to keep America safe, Leahy will only smile as they are revealed. He has a long history of exposing the most vital secrets of our nation. At least one operative was murdered after Leahy publicly leaked a 1985 intercept that...

Washington: Sen. Pat Leahy has proposed a "truth commission" that would probe the activities of the Bush administration. Does the senator really want to take the U.S. down the road of radical Third World politics?Don't forget this is "Leaky Leahy," a nickname the Vermont Democrat earned for his habit of revealing sensitive government information. A series of negligent — some might say deliberate — disclosures led to his 1987 resignation from the vice chairmanship of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Such a person has no moral authority to sit in judgment of anyone. Lawmakers should shun Leahy's witch hunt....

Senator seeks Bush-era "truth commission" Mon Feb 9, 2009 2:05pm EST By Randall Mikkelsen WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. "truth commission" should probe Bush administration policies including the promotion of war in Iraq, detainee treatment and wiretapping without a warrant, an influential senator proposed on Monday. Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, called for the commission as way to heal what he called sharp political divides and to prevent future abuses. He compared it to other truth commissions, such as one in South Africa that investigated the apartheid era. "We need to come to a shared understanding...

"I believe there are others involved, either as accessories before or accessories after the fact," Mr. Leahy said. "I believe there are others who can be charged with murder." Mr. Leahy's skepticism was echoed by GOP Sens. Arlen Specter (Pa.) and Charles E. Grassley (Iowa)...

WASHINGTON - Sens. Charles Schumer and Dianne Feinstein say they will vote for Attorney General-nominee Michael Mukasey, which likely gives him enough support to pass the Senate Judiciary Committee. ADVERTISEMENT Their decision came shortly after the chairman of the committee, Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., announced he would vote against Mukasey, a former federal judge. "This is an extremely difficult decision," Schumer said in a statement, adding that Mukasey "is not my ideal choice." In announcing her support for Mukasey, Feinstein, D-Calif., said "first and foremost, Michael Mukasey is not Alberto Gonzales," referring to the former attorney general who resigned in September...

October 18, 2007 Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Thursday condemned Intelligence Committee Democrats for brokering a deal with the White House that would provide retroactive immunity for telephone companies that assisted the Bush administration’s controversial warrantless wiretapping program. At the second day of confirmation hearings for President Bush’s Attorney General-nominee Michael Mukasey, Leahy warned that “the Intelligence Committee is about to cave on this,” citing pressure from the White House and press reports suggesting the administration had gotten its way. “[Administration officials] know that it was illegal conduct and that there is no saving grace for the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy has told Attorney General-designate Michael Mukasey his confirmation could hinge on demonstrating he'll keep White House influence out of Justice Department decisions. A key test, Leahy said in a letter to President Bush's nominee, would be Mukasey's willingness to answer questions the White House won't about a litany of issues, ranging from warrantless eavesdropping to what Mukasey would do to prevent federal prosecutors from being used to influence elections. White House Counsel Fred Fielding has declared those details off-limits under executive privilege. "Regrettably, the White House has chosen not to clear...

<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>

Aug. 13, 2007 issue - The controversy over President Bush's warrantless surveillance program took another surprise turn last week when a team of FBI agents, armed with a classified search warrant, raided the suburban Washington home of a former Justice Department lawyer. The lawyer, Thomas M. Tamm, previously worked in Justice's Office of Intelligence Policy and Review (OIPR)—the supersecret unit that oversees surveillance of terrorist and espionage targets. The agents seized Tamm's desktop computer, two of his children's laptops and a cache of personal files. Tamm and his lawyer, Paul Kemp, declined any comment. So did the FBI. But two...

Leahy attacks Bush, Roberts By: Roger Simon Aug 1, 2007 06:50 PM EST U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Leahy said he thinks the current president does not measure up to the rest. Stating that "history will not be kind to the arrogance and indifference to law shown by this White House," U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) sharply rebuked President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Chief Justice John Roberts in an interview Wednesday. In an interview with The Politico conducted in his Senate office, Leahy said: -- Chief Justice Roberts has made the court an "arm...