At CPAC, Cornyn Spells Out Holder's "Litany of Shame'
On Saturday, February 11, 2012, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered the following remarks at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference:
"Thank you very much. I'm glad to see so many Texans and other great Americans here today. It's great to be with you.
"I want to start by thanking my friend Al Cardenas and our friends at the American Conservative Union for hosting us. And I want to thank all of you who are involved with CPAC for what you do all year round.
"I'll be brief because I know I'm one of the last speakers standing between you and Sarah Palin.
"I want to talk about someone who, to use the President's own words, enjoys his "complete confidence.' And of course I'm talking about Attorney General Eric Holder.
"Three years ago when I was on the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing the Holder nomination, I was one of two Republicans who voted against his nomination. I have to confess, looking back on that vote today, it has to be one of the best votes I've cast in the United States Senate.
"Under Eric Holder, the justice department has been led by an arrogant, incompetent, dangerously ideological and transparently political Attorney General who sees fit to twist the law to suit President Obama's ends.
"Now I realize that's a pretty serious charge to make, but the case against Eric Holder could start and end with the botched gunrunning operation, known as Fast and Furious. But the truth is that's just the tip of the iceberg. You know Fast and Furious was a program in which Holder's Justice Department deliberately allowed the sale of 2,000 firearms to go into the hands of the drug cartels in Mexico -- and then intentionally lost track of them.
"More than a year has passed since two of those guns in the Fast and Furious program were found at the scene of the murder of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent, Brian Terry. Yet, Eric holder and President Obama have held no one accountable for Brian Terry's murder. Even worse, Attorney General Holder has refused to give the Terry family and the American people the answers they deserve. Holder has treated a Congressional investigation into this matter with contempt, even though he now admits to misleading Congress. And his sworn testimony is routinely contradicted by Justice Department memos.
"Is this really the kind of behavior that should instill complete confidence in President Obama?
"Well, if I could choose one word to describe his conduct it would be "outrageous."
"Unfortunately, Holder's leadership failures go well beyond Operation Fast and Furious. Let me recite a few more items in Holder's litany of shame.
"Let's talk about his objections to common sense requirements like voter I.D. laws. You and I both know you need a photo id to buy beer, to buy over the counter cold medication or to get on an airplane. By the way, did you know that if you went to the Department of Justice, where Eric Holder works, before you could gain admittance to the office you would need -- you guessed it -- a photo I.D.? Yet, Eric Holder has the gall to compare voter I.D. laws to literacy tests and poll taxes.
"In fact, the United States Supreme Court has decisively ruled in favor of the sorts of voter I.D. laws that Eric Holder is disparaging. I find it a little unsettling when the chief law-enforcement officer of United States isn't aware of controlling Supreme Court authority. Maybe we ought to give him a little more time in his retirement after November to get up to speed.
"I firmly believe that voter identification laws are necessary to safeguard the integrity of the ballot. What's more, for all of his hyperbole over voter I.D. laws, Holder has ignored genuine cases of voter intimidation and he has failed to vigorously enforce the rights of our men and women in uniform deployed abroad to be able to cast their ballots.
"So again I'll ask you, is this the kind of behavior that should instill complete confidence in the President of the United States?
"In addition to being a hyper-partisan, Holder has unfortunately shown himself to be dangerously ideological. Shortly after taking office, he released classified memos on terrorist interrogation techniques over the vigorous objections of seven former CIA directors who served under both Democrat and Republican administrations. Simply because he didn't agree with the Bush Administration anti-terrorism policies, Holder decided to provide sensitive information to our nation's enemies and to give our allies fresh cause to worry about our trustworthiness. Even worse, he undercut the very patriots tasked with keeping us say.
"But he didn't stop there.
"After releasing these memos, Holder launched a politically motivated investigation into several CIA interrogators, despite the fact that career Justice Department officials had previously recommended against prosecuting them. So now, in addition to having to combat the terrorists, these brave Americans are being subjected to ideological attacks and lawsuits.
"So I'll ask you a third time, is this the kind of behavior that should instill confidence in the President of the United States?
"I agree with you. It is very wrong. Playing politics with the war on terror is absolutely unacceptable.
"In November 2009, Holder announced the United States would try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in civilian court in Lower Manhattan. Even Senator Chuck Schumer called it a wrongheaded idea, eventually. It's hard to imagine having complete confidence in your Attorney General when even Chuck Schumer says you are wrong.
"Trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Manhattan was a recipe for disaster. And eventually, after facing a public backlash, Holder reversed his decision and said that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed should receive a military trial.
"I can't say it any plainer to you today: we simply cannot afford a pre-9/11 mentality in our Attorney General or our President of the United States.
"Ironically, Holder and the President have no hesitation at using drone strikes to kill terrorists without a hint of due process. Yet they wring their hands over capturing, detaining and lawfully interrogating these same terrorists to gain actionable intelligence and to stop future attacks.
"Then there's Holder's determination to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, even though Congress has, for many good reasons, banned these terrorists from American soil. You'll recall at one point, Holder even considered moving these Gitmo terrorists to Michigan -- something that was called "The Great Lakes Gitmo.'
"So I'll ask you one last time: is this the kind of conduct that should instill confidence in the President of the United States?
"Thank goodness he didn't get his way. Holder's record on Gitmo, the KSM trial, the CIA interrogators and the Justice Department memos demonstrate that he's more concerned with satisfying President Obama's radical left-wing political base than he is doing his job.
"Indeed, Holder's political antennae are always up. How else do you explain his position on the Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA? As you recall, President Obama and Eric Holder have refused to defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, even though it passed with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in Congress, even though President Clinton signed it into law, and even though it enjoys broad support from the American people.
"Even while Holder refuses to defend DOMA, his Justice Department is busy defending unconstitutional overreaches like ObamaCare and like the President's recent bogus appointments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Labor Relations Board.
"But you see, that doesn't seem to bother Attorney General Holder one bit because, as we all know, he serves at the pleasure of President Obama, and he enjoys his complete confidence.
"One final point: President Obama said famously that elections have consequences, and we all know it's true. Eric Holder is a perfect example of just one of the bad consequences from the election of 2008 and why the 2012 election is so vitally important.
"When you elect a liberal president, when you elect a liberal supermajority in the United States Senate, you get a liberal Attorney General like Eric Holder. So, the best way to get a new Attorney General is to get a new president and to get a new Senate majority, which we will with your help in 2012.
"Thank you, and God bless all of you."
Source