Patrick Leahy Quotes

The Department of Justice should never be reduced to a political arm of the White House.

The Senate was investigating a scandal where the George W. Bush White House had induced the Attorney General, Alberto Gonzalez, to fire 8 of their own political U. S. Attorney appointments because they had or were investigating/prosecuting Republican politicians for corruption or not prosecuting Democrats vigorously enough. Gonzalez took the responsibility for the firings but did “not remember” why each had been fired nor was there any record in the Justice Department indicating any shortcoming with their jobs. The White House political operatives refused to testify under oath citing “Executive Privilege.”
Patrick Leahy
Patrick Leahy
  • Born: March 31, 1940
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Politician

Patrick Joseph Leahy is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Vermont, a seat to which he was first elected in 1974. A member of the Democratic Party, Leahy held the position of President pro tempore of the United States Senate from December 17, 2012, to January 6, 2015, and was thus during that time third in the presidential line of succession. Now in his eighth six-year term of office, he is currently (since the December 2012 death of Daniel Inouye) the most senior member of the Senate, and is also the last of the Senate's "Watergate Babies" – Democrats first elected to Congress in 1974, following President Richard Nixon's August 9, 1974 resignation over the Watergate scandal. Additionally, Leahy remains the only sitting U.S. Senator to have served during the presidency of Gerald Ford. Leahy received the title of President pro tempore emeritus in January 2015.