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tv   [untitled]  CSPAN  June 19, 2009 10:30pm-11:00pm EDT

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some media and the press. he said that i spent $10 million in georgia and i started the velvet revolution and i replaced the government with another one. these fools thought that the islamic establishment, this great nation -- this nation cannot be compared. who are they comparing this nation with? the problem is that they have not come to know this revolution, this people.
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what is the worst thing to meet amid all this are the comments that were made in the name of sympathizing with human rights and taking it hard on people, these comments that the american officials made. they said that we are worried about the iranian nation. you are worried about the iranian nation? do you consider anything called human rights? who did that that is happening in afghanistan now? who is crushing iraq under its soldiers' boots and has brought
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humility to that country? and palestine, who supported the tyrannical zionist regime and gave them so much funds and political support? inside america, you get surprised during the time of the democrats when they were in power in the u.s.. by the time when the husband of this lady in america, in reference to ms. clinton, 80 plus people related to the davidian group were burned alive. these were democrats who did that.
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they call ed and ethnic group or religious sect. for some reason, they were not like by the u.s. administration. they staged a sit-in in a house. they could not push them out of the house. they put the house on fire. 80 people, men, women, and children got burned alive in that house. do you realize what human rights is? i believe the officials of america and some european countries should feel a little embarrassed, and they should not open their mouths and say anything they want to say. the islamic republic is defending humanity. we support the oppressed people of palestine, iraq, afghanistan, anywhere that
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people are being oppressed, we support them. this is a sign that we are raising the flag of human rights, that believing in islam, this lack of depending humans, is raised in this country. we do not need any advice on human rights. that is what i wanted to say about the election. and finally, i want to address the 12th imam. we tell him that we are doing what we have to do, what we are obliged to do.
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we have said what we have had to say. i have my own life. i have a handicapped body and i have a little good name. i owe that to you. i put this all on the line, and i am ready to sacrifice all i have for the cause of this revolution in this establishment. i am offering it all to you. we beseech you to pray for us. everything in this country, the
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revolution belongs to you. this establishment issuers. you are in our supporter. we will continue the path with full force. we ask you to support us with your prayers all along the way. people were chanting the slogan that they are ready to give their life on the cause of their leader. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> up next on c-span, the american constitution society
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discusses legal changes in the policy environment. then house republicans talk about their support for dissidents in iran. after that, house for debate on the iran resolution. -- house floor debate. >> this week on america and the courts, supreme court justice anthony kennedy delivers the commencement address at stanford university. america and the courts, tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> july 4 weekend on book tv, discover an unfamiliar sight of our nation's first president, as we are all live from george washington's mount vernon estate with john ferling. join our conversation sunday, july 5, live on "in depth."
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>> staff members from the white house and various federal agencies discuss how legal change can be achieved in today's policy environment. >> good evening. i am the president and the center for american progress. on behalf of the american constitution society, i would like to welcome all of you to tonight's plenary panel which is entitled the levers of change, help progress is made in today's policy environment. i would also like to extend a special thanks to all of our
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panelists who have been generous enough to donate their vital time to participate in this discussion. we have several members of the administration up here, and given the pace of the new administration, i think spending a friday evening doing anything but being in a catatonic state is really an heroic effort. i know that the panel will be lively, in just by way of one housekeeping business, you will get to ask most of the questions tonight. business, you will get to ask most of the questions tonight. you need to reach into your back in right -- pullout a card and write your question on the card. people will collect them and give them to me. if you do not have a card, just write it on a piece of paper. i just want to set the stage briefly for this panel. change is a word we have heard over and over again during the past few months. we heard a lot of it during the course of blasters campaign, and
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i think for a reason. -- the course of last year's campaign. in november, after eight years of conservative leadership -- i wanted to say it failed conservative leadership, but they told me to pull my fangs in. the american people went to the polls prepared to send a clear, decisive message that they were ready for a shakeup in washington. the election and inauguration of president obama reflects a sea change in politics and policy in the federal government. i think it mirrors a fundamental shift and american attitudes. our country has become more progressive on a variety of key political and social issues. research done by the court crescive studies program -- by the progressive studies program shows there is broad support for a number of pressing priorities. 8% of the electorate agree there is a need for more environmentally sustainable life
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styles, 79% agree there needs to be government investment in education, infrastructure, and science. 65% are looking for guarantees for for what health coverage for all americans, and the polls that just came out in the ""washington journal" mirrors that. on a macro level, the change in popularity level in the progressive label over the past several years serves as another bellwether. 67% find the term progressive to be favorable, partly because president obama intends to talk about progress and being a progressive. that was up from 42% in 2004. we have seen a momentous shift not just in policy but in the public perception of what needs to happen and the attitudes of american voters as well as the leadership in washington. that is creating a host of opportunities and challenges for
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policy makers from the of recovery in reinvest mill that was past 25 days into the president's -- after his inauguration, a wide variety of executive actions that we will hopefully get you tonight, the legislative battles currently taking place on capitol hill, to the nomination of a new supreme court justice. we are seeing how these prospects and problems influence how we make progress. that is what we will talk about this evening. we will explore how these levers of change have shifted, how the shift will influence the way we operate in a new policy environment. our panelists this evening represent expertise in a wide range of fields that encompasses this topic. i would once again like to thank them for joining us. i will give them introductions at the front end and begin by asking each panelist to say a few words, but i will try to steer this by asking them a question at the front end.
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lisa brown is very well known in this crowd. [applause] she now serves as assistant to the president, white house secretary, a position i occupied for president clinton. i expect her to be the chief of staff and the white house in the last three years of the obama administration. she cochaired the agency review for the obama-biden transition process. prior to joining the transition, she served for six years as the executive director of the american constitution society where she helped lead the organization to the tremendous growth and prominence it has today. lisa also was counsel to vice president al gore before her duties -- before duties in the
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vice president's office, she served in the office of legal counsel in the department of justice. she has seen a lot of variety from different perspectives. he is executive she of staff to vice president joe biden. before joining vice-president gore's staff, ron was chief of staff to janet reno and assist -- associate counsel in charge of judicial selection. he has been a veteran of five presidential campaigns. he directed the fall debate preparations for president obama as well as john kerry in 2004. in 2000 and served as general counsel on the vice president recount committee in florida, a role made slightly more famous by kevin spacey. on capitol hill he stirred that
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reduce service that staff director for the senate democratic committee. enforcement actions brought by government lawsuits against governments and in congressional investigations. mr. francisco advises clients before the committee on foreign investment in the united states and is a recognized authority on constitutional and national security laws. in addition, mr. francisco advises individuals and companies subject to congressional investigation such as the international coal group in connection with the 2006 sago mine action. more important from the perspective of@@@@@@@@@ @ @ , r then the deputy assistant attorney general in the office of legal counsel from 2003-2005.
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spencer overton is the principal deputy assistant attorney general for the legal policy and department of justice. he is currently on leave from a position of professor of law at the george washington university law school where specializes in the law democracy. he was a commissioner on the carter baker commission on federal election reform and chaired the government reform policy committee for the obama for mayor presidential campaign and he served on the it obama- biden presidential transition team. spencer was an associate counsel in the office of the general counsel that shared the election assistance commission. served on the technology and government reform team. we did not have very many people in the transition, soap dispenser court took on about 12 roles. he is a former board member of the american constitution society.
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our last palace is senior advisor at the office of management and budget. she works on issues regarding the preparation and supervision and administration of the federal budget for executive branch agencies as well as coordination of the administration's procurement and financial management intermission and regulatory policies. before joining omb, she was a partner and head of the appellate litigation group at a firm in new york. she was the solicitor general of the state of new york, special counsel to the white house justic department and law clerk to the u.s. supreme court justice john paul stevens. she also helped in the transition -- headed up the role of picking and putting lawyers into the administration, so if you have any be about that, you can see her after the pan. we had a great chance to work
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together during that time. we were going to have greg craig on the panel tonight. it is tough in the white house counsel's office. he is not yet in witness protection, but he had an unavoidable conflict so he will not be with us this evening, so i regret that. but he is with us in spirit. so let me start. in honor of her role as the former executive director of the american constitution society, i will start with lisa. i want to ask you a two-part question. the first part is, you have been the executive director of the american constitution society and you have now been the white house staff secretary. we know which one is harder. you have to answer which one is more fun. when your done with that, last year i think at this conference, if you ask anyone in the
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audience, probably everyone assumed if a democrat was elected president, he would close guantanamo. he has pledged to do that. you might want to reflect a little bit on why you think there has been so much resistance to that, particularly on capitol hill. most of the people in theoom would have thought that he might have abandoned military tribunals in favor of moving the prisoners at guantanamo for the criminal-justice process through the uniform code of military justice. now that you are in there really grinding and working on those issues, explain a little bed about why the president chose to stick with military tribunals -- explain a little bit about why the president chose to stick
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with military tribunals. >> first, i just have to say it is amazing to be here and to be on this side of the microphone. it is the first time i have done it. i look at these lights and i cannot see everybody there will. it is really terrific to be here. i consider it an honor to be here, and more fun -- they are boasts spectacular. there isn't -- they are both the spectacular. everything i did with a csis helped prepare me for what i am doing now. the breath of issues that acs covers, which i care passionately about -- it is the issues i care about so much. the people i met working at acs has really transferred.
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these are all people who were part of the acs family before, so i feel like it is just continuing. i feel very lucky to be able to do that. i think that ours are worse in this job. i will say that. guantanamo -- i think the president, as everyone here knows, cares very deeply about closing guantanamo, about ending torture. when you think of what he did when he came into office in terms of the early executive orders on saying no torture, closing guantanamo, looking at each of the detainees and figure out who could be transferred in released. what he has said very clearly is where practicable, he wants to try people in article 3 courts. that presumption on its own is a big change, and is working with the justice department very
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hard. there's a task force evaluating each detainee at guantanamo and determining who can be tried in an article 3 court, who can be transferred to another country, who can be released and transferred. there's a huge amount thought going into this. military commissions, he feels there is a place, and narrow place for them, but a legitimate role for military commissions in a time of war, but he has also made very clear that they need to be improved upon. there are a number of administrative changes that he has ordered that involve no introduction of evidence of statements that were obtained by use of torture. they have greater choice of counsel. the burden of proof on hearsay evidence is now on the government if they want to introduce the hearsay evidence instead of all the detainee. he wants to work with congress
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in making even more changes, so another change is engaging in working with congress on a number of these very difficult issues. specifically on military commissions, this is an area where we are in the middle figuring out exactly what the changes are we would like to see and working with congress on that. it has become more political issue with capitol hill. it is not always easy when your time to resolve some of these issues. it is an ongoing conversation about bringing people into this country to be tried. i think we have just done that with the one who was transferred to the southern district of new york to be tried. the conversation will up -- with the hill will be an ongoing one. having worked with vice president gore, when he gave a speech for a c s several years
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ago, a number of people from the prior administration came together and talked about a lot of national security issues. people are not an extreme different positions. there are certain fundamental differences over things like what constitutes torture, but on a lot of the issues, everybody is trying to do the right thing. on the military commissions in guantanamo, the there is a desire to have the rule of law applied. everybody's trying to figure out how to do this as best they can. >>noel -- i am having trouble with my mike. i think they are bringing them up and down. you serve as legal counsel at a time that has general -- that has generated great controversy. and number of opinions of the office were withdrawn by the
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bush administration before they left office. there is a review now some of what went on at that time. i will ask you to follow up on what lisa said. as you look at the way president obama has handled these cases in particular, what have you agree and disagree with? what surprised you about the approach in the administration is taking on this basket cases on torture at guantanamo and how to prosecute the people who are being held? >> i would like to start out with something i completely agree with lease on. regardless of which administrations lawyers you are looking at, these lawyers are always trying to do the right thing, struggling with very, very difficult legal questions. take the torture issue. there was no lawyer in the united states government that was roving around the world
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trying to push on others various practices. rather, when you are a lawyer in the office of legal counsel, a question is brought to you. the question is, can i do this or can i not do this, whether it comes to stress positions, are putting eight caterpillar in a box with a man and letting him think it is poisonous, or when it comes to waterboarding. a lawyer is faced with a horrible decision, that has horrible consequences. if you come to the conclusion is not torture, or that it is torture, you are potentially preventing the government from finding out information that could thwart another terrorist attack. you come to the conclusion that it is torture, you are authorizing government officials to do what i think everybody rightly cringes at, pretty bad things. either way, it is a bad
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decision. but these lawyers are forced to make this decision because it is their job. they have to decide it one way or the other. that is what the lawyers in our administration did, and i hope you all never have to confront those decisions, but there may be questions that you have to face. when it comes to how the president has addressed a lot of these issues, and in particular the military commissions in guantanamo bay, the president is confronting an issue that president bush confronted as well. i think most people and most members of the administration eventually came to the conclusion that we would be better off without guantanamo bay. the problem is, health, practically, can you shutdown guantanamo bay? you have a bunch of very bad people. there may be a subset of them that can be criminally prosecuted, but i can guarantee that there is also a subset of them that cannot be criminally prosecuted.
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the evidence you have against them would be completely admissible in an ordinary criminal proceeding, or perhaps that actually did not commit a crime. when you hold somebody was engaged in war, they did not necessarily commit a crime. they are engaged in combat against a country, and traditionally prisoners of war in a traditional war were not criminals. they were warriors. as warriors, you had the right to hold them but not criminally try them, because they did not necessarily violate a law. what do you do with that class of people that you cannot criminally try? you can have military commissions for the ones that you think committed crimes, because it is an alternative forum for trying someone for committing a crime, but what about the ones that you do not have any admissible evidence against, or the ones you think did not commit crimes, but our people that if you release them they would pick up arms against you again? there is not a good answer to
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that question. guantanamo bay was the best thing we could come up with, for better or worse. what we are all struggling with is what is the best thing you can come up with, and it is not that easy. i think what the president and his administration are confronting many of the issues. all these people are struggling in good faith with very difficult questions. i wish them the best. >> we are confronting a lot of these same issues, but we also are coming out in different places on some of this. [applause] >> ron, you worked for two vice presidents. the constitution gives the vice president virtually no duties of power

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