. >> senator leahy was one of the intended targets of a letter that was unopened. he remains to this day quite convinced that bruce ivins was not the only one responsible for this attack your in all of your research, did you find anything to support his contention that bruce ivins could not have acted alone? >> i did not. i was there in the senate hearing room on september 18, 2008 when senator leahy interrupted the fbi director to say that if bruce ivins was the perpetrator, that he, senator leahy, believes bruce ivins could've done this way, that there must be a car forces that could be charge, accessories before after the fact for murder in contrast to that assertion, i asked senator leahy's office to provide the basis for that assertion, and it never does appear to my knowledge senator leahy is never spelled out in public his thinking on the. i should reiterate the senator leahy was an intended victim of the attacks and was frustrated at the early course of the investigation. but one of the most important things in my research, my conversations with micro biolo

in contrast to that assertion and i asked senator leahy's office for that assertion and they've never done so. to my knowledge senator leahy i should go clean -- of the beginning of this investigation but one of the things in my research or my conversations he was one of three people who hired bruce. and then there's only one person at fort the turks who has created power in the strain anthrax for shibley on author list fashion and the one microbiologist who has done that did it with the equipment. using the tax with the containment resources he had read their import the turks. you mentioned it was a possibility this anthrax came from saddam hussein or whoever. was that an issue of somebody or was it misinformation that was given out by an agency or individual? >> i think a combination of both what think you for the question. one of the spectacles that is the constructive in this book haole certain scientist at for the turks who wasn't -- anthrax of course is a bacterium. this individual works, and pilat this month in the attack material under the slaton came to the conclusion it must

leahy: mr. president, as i said about democrats and republicans working together, i have to applaud the two senators from alaska. because of their hard work, we have this nominee before us, and that's something every one of us should take pride in the way the two have worked together. and i yield the floor. mr. begich: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. begich: mr. president, first i want to comment on the the senator from from vermont that the work he has done in regard to the guard affects us in alaska a great deal, and i want to thank him for all the hard work he's done. in regard to the nomination, the chairman of the committee, judiciary committee, senator leahy, has done an incredible job bringing so many judges to the floor. i come to the floor today in strong support of the nomination of morgan christen to fill a vacancy on the ninth circuit court of appeals. i have known morgan for years and am continually impressed with the keen legal mind, her outstandi

senator leahy was one of the intended targets by the letter that was not opened it hearings to this day convinced that bruce ivins was not the only one responsible for this attack. in your research did you find anything to support his contention that bruce ivins could not have acted alone? >> i was in the senate hearing room in 2008 when senator lee he interrupted the fbi director to say that bruce was the perpetrator of he and senator leahy did not believe he could have done this alone their must be accomplices that could be charged, accessories before and after the fact of the murder. in contrast to that assertion and i've asked senator leahy's office to provide the basis for that assertion and they've never done so to my knowledge they've never spelled of in public his thinking on this i shall also reiterate they were intended victim of the tax and was frustrated at the earlier course of the investigation but one of the most important things in my research or my conversations with a microbiologist and john. he was one of three people who hired bruce r. ravens and ytd it was a respect

leahy: and printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy had: i mr.hy: i see the distinguished senator from new york on the floor and i have a feeling she will have a statement of support for this superb nominee and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mrs. gillibrand: i'm very proud to support the nomination of caitlin halligan to the court of appeals for the district of columbia. caitlin halligan has distinguished herself for her commitment to reasoned intellect and pro found respect for the law. unfortunately, it appears my colleagues are determined to criticize her regardless of the facts or her record. the major concern seems to be the workload demands for the d.c. circuit. this is not a reason to oppose this candy's nomination. -- candidate's nomination. in 2008 the senate voted to reduce the number of seats on the d.c. circuit from 12 to 11 increasing the caseload for each of the judges. currently there are only eight active judges on the d.c. circuit leaving the bench more than 27% vacant. that means the u.s. ci

leahy: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, we're soon going to roll call vote edgardo ramos of connecticut to be u.s. district judge for the southern district of new york. we also have three others on here. andrew carter jr. of new york to be u.s. district judge for the southern district of new york. james rodney gilstrap for the eastern district of texas. dana l. christensen to be united states district judge for the district of montana. i'd ask consent that following the roll call for edgardo ramos that andrew l. carter jr., james gilstrap and dana l. christensen be considered by voice vote. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. leahy: and, mr. president, i see the hour of 4:30 before us. -- the hour of 5:30 before us. what is the regular order? the presiding officer: the question is on the ramos nomination. mr. leahy: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk

i am pleased that chairman leahy and members of the committee agreed with me and moody the extension through regular order, including a hearing, executive markup for consideration. a new nomination from the president and along with a final confirmation, quoted this process at the historic record that extending a director's term was not applied by the right decision but it also puts president on notice to begin a process of selecting and nominate a new fbi director earlier than the last attempt. another extension will not occur. that said, i want to welcome director miller to this day searing. his tenure as fbi director has been a very good one and his dedication and reputation for significant, were significant factors in his 100-zero confirmation vote in july but i'm sure that when his two-year extension runs he will be looking for the transition, helping other people transition to office, and a well-earned change of lifestyle. first, i want to discuss the perpetual problem at the fbi, whistleblower protection, director mueller has repeatedly assured me he will not tolerate retaliati

before the california state assembly, judiciary committee, and provided written testimony to senator leahyfor the uniting of american families act. the irc, in making their recommendations to the mayor and board of a supervisors, to improve and enhance the quality of life into the participation of all the grim immigrants in the city and county of san francisco must include the plight of same-sex couples and by-national relationships. at the four of any immigration reform discussion, particularly for this city, the current immigration law fails so many immigrants and families. yes, same-sex relationships stand on prejudicial ground when compared to their heterosexual counterparts. without specific language such as that in the united families act which seeks to have permanent partners, same-sex by dutch national couples will remain victims to the law that compels discrimination against lgbt couples, including the right to sponsor a spouse, and with no right to a k1 same-sex visa. we are advised that took schumer will introduce same-sex reform in january 2010. we are also told that passage by

as leahy said if you don't like the policy don't pass it and live with the consequences. but he didn't fear us. host: what was the phoenix program that he was either in charge of or involved in with vietnam? guest: probably the most controversial thing was involve in he was called back in 1968 to vietnam by president johnson at the time. i remember my sister bought him a sable russian fur hat and he was the new chef of the soviet block. that is the biggest assignment you could get but then johnson called and said we want you to go to vietnam and run this pacification program. that was really a program of a little of what is going on, a lot of what is going on in afghanistan and anbar province in iraq, which was secure part of a town like general mcmaster in afghanistan. if you go in a hot zone secure at least one section and make it livable for the people then build out there and when people can go to work and raise their children and buy their rice and whatever, then secure some stability for the place and start using our intelligence. that is what the phoenix fapassf i

leahy: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. morning business is now closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations which the clerk will report. the clerk: nominations, the judiciary, edgardo ramos of connecticut to be united states district judge for the southern district of new york. andrew l. carter jr. of new york to be united states district judge for the southern district of new york. james rodney gism lstrap of texas to be judge for the eastern district of texas, and dana l. christianson of montana to be united states district judge for the district of montana. the presiding officer: under the previous order, there will be one hour of debate equally divided in the usual form. mr. leahy: mr. president, today the senate will finally consider nominations to to fill four vacancies

leahy: mr. president, earlier this week one of the bill's lead sponsors here on the floor of the united states senate, the bill's detention subtitle would authorize the indefinite detention of u.s. citizens at guantanamo bay. i found that a stunning statement. we should consider the ramifications of passing a bill containing this language. the supporters of the detention provisions in the bill continue to argue that such measures are needed, as they say, because we're a nation at war. that does not mean that we should be a nation without laws or a nation that does not adhere to the principles of our constitution. many of us remember being told because of the terrible things that saddam hussein did to us on 9/11 and his weapons of mass destruction, we should go to war. of course it turned out he he had nothing to do with 9/11 and no weapons of mass destruction. but we spent ten years in a war and spent a trillion dollars because of that. let's stop and think about following what has protected us

leahy fact snow showers like it to parts of indiana snowfall big red ball big range of temperatures 14 and lead-24. coldest in 11 days 33 the great degree is mostly cloudy with the mixed was not cool much down to 31 degrees south partly sunny and windy 40's again on thursday with friday expecting 40's as well one last look at the clouds in our area: tamara you can't tell anything at this point. it has been a bonus no question about that >> how to land a job in the new year next important tips from the experts. and mission impossible crack dean richards' list of the year's best movies? wgn news @ 9 once again this year major firm in chicago offering free advice to help people get out of the unemployment line and back into the work world some have less trouble finding work again might be able to use pointers >> helping people prepare for job searches counselors at challenger gray and christmas doing today and will today called and taking calls thousands of people across the country all wanting advice how to land a job >> 26 annual call-in for two days between christmas-new year's it is s

so i look forward to working with my colleagues, especially chairman leahy on the judiciary committee, to move this bill forward, and i note that the senator from illinois is on the floor to speak about this bill as well. our current approach to handling these suspect suspects in federl criminal courts has produced a strong record of support since the 9/11 attacks. mr. president, we would be wise to follow the same. if it ain't broke, don't fix it. our system is not broken. we have thwarted attempted terrorist attacks. we have captured terrorists, interrogated them, restreeived actionable intelligence from them, prosecuted them, and locked them up for lengthy sentencesentences, in most casee rest of their lives. now, both senator udall and senator durbin pointed out director mueller's testimony before the judiciary committee yesterday, and this is relevant because it had been said that the director of the f.b.i. was satisfied with the language. and when he was asked the questions in so many words in committee yesterday, "are you satisfied with the language," he said, really, not quite

are they aware of how willy nil leahy -- nilly he prances from building to build ?g he is the right hand man. >> they haven't caught up with michele bachmann yet. >>> coming up, damon? more like blamon obama. >> guests on "red eye" well stay in the luxurious" red eye" suites. the "red eye" suites provide accommodations for first and long-time guest usa like. >>> should twitter pull the plug on easy law mist thugs? a somali militant group may seek to shut down the account. recently shabab known for chopping off hands and other brutal measures have been sending out the taunting sub miss cives talking about their attacks like this one they want to get their message out on "red eye." nice try. they are worried the tweets would be a way to reach potential recruits, and they may have a legal authority to close the account. the u.s. will continue to mess with the militants in other ways. >> we sabotaged their weapons. i want to bring mike baker into this. what do you know about this group, shabaab? >> it is somewhere between west life and boys to men. they are in the categ

a republican senate loses pat leahy as the guy who's running your senate confirmation hearings for supreme court justices and replaces him with jeff sessions who i don't think -- i don't even know if he would give the president's nominees a hearing. >> you've got to the assume that the honeymoon lasts for a couple days at least. this president had a hard time getting many nominees through a democratically controlled senate. some of them serious and some of them not serious at all. it is unpredictable. let's also not underestimate the republicans' abilities to shoot themselves in the foot here. hawaiiy reid was looking at a terrible set of prospects in the last election. the republicans chose a tea party candidate, a jim demint backed candidate in nebraska. that could come back and hurt them. very hard at this point to say okay, we know where this is going because nevada looked horrible for democrats two years ago. >> thank you, richard wolffe for that sign of hope. i forgot about the tea party's ability to throw the away republican wins in the senate. karen finney, richard wolffe, thank yo

. >> you know, i will you somebody told me recent leahy listened to newt gingrich's speeches in the debate that man sounds craze to me. he said if you listen to newt gingrich for 68 years as newt gingrich had to do, wouldn't you be craze he? he spews nothing but nonsense and hatred is a stupid person's idea of what a smart person looking like. >> the bum of the month. the alternative to mitt romney. he's ahead. >> we will see what happens. i'm sure that everybody on the democratic side will say hallelujah if someone so unprincipaled and self serving as newt gingrich and unappealing and crotch etty got the nomination, if you were to go to his house and catch him on his lawn, all you would hear and say over and over again is say get off my lawn. that's the theme song. >> you are right there in that part of the world. who will take florida, sir? >> i think the democrats will take florida. florida is becoming a cosmopolitan state and following the same track that california already has followed. it's become multiracial and multilingual. for the republicans it's multisyllabic and a well-informe

the good news is senator leahy has agreed to be a main co-sponsor of this legislation.ke it as chairman as intelligence. he as chairman of the judiciary. we hope mr. paul, mr. lee, senator udaul, gill brand as well as others will go on this legislation. it will essentially prohibit the holding of an american citizen or a legal alien resident from being held without charge or trial. i think that's very important. and the only thing that could change that would be an act of congress. and that would be whether we're operational under a declaration of war or an authorization for the use of military force. so -- >> are you disappointed that the white house is willing to go along with this indefinite detention? >> i think there were some changes in the bill that were helpful to getting the white house's support. and that is that the military presumption is still there however the interrogate period is not to be interrupted, as i understand. what the administration has wanted was not unreasonable. it was flexibility. the ability to evaluate somebody once they are arrested and

almost up, you mentioned the idea in your responses to one of the questions, perhaps from chairman leahy, of making a cybercrime a predicate under the racketeering act. i wonder if you can expand on that thought. >> only to say i think it's a good idea. it should be a predicate in my mind. and because racketeering is substantial and it would send a message. i think too often in the past we looked at individuals who are involved in cybercrimes and they may be relatively young individuals, and there may be a perception amongst some there is a turnstile. yes, you may get caught and convicted and you may walk out soon and the crime is worth the time you spent. that can't be the message sent. the message that should be sent is if you engage in cybercrime you will go to jail and you will go to jail for a substantial period of time. >> and i think that observation, your support for that kind of measure illustrates the kind of gaps that may be arising the internet abuse act i proposed is one measure of trying to address them, but using a cyber act, so to speak, for racketeering violation is a ve

michael leahy has gone so far as to grade've of the candidates on how they fair for his metrics for being a tea party loyalist, most of these are on if fiscal side, not the socialist side. he's got newt gingrich at a c minus. >> who are they in love with? anybody? >> what's amazing on this, it's going to say michele bachmann, a minus, rick santorum, b minus and these are the people now that obviously the rank and file voters are not leaning towards, so we're going to see tonight if we can get any of these folks to say what's it going to take for you to make a commitment and are we going to get any of these main big tea party leaders to come out and endorse one or the other if that's who it's going to be before we get to the first of this year where we start having all the action going on. >> i'll be watching. 7:00 p.m. eastern later tonight. good stuff. thank you. >> thanks, wolf. >>> some conservatives are calling for the u.s. supreme court's newest member to sit out one of its most important cases in so many years. we're talking about the justice elaina kagan and the challenge to the he

reporter: we're half hour into the question answer session and the chairman of the committee, patrick leahy wants the fbi director answer questions about related to darrell issa that the third gun was found at the scene of the brian terry's killing. >> there is an ongoing investigation. there are documents that have been filed that under seal and it is ongoing, ongoing strong investigation and we will bring to those justice those persons any way involved in the killing of officer brian terry. >> reporter: a few minutes ago a very come pat tiff exchange between the senior republican jeff sessions on committee and the fbi director. sessions saying there was no question in his mind all terrorism suspects should go into military custody. if the fbi wants to get involved in the investigations they can. >> giving them miranda warnings. presenting them to courts in very short order. providing them with lawyers within hours of arrest. allowing them to make phone calls to coconspirators, that civil law prosecution requires is not helpful in a war. >> reporter: and within the last few minutes, muelle

this amendment is cosponsored by senators reid, casey, shaheen, inouye -- excuse me, leahy, dur imine, udall, kirk, lee, harkin and webb. madam president, this is a very simple amendment. it adds only one word, the word "abroad," to section 1031 of the underlying bill. i strongly believe, if it isn't broke, don't fix it. and the ability to have maximum flexibility in the united states is very important, and i totally support the executive having that flexibility. this bill creates a presumption that members or parts of al qaeda or associated forces will be held in the military system. and that's what concerns me, because the military system has not really produced very well over the last ten years. and i want to take a moment to contrast some cases. on this chart we have sentences, five of them, with military commissions, and five or six from federal courts. the federal courts have actually convicted over the last 10 or 11 years not 300 people but 400 people. military commissions are really limited to some six convictions. and let's take a look at what they are. a very sameous one was

rate, 2011 hearings in the united states senate committee on the judiciary, in which chairman pat leahy, with more than a dozen senators on that committee have plowed through this, and have been going over and over it for the last couple of days, but i think you want to have that as a basis for anybody that is particularly interested. the problem of gun trafficking in the southwest is a serious problem, and i recommend to my judiciary committee colleagues, with whom this whole subject matter is the jurisdiction of this committee, that we commit to maintaining the new rule requiring the reporting of multiple sales of semi- automatic weapons and shotguns, rifles, by individuals in the southwest border states. there have been a number of programs that have dealt with this subject, but i think that is probably number one on my recommended list. secondly, we must see to it that we confirm a director of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. it has been operating under acting directors for the last 5.5 years. the senate has failed to act on the nominations, not only of the current president, but of

you were one of two democrats who voted no along with senator pat leahy. >> we continue to rob socialn a contribution from the day is began and last year was the first year that we ever reduced that amount that the employees put into it and i think it's a crash waiting to happen. i've said it loud acleand clear want to help people find work. but you don't defund social security for the purpose of retirement for people depending on it. you just don't do it in west virginia. >> but the timing right now, sir, this could take 1,000, $1500 out of the pockets of people who need it so desperately. it would not help spur the economy. >> we're willing to do anything else. it wasn't that we were saying we are fundamentally against it. there are other ways to help. but right now i talked to people that didn't even know they were receiving the 2% discount and they knew now that they were receiving it, they would gladly foresake it if we together collectively would do meaningful tax reform. let's fix it. >> why did you vote no. >> we know the retirement. baby boom administration, 10,000 americans

>> in empathy -- >> credibility leahy said. she would be credible.think she could really get her point across and be believable. >> okay. and michelle, why? >> same reason. she's believable and strong. >> servility chose ron paul. why? deborah. >> while coming as it saves you can trust. he doesn't appear to have an agenda. he seems to be outside of the agenda so you could trust what he says. >> christine. >> i agree with deborah. he acts less like a politician and he exudes morality. >> he seems like he's a grandfatherly type and seems fairly honest. >> i said romney. i think he might be smooth enough that people would listen to what he had to say. >> okay. i'm why did you choose new? >> his age, wisdom. >> laurel. >> at strong, persuasive and does his homework. >> tina. >> he comes across as honest and speaks very well. >> okay. let's try this one other thing. here's the situation. let's suppose for a moment that rick perry for the sixth person in line at an airport counter and there's only one ticket left on the plane. absolutely critical point tha

request by 20 other senators, including majority leader harry reid, judiciary committee chairman patrick leahy and senator bob menendez asking that these dream act students be given an opportunity to stay and not be deported. in response to our letters, john morton, the director of immigration and customs enforcement, issued a memo in june of this year establishing new priorities for deportation. the morton memo says it's a high priority to deport those who have committed serious crime or those who are a threat to public safety. while it is a low priority to deport individuals who've been in the united states since childhood, like those who are eligible for the dream act. during hearing this summer on the dream act, homeland security secretary janet paten napolitand me and my subcommittee that the department of homeland security would establish a process to implement the morton mem moment under this new -- memo. under this new memo, high-priority cases will be expedited. low-priority cases will be closed, in many instances. now, recently, the department of homeland security announced the next

almost up, you mention the idea in at your responses to one of the questions, perhaps from chairman leahyking a cyber crime a predicate under the racketeering act. i wonder if you could expand on that thought? >> haleh to say i think it is a good idea. it should be a predicate in my mind. the sentences for racketeering are substantial and would send a message. too often in the past we have looked at individuals who were involved in cyber crimes. they were relatively young individuals. there may be a perception among some bat q may get caught, you may get convicted, but you will walk out relatively soon and the crime may be worth the time you spent. the message that should be sent is if you engage in cyber crime, you will go to jail for a substantial time. >> i think your support for that kind of measure illustrates the kind of caps that maybe are arising from the internet abuse act i proposed. using a cyber act is a promising avenue we should export. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank you, also, director for being willing to states to our vote and everything else and for your goo

on >> iyad the fortune of servingy with senator leahy on the ranking committee. he's the chairman and i'm the ranking republican and in that capacity we have jurisdiction over the constitutional amendments, so i rise to support ver y sk riss ten. i'm very pleased we are takingdget a up methe balanced budgetndment i amendment. the the senate has passed a balanced budget amendment in the past. more recently it's come close to passing a balanced budget h amendment. on a agree this hasn't becomended to all.ire a bal had the constitution bean amendedwould to require a balanced budget we would not be today faced with a dire budgetary situation that is before us.h of $1.5 trillion deficit tot emphasize for each of the last two m or three years and maybe. the budget before us is veryvides total straightforward. it provides a totalha of outrace to not exceed total receiptsds unless each house of congress by the two-thirds votes agrees to do otherwise. it provides spending discipline total outlays cannot exceed 18% produ ct of the gross domestic product unless two-thirds o

november 8, 2011 hearings from the united states senate committee on the judiciary in which chairman pat leahywith more than one dozen senators on that committee, have plowed through this. i had spent going over and over it for the last couple of days. --i have been going over it for the last couple of days. the problem of gun trafficking in the southwest is a serious problem. i recommend to my judiciary committee calling it, with whom this whole subject matter is the jurisdiction of this committee, that we commit to maintain the new rule requiring the reporting of multiple sales of semiautomatic weapons and shotguns and rifles by individuals in southwest border state. there have been a number of programs that have dealt with this subject. i think that is number one on my recommended list. secondly, we must see to it that we confirm a director of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. it has been operating under acting directors for the last five and a half years. the senate has failed to act on the nominations not only of the current president, but of president bush as well. if we are going to criti

leahy. mr. levin: senator leahy authorized me and told me that he was withdrawing this amendment relative to military custody because of all of the actions which have previously been taken and i am very confident that's what he told me. so i'm going to -- i'm going to withdraw that amendment on his behalf. the presiding officer: without objection, the amendment is withdrawn. under the previous order, there will now be two minutes of debate equally divided prior to vote on amendment number 1274 offered by the senator from alabama, mr. sessions. mr. sessions: mr. president -- the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: this amendment is crafted to simply clarify and affirm what appears to be the law and logic tells us should be the law today. if an individual is apprehended as a prisoner of war, they are detained under the laws of war until the conflict ends. but if after being detained or when they're detained it determined they have committed crimes against the laws of war, th