the country of the magna carta, being the mother of all parliaments, the country that out of the darknesse second world war helped found the united nations. 0ur global reputation for rule—making, not rule breaking, is one of the reasons we are so respected around the world. and when you ask people to think of britain, they think of the rule of law. and let's be clear after the prime minister's beach, despite what he said — this is not an argument about leavitt or remain. this is about right or wrong. lord lamont says the bill is impossible to defend. the brexiteer and former attorney general who helped negotiate and sign this deal as attorney general says this bill is unconscionable. in the brexiteer lord howard, his former boss, said this. "i never thought it was a thing i'd hear a british minister, far less a conservative minister, say, that the government was going to invite parliament to act in breach of international law." we have a reputation for probity, for upholding the rule of law, and it is a reputation which is very precious and ought to be safeguarded. and i'm afraid it was s

the great thing about the magna carta, which the barons forced on king john, was it said, due process of law, that means king john, you cannot just put people in prison because you'd like to do it. you have to follow the law too. and every one of us has that protection. and it's that very basic legal principle that really is the rule of law. one, you follow the law. two, you don't like the law, you get together with other people and you get it changed. through a democratic process. all that's in that document. and right there, and of course from a court's point of view, you can go back 2,000 years and read what some of the thinkers thought. some of those thinkers said, how do we get people to live together in society? how do we get them to follow the leadership of a government? well, they can make you through force. but really they can't. and courts don't have force. that's what hamilton said. they don't have the person, they don't have the sword -- purse, they don't have the sword. we can't hand out money. there's a third way. convince people that your decisions are fair. and justice

you're a history buff restored washington monument you saved of the national zoo pandas brought magna carta having saying nothing of a television show in bloomberg, and on pbs how do you do it all tell us about your leadership. >> well, i didn't feel i was as good a leader as people i interviewed so in the book i talk a little bit about what i try to do as a leader but recognizing i wasn't really at the level of people i interviewed i went out and try to interview the most famous people i could. that i knew who were leaders people in business or culture or the arts or sports and that book is basically a summary of what they told me and what it attacks to be a leader. >> if you were to skill any quality of leadership from these people and we'll get more specific in a moment because threes are extraordinary stories. tell me what you found to be most important qualities or the connective thread among them. >> persistence is number one. because nobody wakes up and can get anything done they want. nobody has ideas that are so brilliant people say yes that's great when jeff bezos said i'm going t

not the liberty bell, not the magna carta, not any symbol of freedom, but victoria, the symbol of conquesthad created germany. and the myth of prussian superiority had become the myth of the master race. and if the carl schmitt of that generation had any worry about the liberties that had been denied, they were now forgotten. in this moment of triumph, just to be a german was enough. in the newly created reich industry flourished as never before. the merchant fleet grew larger every day. german harbors were jammed with commerce. and german stomachs filled with beer and sausage. germany had achieved unity, become rich, no other country threatened her. the world hoped for a peaceful, good neighbor. but the world had forgotten the prussian inheritance. a tradition not of peace and friendship but of war and conquest. [gunshots] [singing] and by now, carl schmitt of the second generation. the father of the carl schmitt we had to fight was arrogantly singing "germany, germany overall." as he probably watched his father land becoming the most aggressively nationalistic country in the world. indus

the concept is as hold as magna carta. it's a reminder that the american revolution was the ability of the people to question the executive ruler. we are seeing a fundamental system that is now being put to test. president trump and the administration have sought to evade accountability and eliminate transparency. there's a reason that in article 1 of our constitution that congress is mentioned as the first branch of the government and our ability to conduct oversight is a critical component of legislating. over and over again, the trump administration has sought to impede that final work. the abduction the package that's being introduced today strengthens the critical protections that underpin our democracy. one issue that some of my colleagues have touched upon that i want to emphasize and reinforce is the role of the congressional subpoena. congressional subpoenas are not requests that recipients and brush aside. they're indispensable as a tool that this body uses to investigate potential wrongdoing and inform our legis

it has basic reasons in that due process clause that go all the way back to king john and the magna carta. the great thing about the magna the barons forced on king john, was it said, due process of law, that means king john. you cannot just put people in prison because you would like o it. you have to follow the law, too. and every onene of us has that protection. and it's that very basic legal principles that really is the rule of law. okay? one, you follow the law. two, you don't don't like the law, he get together with other people and you get it changed through a democratic process. all that is in that document. and right there, and, of course, from a court point of view, you can go back 2000 years and read what some of the thinkers thought. some of thosee thinkers said hw do we get people to live together in society? how do we get them to follow the leadership ofsh the government? they could make you through force, but they can't, and courts don't have force. that's what hamilton said. they don't have the perverse pd they don't have the sword. we can't hand out money. there's a thir

we came up with the magna carta.the british people and shouldn't be challenged. how can we look china and russia in the eye and ask them to honor international law when we do this? you raise such an important point. this is why those that support the government want to get a deal and have that backup as well and let's do it and keep our heads held up high. anna: we heard from ed miliband and he was asking the question about why is the joint committee set up by the is rawal agreement, why that not being used and instead they the threat to break international law is being used? is that that makes people think this is some sort of hard-ball tactic? r >> he makes a point. there is a timetable. to get legislation through the house of commons, then house of lords and now you have to introduce it this week. hat's what happened. there is a dispute resolution mechanism. the joint committee as you say. this is taking us well away from the -- used on fishing, state aid and how you might subsidize industries which is part of the

from the magna carta onwards, and secondly, if we are looking at other countries to strike trade deals are mechanisms to deal with that. there is a specificjoint to deal with that. there is a specific joint committee to deal with that. there is a specificjoint committee that is supposed to be looking at these issues and ironing out any issues that arise. so the government has a way of dealing with this. i hope they do listen. and it's really important to say to your viewers, this is not about reheating the brexit argument. this is not about remain leave, we have left the european union. it's about right or wrong. that is why you see leading brexiteers, michael howard, norman lamont, geoffrey cox, boris johnson's former attorney general, all saying this is the wrong thing to do. you mentioned the b word, brexit, are you concerned that in voting against this, it might appear to some that you are trying to block brexit, despite what you have said in your comment to viewers, which obvious lee contributed to a huge labour loss at the last election?” think it is really important to say that