mr. mchenry, for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, attorney general holder, for being here. listening to the answer you had from the former chairman, it seems to me when you see that folks did not follow policy, did not follow your directives and we're here 13 months after you found out that an agent was murdered for policies that you did not support, and we find out you've not fired a single individual. we find out that you have not rebuked any staff members. heck, you haven't even put a letter in people's personnel files saying that they, on their watch, acted and an agent was murdered. that is absolutely absurd from this side of the dais. and so i ask you why have you not taken steps? >> well -- >> to make sure this doesn't happen again? >> well, i have taken steps. certainly, with regard to -- >> you told people that you're mad, you're upset. that, to me, is silly. you've not taken action, you've not fired anybody, you haven't changed policy because it's clear you didn't enforce a policy before. you didn't even know, yo

mr. mchenry's statement that the a.g. had not responded to agent terry's death. he responded immediately. and has expressed his concern for the other agents that are being killed at a higher rate than ever in our history. >> if the gentle lady will yield. i will not yield. i will not yield. and not only did he do that, he immediately took swift action to stop gun walking which did not happen in the prior administration. and establish reforms to prevent this type of flawed operation from ever happening again. he further called for and we can all help him do this, particularly the republican majority, to confirm a permanent atf director. that would help moranhe also ca fire arms trafficking statute. he called for appropriate fundfo do its job. and increase penalties for straw purchasing. so these are some of the concrete actions that he's taken in response to that tragic death. and once again today, this investigation continues on its vast and curious mission to fix the symptoms rather than the cause of so much deadly gun violence on the southern border. and this c

mr. mchenry, for five minutes. >> i thank the chairman. senator lee, thank you for being here. thank you for the work you're doing. the heavy lifting you're doing in your first term in the united states sent up with that i liked you the bounds of my time to the gentleman from south carolina. >> i knew you would get lucky for me fellow carolinian. >> congressman, he has always shown graciousness towards me and i appreciate he is yielding. thank you for that. senator, how were you possibly to have vetted nlrb appointees when the names were submitted to the senate? >> thank you for raising that. with regard to two of the appointees to the nlrb, their names were submitted just right before the christmas holidays, and just days before impact, and as a result they had not gone to the committee process. they hadn't been vetted by any committee. we hadn't had any time to set any committee hearing. and so that in and of itself ought to attention to the legitimacy of the procedures, the legitimacy of the constitutional analysis that led to these unconstitutional recess appointments. it r

mr. mchenry, for five minutes. >> i thank the chairman. senator lee, thank you for being here. thank you for the work you're doing. the heavy lifting you're doing in your first term in the united states sent up with that i liked you the bounds of my time to the gentleman from south carolina. >> i knew you would get lucky for me fellow carolinian. >> congressman, he has always shown graciousness towards me and i appreciate he is yielding. thank you for that. senator, how were you possibly to have vetted nlrb appointees when the names were submitted to the senate? >> thank you for raising that. with regard to two of the appointees to the nlrb, their names were submitted just right before the christmas holidays, and just days before impact, and as a result they had not gone to the committee process. they hadn't been vetted by any committee. we hadn't had any time to set any committee hearing. and so that in and of itself ought to draw attention to the legitimacy of the procedures, the legitimacy of the constitutional analysis that led to these unconstitutional recess appointments.

mchenry. and roger took exception to that. and brought a writ of habeas corpus, which the judge refused who is the custodian of mr. merriman and informed the judge that it was not necessarily just the president but he was the one himself delegating with presidential authority to suspend the writ if he saw so fit. there's just one paragraph i want to read you because i could to arrest a citizen in maryland upon vague and indefinite charges without any proof. under this order, at 3:00 in the morning, he is seized as a prisoner and conveyed to ft. mchenry and they're kept in close and when habeas corpus, requiring him before justice of the supreme court an order he may examine into the illegality of the imprisonment, the answer of the officer is he is authorized by the president to suspend the writ of habeas corpus at his cession. an officer is authorized at his discretion and in the exercise of that discretion suspended in this case and on that ground refuses obedience of the writ. can you imagine? can you imagine judicial authority? we cannot imagine what the civil war presented with 600,000 americans died in the c

mchenry. and roger tanny took exception to that, and brought a writ of habeas corpus, which colonel george cadwaller refused, who is the custodian of mr. merriman. refused to honor. and in fact informed judge tanny that it was not just the president but cadwaller himself was the one delegated with presidential authority to suspend the writ if he saw so fit. this enraged tanny. and there's just one paragraph that i want to read to you, because i can just see tanny writing this. i hear the judge's voice. the case then is simply this. a military officer residing in pennsylvania issues an order to arrest a citizen in maryland upon vague and indefinite charges without any proof as far as appears. under this order, his house is entered in the night, about 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. he is seized as a prisoner and conveyed to fort mchenry and there kept in close confinement. and when habeas corpus is served requiring him to produce the prisoner before a justice of the supreme court in order that he may examine into the legality of the imprisonment, the answer is that he is authorized by the president to suspend the writ of habeas corpus at

poem called "the defense of fort mchenry" which was later set to the music becoming "the star spangled banner" that officially became the national anthem on march 3, 1931. mr. president, we will be celebrating this weekend the 82nd anniversary of "the star spangled banner" becoming the official national anthem of our country. the flag that flew over fort mchenry is now a national treasure on display at the smithsonian institute, an insphraition separation to all americans, a very short distance from where we are today. the war of 1812 confirmed the legitimacy of the revolution and served as a critical test for the united states constitution and newly established democratic government. our young nation battled against the largest, most powerful military on the earth at the time, and emerged with an enhanced standing among the countries of the world. a new generation of americans too young to remember the victory of the revolutionary war were inspired by francis scott key's poem to take pride in our nation's flag which embodies our universal feelings of patriotism and courage. as a marylander i am proud of the role my state played in the war of 1812 and i've