mr. newell still had his day in court." mr. ewell didn't have his case in court because the success of that $200 million was dependent upon the united states staying in it. this brings me to my last point on the substance of this matter and that has to do with the strength of this case. throughout our investigation the department has tried to defend mr. perez's action by claiming that the case was marginal and weak. once again, however, the documents tell a far different story. before mr. perez got involved, the career lawyers at the department wrote a memo recommending intervention in the case. in that memo, they describe st. paul's actions as -- quote -- "a particularly egregious example of false certification." in fact, the career lawyers in minnesota felt so strongly about the case that they took the unusual step of flying to washington, d.c. to meet with officials in the department of housing and urban development. and housing and urban development, of course, agreed that the united states should intervene in this false cla

mr. newell in this case on behalf of mr. perez' client. the united states. so that's really looking out for the taxpayer. how would you like to have a lawyer like that defending you in some death penalty case? and yet when the congress starts asking questions they have the guts to say quote we didn't do anything improper about mr. newell. quote we didn't do anything improper because mr. newell still had his day in court. mr. knowles didn't have his day in court because the success of that 200 million-dollar case is dependent upon the united states staying in it. now this brings me to my last point on the substance of this matter and that has to do with the strength of the case. throughout our investigation the to hartman has tried to defend mr. perez' action by claiming that the case was marginal and weak. once again however the documents tell a far different story. before mr. perez got involved the career lawyers at the department wrote a memo recommending intervention in the case. in that memo that describes st. paul's actions as quote a particularly egreg

mr. newell when i went to the house two months ago. i know there are unanswered questions and the american people deserve them. cloture should be used judiciously but this is a time, the reason i voted no on cloture last night is because this is a time we need all the answers. this is an appointee whose record demonstrates he may be dangerous for the department of labor, not positive. i think it is important when used judiciously we get the answers people need to know so when we vote to approve or deny an appointee it is based on all the facts, not based on intimidation but all the facts the american people deserve. for that reason i will oppose the nomination today of thomas perez to be the secretary of labor for the united states of america, and i yield back my time. and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i'd like to address two topics. the presiding officer: we are in a quorum call. mr

mr. perez's handling of the magner and newell cases while at the department of justice. the administration has produced thousands of documents. they've arranged for the interview of government employees and access to transcripts of inspector general interviews. they have provided access to mr. perez's personal emails. they have facilitated almost unprecedented levels of disclosure to alleviate any concerns. they have responded to every request for information, including the letter by chairman issa that senator isakson put in the record this morning. madam president, i'd like to include in the record the response to chairman issa's response from the department of justice at this point. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. harkin: madam president, i just ask for 60 more seconds, one more minute. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. harkin: in short, the department of justice has made all emails available for review. it is true that congressman issa has continued to repeat his request, but that doesn't mean that perez, mr. perez and the administration have

mr. perez was the architect of this ill-advised quid pro quo that left fred newell, the good-faith whistle-blower, hanging out to dry. in my view, mr. perez bears the most responsibility in this whole matter. he was the one who was manipulating the process, and he did so at times behind mr. west's back. nonetheless, mr. west was the individual in charge of the civil division, and as head of that division, the decision regarding whether or not to join those false claims cases fell to mr. west. it is troubling to me that mr. perez who at the time was head of the civil rights division would be the one who was so clearly orchestrating the deal and acting as de facto head of civil division and of course mr. west let him get away with it. so that concerns me as it relates to mr. west's nomination to be the third highest ranking official at the department of justice. we need individuals serving in these positions who are willing to stand up to those who are saying -- who are trying to advance a political agenda, and that's exactly what mr. perez was trying to advance. in this instance at least, it doesn