e clerked for the chief judge, rland, before he clerked for justice sandra day o'connor. and the retired justice o'connor said we should be having a full hearing on merrick garland. and secretary rodney slater, former secretary of the department of transportation nder president bill clinton. and judge timothy k. lewis is a former judge on the court of appeals for the third circuit so he knows very well now the circuit courts work. he was appointed by president 82. ge h.w. bush in 19 i had the privilege to confirm him. what i would suggest we do, probably have each of the witnesses say -- we'll put their full statement in the record, but then we could then ask questions of the witnesses not just r -- and because of the vermont connection or the fact that we're both former prosecutors but let me -- >> you could say it's because she's a woman. >> because we also have italian ancestry. so -- >> well, and she's a woman and should go first. [laughter] oh, well. senator leahy: i'd be the last person to argue with senator feinstein, one of the most valuable members of this commit