Leahy takes on Cheney
Posted: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 3:20 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC’s Michelle Perry
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy (D-VT), took on former Vice President Dick Cheney today, responding to the public criticism he has been giving the Obama administration.
Leahy, appearing on Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC, said he disagrees with comments by the former vice president that the Obama administration is making America more vulnerable to another al Qaeda attack, by not using harsh interrogation tactics.
Video: Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy tells NBC's Andrea Mitchell that the U.S. standing in the world has been damaged by questionable legal memos supporting the Bush administration's use of torture."I don't know if this is the run-up to the book the vice president is writing and hoping it will boost sales,” Leahy said, “but it is very interesting to notice the former president is not going on every single TV station to say the same kinds of things."
He added that while Cheney has a First Amendment right to say such things, "I think it is somewhat unseemly. ... I wish that when we were trying to get the documents and material from him, and he was refusing to do that when he was trying to block our subpoenas, that he felt the same way."
Leahy also discussed his meeting with President Obama today on potential nominees for the Supreme Court. He said the decision will come "relatively soon" and that he doesn't think it will be someone that is "way off the charts" but "a good, solid person" that Americans should rally behind.
The Judiciary chairman has passed on his recommendations to President Obama in private, he said.
The only hints he would offer? He believes a woman should be considered, given that there is only one currently serving on the court. And that little attention should be paid to the pressure of special-interest groups.
"I remember when different groups on the left were picketing outside of my office, because I supported Justice Souter,” Leahy said. “Now those same groups wish that Justice Souter was not leaving."
