Fifty more of him and we could transform the U.S.
back to where it once was. It's getting a little late
for the sheeple to wake up, but please do what you
can by informing your friends and relations of what
this nation is up against.
H/T to Merlin
Lee joins Paul in talking filibuster against CIA nominee Brennan
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03/06/13 12:00 PM ET
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on Wednesday joined Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in his
talking filibuster against the nomination of John Brennan to be
director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
“Americans have every reason to be concerned any time the government
wants to intrude on life, liberty or prosperity,” Lee said. “We’re
talking here about the sanctity of human life and we have to take steps
to protect that.”
Paul had been speaking from the Senate floor for more than three hours before another GOP member joined him.
“I’m
here to filibuster John Brennan’s nomination to be director of CIA,”
Paul said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “I will speak for as long as it
takes."
“I will speak today until the president says, ‘no’ he will not kill you at a café or in your home.”
Paul
has said he wants more answers from the administration on whether
American citizens can be targeted by armed drones inside the United
States before he'll lift his filibuster on Brennan's nomination.
“
No
American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first
being found guilty of a crime,” Paul said. “That an American could be
killed on American soil is an abomination.” Paul noted that his
throat was getting dry as he passed the one-hour mark of the talking
filibuster, which has become rare in the upper chamber. Senators are
allowed to filibuster without commanding the floor, so few choose to
hold up nominations or legislation by speaking.
"This is the first time I’ve come to the floor to use a true talking filibuster," Paul said. "It almost never happens. … I don’t think I’ve ever seen some one come and speak in a filibuster before."
Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said earlier Wednesday that he had
hoped to have a vote on Brennan’s nomination so that lawmakers could
leave town before a snowstorm prevented members from heading home for
the weekend.
The Senate Intelligence panel in a 12-3 vote on
Tuesday approved Brennan, but Paul has said he will keep his filibuster
going until President Obama says he will not kill Americans by drone
attack on American soil.
“Has America the Beautiful become ‘Alice
in Wonderland’?” Paul said. “When I asked the president can you kill an
American on American soil, it should have been an easy answer — an
unequivocal "no."
“But his answer was, ‘I haven’t killed anyone yet and I have no intention of killing Americans, but I might.’ ”
Paul said the possibility that a citizen could be targeted
without being charged in the courts went against the Fifth Amendment of
the Constitution, which gives citizens the right to a trial by a jury of
their peers.
“The Fifth Amendment should also protect you from a president who might kill you with a drone,” Paul said. “No American should be killed in their house without a warrant. … But [Obama] says trust him, he hasn’t done it yet.
“Mr. President that’s not good enough. … I will not sit quietly in my office and let him shred the Constitution.”
“The Fifth Amendment should also protect you from a president who might kill you with a drone,” Paul said. “No American should be killed in their house without a warrant. … But [Obama] says trust him, he hasn’t done it yet.
“Mr. President that’s not good enough. … I will not sit quietly in my office and let him shred the Constitution.”
Recently released Justice Department documents claim the CIA and the DOD
have the legal right to take out terror suspects across the globe via
armed drone strikes, even if those suspects happen to be U.S. citizens.
The
legal justifications allowing armed drones to take out U.S. citizens
suspected of terrorism overseas would open the door to such strikes
against Americans inside the U.S., according to Paul.
Attorney General Eric Holder this week declined to rule out armed-drone strikes on American soil, though he said it's a far-fetched scenario.
In a letter sent to Paul before Brennan's confirmation vote, Holder said the White House "has no intention" of launching drone strikes on American soil, saying the administration "rejects the use of military force" inside the U.S. when "well-established law enforcement authorities" exist.
"The question you have posed is therefore entirely hypothetical, unlikely to occur, and one we hope no president will ever have to confront," Holder wrote.
Attorney General Eric Holder this week declined to rule out armed-drone strikes on American soil, though he said it's a far-fetched scenario.
In a letter sent to Paul before Brennan's confirmation vote, Holder said the White House "has no intention" of launching drone strikes on American soil, saying the administration "rejects the use of military force" inside the U.S. when "well-established law enforcement authorities" exist.
"The question you have posed is therefore entirely hypothetical, unlikely to occur, and one we hope no president will ever have to confront," Holder wrote.
Lee said that Holder’s memo expressed a “standardless standard.”
“No one can reasonably look into this and see who the government may
kill with a drone and who the government won’t kill with a drone,” Lee
said.
Carlo Muñoz contributed.
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