from delaware on amtrak. today was among his final appearances presiding over the senate as vp. former colleagues called him the irish poet of american politicians, and told their favorite joe biden stories. joe s life, his commitment to his family, his struggles, and his service encompass what it means to be not just vice president and a brilliant husband and a father, but an american. that s joe biden right there. unbowed. unbroken. and unable to stop talking. we ve been friends for almost 40 years. since i was the navy senate liaison and used to carry your bags on overseas trips. i joked recently that i ve resented it ever since. while joe biden changed washington, washington never changed him.
off an incredible upset. joe biden was elected to the united states senate. in every respect joe s life has been unique. so, again that is senator harry reid sharing stories about vice president joe biden as they give him a tribute, honoring prior to him leaving his seat in the white house and moments ago we heard from senate majority leader. republican mitch mcconnell who paid tribute in this way. presiding officer back in the senate, good news for everyone when he s in the chair. good news for him because as the senator pointed out, the rest of us have to call him mr. president. [ laughter ] good news for the rest of us because he has to let everyone else talk. [ laughter ] the amazing thing is, the man we honored today wasn t always a talker. he suffered the a debilitating
moment. a priest who was an r.n. and an attorney. where did that come from? and he shows up right at joe s cell. the thing that struck me right away was the coroner s testimony. anthony klann had sustained a very significant and deep neck wound from ear to ear. that neck wound opened up two large holes in anthony s trachea. but at trial state eyewitness eddie espinoza claimed he heard tony klann scream for mercy after his throat had been slit. i worked with trachea patients every day. so i knew if you could find the hole in your trachea, you could plug it perhaps, you might be able to make a noise. it might sound something like this. so there is no way that anthony klann could be running down a creek bed trying to plug two holes in his trachea so he can scream for his life.
joe and his lawyers believed that at the very least the withheld evidence provided reasonable doubt the crime could have happened differently than the state presented at trial. in july 2004 joe s team went before judge o malley to obtain a new trial. we put up all our witnesses. the newly discovered people, the newly discovered evidence. by far the most powerful witness at the hearing was chris longenecker, stoney lewis s alleged rape victim, who had been found living in florida. neil convinced chris that his testimony could save joe s life. i wasn t able to do anything for tony because and so i figured, if i could help someone else, then i ll do that. chris, who is legally blind and was born with a physical disability on the left side of