Of the sun and its setting. For the beauty of the earth and the glory of the skies, we give you praise. Today, make our lawmakers heirs of peace, demonstrating that they are your children as they strive to find Common Ground. May they take pleasure in doing your will, knowing that by so doing they are fulfilling your purposes in our world. Lord, you are never far from us but often we are far from you, so show us your ways and teach us your paths. We pray in your merciful name. Amen. The presiding officer please join us in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington,d. C. , december 4, 2019. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1 paragraph 3 of the stranding rules of the senate i hereby appoint the honorable kevin
Doma or this bill, and mr. Holder decided to stop making them. And that is what made me say hes abandoned his duty. Do you agree . I agree. I thought that the decision was wrong. I happen to agree with the president. I was a critical of doma. But i thought that the abandonment of the defense of doma was to the rule of law. I thought it violated a longstanding understanding with this body. You know, theres history here, as you know. Youre a student of the constitution. And you know that theres always been this tension between the congress and the Justice Department as to who can be in court defending things of this kind. The Justice Departments always insisted theyre the exclusive representative. Huh been attorney general you would not have stopped that. Absolutely. I would have defended that law. Even though you didnt agree with doma, the defense of marriage act. Theres no definition in the attorney generals position as to when they will abandon a federal law. I happen to agree with th
Actively endorsed by the Current Administration and rigorously enforced by the department of justice. Over these past few years the department of justice has made their presence very wellknown in both my professional and personal life. Since filing for Tax Exemption from the i. R. S. In 2009, my 2010, my private businesses my nonprofit organizations and i personally have been subjected to more than 15 instances of audit, inquiry or investigation by federal agencies, including the i. R. S. , osha, a. T. F. And the f. B. I. All of these inquisitions began after filing for Tax Exemption. There is no other remarkable event or rationale to explain how for decades i went unnoticed by the federal government but now find myself on the receiving end of interagency coordination into and against all facets of my life. I shared that same timeline as a part of testimony given in february of 2014 at had a hearing before the House Oversight and government reform subcommittee. Time did not permit then
Of your classes refuse to answer the hypothetical or said it was too hard, would that be an answer you would accept in your class . No, i would not accept it. It is a straightforward question. The question of what the rule would be for the defense of federal statute yesterday was also a question that someone should be able to answer. I also commend you, senator, on your view of confirmation hearings. Too often people talk about these hearings as john interviews. These hearings have a very significant role for separation of powers, as agencies become more independent. This is the moments that congress tends to get answers to questions, is when youre looking at someone who will head the agency. As i said in my academic writings, it is not often enough that senators use these hearings to try to rebalance or at least get answers from agencies, particularly one like the department of justice, which has been so difficult to get material answers from. I appreciate your thoughtful response to