Lisa Graves Quotes (17 Quotes)

Our founders insisted on checks on presidential power to protect our nation's legacy of liberty. The Senate Intelligence Committee must transcend party politics and insist on facts, not rhetoric. The American people deserve the truth, not a whitewash by their elected representatives. Our security and liberty are far too important to be sacrificed in order to protect a president that has hidden from Congress and the public his decision that he need not follow the laws that protect the rights of ordinary Americans.

The administration has certainly demonstrated a desire to have carefully-controlled events.

It's akin to the Soviet Politburo erasing people from photographs. The only reason we know most of these things are happening is that civil servants have observed these violations of the law and have bravely blown the whistle and told the press.

When a law has been broken, the proper response should be a full and independent investigation, not a cover-up. Congress must reject attempts to legitimize this illegal program, and instead insist that the truth be brought to light. No one, not even the president, should be above the law. The law should not be changed to protect politicians by making unlawful acts legal.

Instead of addressing the real concerns ... the Republican majority in Congress buckled to White House pressure.

When lawmakers seek to rewrite our Fourth Amendment rights, they should at least have the gumption to do so in public. Americans have a reasonable expectation that their federal government will not gather records about their health, their wealth and the transactions of their daily life without probable cause of a crime and without a court order.

We're seeing an administration that's engaging in a lot of legal hairsplitting to justify behavior that's not authorized by the law.

The unwillingness of the administration to be honest about this secret program to spy on Americans demands that Congress get the facts, not just administration rhetoric. The truth can be determined without compromising national security. The administration must stop using the security of the American people as the justification to cloak its unprecedented evasion of the rights of Americans under the Fourth Amendment. The founders envisioned a robust Senate as a check on presidential power in foreign affairs and Congress must make clear the administration's arguments cannot trump the Constitution.

We applaud those lawmakers, from both sides of the aisle, who have demanded the truth from the government. The rule of law has been broken, and Congress and the public have a right to know. Effective and public oversight can be done without compromising state secrets. The administration must stop using national security as a blanket reason to keep their illegal activities hidden in the shadows.

It provides more protections and important clarifications than the other bills that are being considered. But all the bills fall short of what is necessary to bring the Patriot Act back in line with the Constitution.

It's astonishing that this administration believes it can continue to claim that there have been no abuses of these powers when it hasn't even followed the law.

The Patriot Act debate is whether FISA adequately protects civil liberties. The point of FISA was to interpose a judge between the president and the citizen to make sure they wouldn't gather data on someone unilaterally.

Although the House Judiciary Committee's base bill does not expand the Patriot Act in the unwise and unwarranted way the Senate Intelligence Committee proposed, it can and must be modified to ensure that Patriot powers are focused on terrorists and not ordinary Americans,

The Patriot Act debate has come a long way, but there is still more that needs to be done to protect the rights of ordinary Americans. It is clear that there is building skepticism about the administration's approach to national security and civil liberties, and the ACLU and its bipartisan allies will continue to speak out in defense of all Americans' fundamental civil liberties and constitutional rights.

When presented with an honest representation, the American voter has serious concerns about the government's actions. Congress must listen and take steps to protect our Constitutional freedoms. The American people recognize that the rule of law must be followed by all - especially the president.

Lisa Graves of the American Civil Liberties Union scoffed at a defense official's assertion that the proposed change would not allow for carte blanche Pentagon spying inside the United States. That's some spin, ... The change would allow them to gather information on Americans surreptitiously. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck.

Congress must assert its proper role in our government and through its oversight powers, seek the truth. The system of checks and balances must be restored. The administration's illegal actions fail the American people and our Constitution.