Press Conference with Rep. Steny Hoyer

Press Conference

Press Conference with Rep. Steny Hoyer

Subject: Pelosi Resolution

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REP. HOYER: Good afternoon. Thank you very much for being here. I have been saying for some weeks now that the Republican Party has been pursuing a policy of distraction, a policy of trying to divert the view of the American public from the serious business that confronts this Congress and our country; attempting to divert from various serious issues of substance regarding what was done by the previous administration as it relates to the treatment of prisoners, treatment that, clearly, every American would abhor if such treatment were visited upon our own soldiers and citizens.

This administration is confronting some of the most serious challenges of any administration perhaps, as I have said, since Abraham Lincoln. Obviously Franklin Roosevelt had domestic economy to face.

This president had not only a domestic economy that had been brought extraordinarily low, by the policies of the previous administration, both in terms of its fiscal irresponsibility and its lack of regulatory diligence, essentially taking the referees off the field.

As a result, millions of Americans have lost their jobs. Tens of millions of Americans, perhaps hundreds of millions of Americans, have lost the values in their 401(k), values in their home, and are currently without jobs and without health care and with great fear in their hearts.

We have been working very hard, during the last five months, to focus on those issues. We have been very productive, in my view, in responding to the challenges that confront us, both here and abroad. We have been serious in that effort.

Republicans, for the last few weeks, have been focused on the politics of personal destruction, which was a phrase used by Dick Gephardt some years ago. In this case, it attempts to distract the American public, from the very important work that confronts this nation, by focusing on the speaker of the House and the representation she made, as to her recollections with reference to a briefing that occurred some seven years ago.

There was a resolution on the floor today. That resolution was not in order. My view is, the other side knew, the resolution was going to be ruled out of order but continued their politics of distraction, by offering it for political purposes. The reason I say that is, because they focus on a concern about what was said, with reference to our intelligence community.

Q (Have there been any ?) --

REP. HOYER: Mr. Boehner has made a statement; said that the speaker had the responsibility of coming forward with proof.

In fact, Bob Graham -- Senator Bob Graham, the former Senate chairman of the Intelligence Committee, was briefed himself, and his recollection is essentially the same as the speaker's recollection.

In fact, Time magazine has been quoted -- or is being quoted right now saying that it may well appear that the speaker is accurate in that. Let me see if I can give you that exact quote. Time magazine says, quote, "But in looking at the substance of the accusations," comma, "it increasingly looks like she was right." That's May 20th, '09.

Q Who said that?

REP. HOYER: Time magazine.

Q And does -- is there a name attached to it?

REP. HOYER: I don't have a name. That's a quote from Time magazine.

Q (Off mike) -- magazine -- (off mike.) (Laughter.)

REP. HOYER: The magazine said it.

Now, I'll give you a quote, however, and I will attribute it to somebody -- in this case, John Boehner, December 9th, 2007. Quote: "Either I don't have confidence in what the intelligence community told me several months ago, or I don't have confidence in what they're telling me today." Close quote.

Peter Hoekstra, the ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee, said, on November 20th, 2008, quote, "We cannot have an intelligence community that covers up what it does and then lies to Congress."

Former speaker Newt Gingrich said this in referring to the National Intelligence Estimate: "It is so professionally unworthy, so intellectually indefensible and so fundamentally misleading that it is damaging to our national security." That was December 11th, 2007.

Colin Powell, appearing on ABC News, said on September 8th of '05, "There are some people in the intelligence community who knew at the time that some of these sources were not good and shouldn't be relied upon. And they didn't speak up. That devastated me." So said Colin Powell some years ago.

Point simply is this. I have been saying now for weeks that this was a distraction, a distraction because a minority party does not want to look at what George Bush did.

George Bush, of course -- President Bush said, "We do not torture." That is a quote.

That is the question. Does -- or did we pursue policies of torture? Did we rationalize torture, what was done, when it was done? Why was it done? That's what is important for us to know. Why? Because it's important for us as we go forward not to rely on the rationalizations of three lawyers whose opinions were clearly stretching the law from the perspective of many, many other legal and constitutional scholars.

This is a serious matter. But it is not being treated seriously. It's being treated politically by the minority party. I would hope that they would focus on the substance, not on what was said, when what is said, because we see that many people said many things. But the substance is what we ought to focus on. Not only ought we focus on the substance of this issue, but we ought to focus on the substance of giving every American health care, getting Americans back to work and off the unemployment rolls, making sure that the American people are confident that we're going to be energy-independent, make sure that the American people are confident their children are going to be well-educated and able to complete in the global marketplace.

It does not serve our country to have the kind of politics practiced that we saw today on the floor of the House. I would urge my Republican friends and colleagues to work with us on the important business of America, and not participate in the irrelevancies which may make, for some, political points, but which do not serve our country well.

Thank you.

Oh, let me by the way -- that Time Magazine quote is quoted from Jay Newton-Small.

Q Who's Jay --

REP. HOYER: I don't know who Jay Newton-Small is.

Q He's right here.

Q He's in the front row here.

REP. HOYER: Oh, here's Jay Newton-Small! (Laughter.)

Q Would you take two questions from me? (Laughter.) Only members can appear at the lectern.

REP. HOYER: Now -- but it was an extraordinarily reliable source. (Laughter.)

Q Would you say that you'll support at some point establishing a congressional panel to look into the allegations?

REP. HOYER: I have indicated I would support either now -- let me stop, because I want to be precise.

The allegations: There are a lot of allegations being made.

What I would support is a commission or congressional panels, the Intelligence Committee or others, to look at how this country came to undertake what clearly most people believe was torture, how that was rationalized. And what going forward should this country do, to ensure that we comply with our own laws and comply with our international obligations and international law?

I might point out that we passed a statute, as you may recall, some years ago, which indicated that torture was not to be pursued. Senator McCain of course was a principal supporter of that. Senator McCain of course was one who was subjected to what we would characterize as torture, and knows better than almost all Americans the consequences of such action.

General Krulak, with whom I served, on the Board of Visitors at the Naval Academy, the former commandant of the Marines, wrote an op- ed some year-plus ago, saying that torture didn't work and we should not rationalize torture for the concern of our own people.

Q Why not have the commission look into whether or not the CIA misled Congress?

REP. HOYER: Well, I think that clearly during the course of finding out what was done, I think, that will come out, whether or not, in fact, it was done or was not done, that is, when the procedures for this enhanced interrogation process was done. I think that would come out in any kind of commission.

Q But based on, you know, these statements that you've read and on what Speaker Pelosi said, you know, why not have a commission focused solely on whether the CIA has misled Congress?

REP. HOYER: I think the Intelligence Committee will certainly be, in both houses, pursuing efforts to determine that they get proper information. As I said, I cited Colin Powell. But you could say other members of the administration, in terms of the -- of information they received, from CIA or other organs of the intelligence community.

But again we are focusing on an issue which is not, in my opinion, the nub of the issue. And that is, what did we do? How did we rationalize it? Was it consistent with American law? And if not, how do we preclude it happening again?

(Cross talk.)

Q Mr. Leader, this is a tangential question. But it deals with -- (off mike). The president today talked about the question of the detainees, what to do with them. The Congress has said, we're not going to make any move, on the detainees, until we get a concrete plan.

Do you have any more confidence that the administration is any closer to doing something about detainees, giving you guys a concrete plan, so that that can move forward, so maybe some of these questions won't come up again?

REP. HOYER: I have -- I think that is a tangential question. I'll answer it, but I don't think it relates to what we're -- the specifics that we're talking about or the practice that we're talking about.

In terms of Guantanamo, you asked me, am I confident.

I am confident. I'm confident that this administration will do what it has done since being inaugurated, pursuing a very thoughtful, considered path to address challenges confronting the country.

In this case, the president made it very clear during the course of his campaign, citing Colin Powell again, who appeared on "Meet the Press" on -- some year-plus ago, where he said that Guantanamo ought to be shut down today, or yesterday. That's when he was speaking a year ago he said it ought to be shut down. He said it undermines the moral status of our country. I think the president made that pretty clear during the course of his campaign that he agreed with that.

However, he also understands that this is a difficult and important challenge to do it right. So I am absolutely confident that he and the administration are pursuing this in a thoughtful, considered manner to achieve their objective in a way most protective of the security of our country and of our people.

Q Mr. Leader, about --

REP. HOYER: Last question.

Q -- about the president's speech in general, Mr. McConnell said that it was just a speech; there was no plan; it was driven by his quest for popularity in Europe. Is this, again, what you see as politics of distraction? What was your general reaction to President Obama's speech on national security?

REP. HOYER: Today's speech, you mean.

Q Yes.

REP. HOYER: Unfortunately, I did not see the president's speech. I've read just a few statements from it. I don't know what Senator McConnell means, just a political speech. Presumably, every time any of us speech -- speak, it is political in the sense that we are political leaders.

My own view is that this president is as thoughtful and as analytical a speaker as we have. And I think that -- I haven't read his speech, so I don't want to comment on the substance, but I would be -- I'm very confident that what he talked about was why we -- why he felt he needed to do this, the path that he was pursuing, and that he wanted to accomplish this objective.

That is not different than what he said in the campaign. It is consistent with what he said in the campaign and consistent with what he told the American people, who elected him handily, that he would do.

Q (Off mike) -- the same time we had former Vice President Dick Cheney having a speech at the same time defending enhanced interrogation techniques?

REP. HOYER: I didn't see his speech either. (Laughter.) But I will be glad at some point in time to have my commentary on both --

Q What have you been doing?

REP. HOYER: Yeah, right, what have I been doing? (Laughter.)

Q (Off mike.)

REP. HOYER: What have I been doing? I've been working on health care. I've had three health-care meetings today so that I could do what I'm urging others to do, focus on the challenges our American families have.

Q But at the same time, Cheney's been out on the Sunday talk shows defending (the past few years ?), says it was not torture, totally defends enhanced interrogation techniques. Why do you think he's doing that? Is he doing that for the Republican Party, the legacy of the Bush administration? Why do you think Cheney's out there defending the administration so much?

REP. HOYER: Well, you know, obviously I can't read his mind. I don't think he's doing it for the Republican Party, however. I think he's doing it for Vice President Cheney and the legacy that he might or might not have -- well, the legacy he's going to have. I think that's his reason to rationalizing that which was done and trying to justify it.

Thank you very much.

Q Thank you.

Q Thank you, Mr. Hoyer.

END.

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