Dem Senator Slams GOP For Using AG Hearings As ‘Soundbite Factory For Fox’

Senate Crime and Terrorism Chairman Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., presides over the subcommittee's hearing: "Campus Sexual Assault: the Roles and Responsibilities of Law Enforcement." on Capitol Hill in Washington... Senate Crime and Terrorism Chairman Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., presides over the subcommittee's hearing: "Campus Sexual Assault: the Roles and Responsibilities of Law Enforcement." on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014. It's estimated that only a fraction of campus sexual assault victims go to police. Senators want to know why. The subcommittee hearing on Tuesday focused on the role of law enforcement in campus sexual assault cases. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke) MORE LESS
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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) accused his Republican colleagues on Thursday of turning the confirmation hearings for the next attorney general into “a soundbite factory for Fox News and conspiracy theorists everywhere.”

Whitehouse criticized GOP lawmakers for “launch[ing] a series of unanswerable attacks” on outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder instead of focusing on the candidate under consideration, U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch.

“There are plenty of forums where the attorney general would have an opportunity to defend himself,” Whitehouse said. “This is not one.”

He added: “This solemn occasion has been co-opted to that extent and turned into what appears to be a soundbite factory for Fox News and conspiracy theorists everywhere. We actually have a nominee in front of us. … We should get about the business of voting on her.”

Watch below, via Raw Story:

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Notable Replies

  1. “This solemn occasion has been co-opted to that extent and turned into what appears to be a soundbite factory for Fox News and conspiracy theorists everywhere. We actually have a nominee in front of us. … We should get about the business of voting on her.”

    PERFECT. But watch the entire clip. Whitehouse goes on to defend Holder and even noted the terrible state the DOJ was in before Holder took the helm. It was a thing of beauty.

  2. [Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse] added: "This solemn occasion has been co-opted to that extent and turned into what appears to be a soundbite factory for Fox News and conspiracy theorists everywhere. We actually have a nominee in front of us. ... We should get about the business of voting on her."

    Reached for comment, the White House agreed with Whitehouse.

  3. That’s the best smackdown since Big Show threw Hulk over the top ring rope.

  4. I adore Sheldon Whitehouse; always have, always will. The roster of great Dems doesn’t end with Elizabeth Warren.

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