Executive orders - Tom Clancy [329]
I asked the Justice Department to send me a list of experienced judges from federal appeals courts. I'm going over that list now, and I hope to make my nominations to the Senate in the next two weeks.
Normally the American Bar Association assists the government in screening such judges, but evidently that's not being done in this case. May I ask why, sir?
Tom, all of the judges on the list have been through that process already, and since then all have sat on the appeals bench for a minimum often years.
The list was assembled by prosecutors? Donner asked.
By experienced professionals in the Justice Department. The head of the search group is Patrick Martin, who just took over the Criminal Division. He was assisted by other Justice Department officials, like the head of the Civil Rights Division, for example.
But they're all prosecutors, or people whose job it is to prosecute cases. Who suggested Mr. Martin to you?
It's true that I don't personally know the Department of Justice all that well. Acting FBI Director Murray recommended Mr. Martin to me. He did a good job supervising the investigation of the airplane crash into the Capitol building, and I asked him to assemble the list for me.
And you and Mr. Murray have been friends for a long time.
Yes, we have. Ryan nodded.
On another of those intelligence operations, Mr. Murray accompanied you, didn't he?
Excuse me? Jack asked.
The CIA operation in Colombia, when you played a role in breaking up the Medellin cartel.
Tom, I'm going to say this one last time: I will not discuss intelligence operations, real ones or made-up ones, at all-ever. Are we clear on that?
Mr. President, that operation resulted in the death of Admiral James Cutter. Sir, Donner went on, a sincerely pained expression on his face, a lot of stories are coming out now about your tenure at CIA. These stories are going to break, and we really want you to have the chance to set the record straight as rapidly as possible. You were not elected to this office, and you have never been examined in the way that political candidates usually are. The American people want to know the man who sits in this office, sir.
Tom, the world of intelligence is a secret world. It has to be. Our government has to do many things. Not all of those things can be discussed openly. Everyone has secrets. Every viewer out there has them. You have them. In the case of the government, keeping those secrets is vitally important to the well-being of our country, and also, by the way, to the safety of the lives of the people who do our country's business. Once upon a time the media respected that rule, especially in times of war, but also in other times. I wish you still did.
But at what point, Mr. President, does secrecy work against our national interests?
That's why we have a law that mandates Congress's right to oversee intelligence operations. If it were just the Executive Branch making these decisions, yes, you would have just cause to worry. But it isn't that way. Congress also examines what we do. I have myself reported to Congress on many of these things.
Was there a secret operation to Colombia? Did you participate in it? Did Daniel Murray accompany you there after the death of then-FBI Director Emil Jacobs?
I have nothing to say on that or on any of the other stories you brought up.
And there was another commercial break.
Why are you doing this? To everyone's surprise, the question came from Cathy.
Mrs. Ryan-
Dr. Ryan, she said at once.
Excuse me. Dr. Ryan, these allegations must be laid to rest.
We've been through this before. Once people tried to break our marriage up-and that was all lies, too, and-
Cathy, Jack said quietly. Her head turned toward his.
I know about that one, Jack, remember? she whispered.
No, you don't. Not really.
That's the problem, Tom Donner pointed out. These stories will