00:00Just ask, I don't know you well, but I've been impressed by our interaction, and you've been gracious and charming.
00:08Why in the world would you call Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and George W. Bush war criminals in a legal
00:16filing?
00:17It seems so out of character for you.
00:21Senator, you may have been talking, are you talking about briefs that I, or habeas petitions that I filed?
00:27Talking about when you were representing a member of the Taliban, and the Department of Defense identified him as an
00:33intelligence officer for the Taliban,
00:35and you referred to the Secretary of Defense and the sitting President of the United States as war criminals.
00:41Why would you do something like that? It seems so out of character.
00:44Well, Senator, I don't remember that particular reference, and I was representing my clients and making arguments.
00:54I'd have to take a look at what you meant.
00:57I did not intend to disparage the President or the Secretary of Defense.
01:05Well, being a war criminal has huge ramifications.
01:09You could be subject to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and hauled before that international tribunal and tried
01:16for war crimes.
01:17So, it's not a casual comment, I would suggest. Thank you.
01:21Thank you, Senator Cornyn. Senator Whitehouse.
01:24I would like to make a statement in terms of some research that was undertaken during the break.
01:34Judge Jackson, earlier, Senator Cornyn said that you had called former President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald
01:41Rumsfeld a, quote, war criminal, unquote.
01:45I noticed a little surprise in your reaction, and I was surprised by the allegation.
01:50During your service as a public defender, you filed several habeas petitions against the United States, naming former President Bush
02:00and former Secretary Rumsfeld in their official capacities.
02:04You were advocating on behalf of individuals who argued they were civilians wrongly classified as enemy combatants of the United
02:11States,
02:11and your filing was part of your professional responsibility to solacely advocate for your clients.
02:19In those petitions, the individuals raised more than a dozen claims for relief,
02:24one of which was an allegation that the government had sanctioned torture against the individuals,
02:29which constituted war crimes under the Alien Tort Statute.
02:33The Alien Tort Statute allows courts to hear cases for alleged violations of the Law of Nations or the Treaties
02:40of the United States.
02:41Apparently, this is what Senator Cornyn was referencing.
02:45So, to be clear, there was no time where you called President Bush or Secretary of Rumsfeld a, quote, war
02:51criminal, close quote.
02:54Did you want to respond?
02:55No, thank you.
02:56That was correct.
02:58Thank you very much.
02:59We now recognize Senator Lee.
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