Washington, D.C. – Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX) today issued the following statement regarding today’s hearing on U.S. Attorneys:
"U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President and all U.S. Attorneys know that," said Ranking Member Smith. "President Clinton asked all 93 U.S. Attorneys to resign when he took office and dismissed many others during his time in office."
"Every President has to right to hire U.S. Attorneys who support their policies," he continued. "The Department of Justice had understandable reasons for dismissing each of these attorneys, none of which had to do with political retribution."
Smith concluded, "The Department has explained this to the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee. The Democrats refuse to listen, because they are more interested in partisan politics than the truth."