[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 78 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3259-S3260]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           BARRON NOMINATION

  Mr. MARKEY. Madam President, I rise today to speak in favor of the 
confirmation of David Barron to the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
  As a Harvard Law professor, he has broad bipartisan support from 
those who know him best--his colleagues. Larry Tribe and Charles 
Fried--two professors at Harvard who could not be further apart 
politically--both agree--and this is the joint quote--``Barron is a 
brilliant lawyer who will make an excellent judge. What is clear to us 
is that Barron will decide cases based solely on the relevant sources 
of legal authority, including binding precedent, and that his political 
views would in no way distort his legal judgment.''
  This is the kind of unequivocal support we want for a judicial 
nominee, and David Barron is just the kind of judge we should confirm.
  I stand alongside those of my colleagues who believe transparency is 
paramount and that we need a public debate on drone policy. Indeed, I 
support a robust debate on our entire drone policy, not simply the use 
of a drone to kill an American citizen who was plotting the 
annihilation of his fellow Americans.
  Importantly, the White House just announced that it will release to 
the general public the key memo Professor Barron wrote, so all 
Americans will be able to take part in this debate.
  But let us be clear: David Barron is not responsible for the 
administration's delay in releasing the memos he

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and others in the Office of Legal Counsel were directed to produce. He 
is certainly not responsible for the administration's drone policy or 
the decision to authorize an attack. He is a lawyer who was asked to do 
legal analysis for his client, the President of the United States.
  Entangling David Barron's nomination with the policy of drone 
deployment is unfair to him and unfair to the people of Massachusetts, 
Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico who need the 
vacancy on the First Circuit filled by someone as qualified as David 
Barron.
  I believe David Barron will be an excellent judge, and that is why he 
has my support.

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