Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy, Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee, To Postponement Of Hearings On The Retrieval Of Elian Gonzalez

April 28, 2000

"This can serve as the first step of a graceful exit strategy for hearings that were a mistake in the first place. The American public resents investigations that are increasingly political and one-sided, and many senators of both parties are beginning to understand that.

"Virtually every fact is known about this case and most Americans see no reason to spend the time or money just to second-guess dedicated law enforcement officers willing to put their lives on the line to get a little boy back to his father.

"This is a Congress that needs to do less investigating and more legislating on the list of high-priority bills that is growing longer every day. Now that Wednesday morning is open on the Judiciary Committee's schedule, I would like to see us use that time instead to get the conferees together to finish work on the long-delayed juvenile crime bill."