Chris Murphy Quotes
This isn’t hyperbole to say that we are staring the death of democracy in the eyes, right now. The centerpiece of our democracy is that we observe court rulings. Criminal court rulings, civil court rulings and constitutional court rulings. No one is above the law. And whether we like it or not, the courts interpret the law. If the President of the United States says, ‘You know what, I don’t care what the courts say, I’m going to do whatever the hell I want,’ that’s essentially the end of the rule of law,” he declared. “Because if the President isn’t bound by our laws and the Constitution, then why would anybody else be bound by our laws and the Constitution? …. If they were to openly declare that because they disagree with, for instance, a court’s order to reopen USAID, or to get Elon Musk out of the Treasury Department, simply because on the merits, they disagree with the court’s ruling, then you are clearly in the most serious constitutional crisis.
Murphy is complaining about the Trump Administration actions with respect to freezing federal funds and a judicial restraining order blocking the action. See linked comments.
OAC refers to Senator Ron Wyden’s call to ignore a ruling by a Texas judiciary (see linked quote) – saying the Biden administration should ignore the court. Also, see linked quote(s) for her criticism of the Trump administration in anticipation of them doing the same.
Senator Wynden floor speech saying the Biden Administration should ignore the abortion rulings of the court when they disagree with it. See linked quotes for related comments.
President George W. Bush had ordered NSA agents to bug the phones and email of American citizens who might have been talking with an overseas party or e-mailing them out of the country. The administration thought that American citizens might be part of terrorist sleeper cells or unwittingly were aiding terrorists. The law prohibited such activity—where American citizens were involved—without getting a court order. However, the President claimed that he had the inherent power as commander in chief of exempting the court requirement. Others maintained that even the President is not above the law. What was the big puzzle was that there was a secret court Congress had established just for such cases, but the administration instead decided to bypass the court.
- Born: August 3, 1973
- Nationality: American
- Profession: Politician
Christopher Scott Murphy is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Connecticut's 5th congressional district from 2007 to 2013. Before being elected to Congress, Murphy was a member of both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly, serving two terms each in the Connecticut House of Representatives (1999–2003) and the Connecticut Senate (2003–07).
