Government Scrutiny Quotes

We simply cannot afford to allow our government to go unscrutinised, most of all in amid the bleak seeming imperatives of the 'war on terror'.

Especially right after 9/11. Especially when the war in Afghanistan is going on. There was a real sense that you don't get that critical of a government that's leading us in war time.

The media are the opposition party.

The job of media is the accountability of government.

There are a series of connections between Donald Trump and his closest advisers and Russia that at least raise significant questions. Some of those questions could be answered if Donald Trump was willing to release his tax returns, but he's unwilling to do that.

It's not always easy to be proud of your government.

Apparently, the people in the [George W.] Bush administration who wanted to confront me on this could not spell my name correctly. They wanted to send a series of emails thinking that perhaps MSNBC was perhaps favorable to the Bush administration. They thought that they could send me a series of questions or talking points to disprove Joe Wilson with.

I prefer the Greens to remain an opposition party that's able to hold the government to account.

For me, the definition of a patriot is someone who is willing to constantly question the government; that's what separates us from other countries.

Well, our job is to bash the President, that's what we do almost …

In a democracy you [politicians] have to let the press and the people give you crap.

In times of crisis, we are made to feel we should scrutinise our government's actions less closely, when surely that's when we should pay closest attention.

Even marginal progress could be affected by investigations in Little Rock and in Washington.

have a lot of respect for the responsibility that journalists have to ask tough questions, to hold the administration accountable and to be advocates for the citizens of the United States.

The District of Columbia is one gigantic ear.

When you're under audit, you don't give your papers. An audit is - I have been under audit for so many years. Every year, I get audited. For, I think, over 10 years, maybe even 12 years, I have been audited. And I think it's very fair. And I think I'm being singled out.

We are the most scrutinized agency of the Federal government and we should be because of the enormous power we have and its potential for abuse

The London assembly's job is to scrutinise the mayor of London.

I worry about civil-rights activists being targeted as black-identity extremists. I worry about the government saying, 'I don't like this progressive blogger' and subjecting them to scrutiny.

If I have an accountant that just reports I just invested $10 million in my business, and he doesn't exactly itemize where every cost goes, it gives a flag to the government. They want to make sure that the reason I'm not paying taxes is because I'm reinvesting in these businesses and not trying to hide stuff.

I only knew a few people, literally a handful of people, al of whom had been in the Party long before I was, all of whom were known by the FBI and were known to the Committee.

The Patriot Act allows Federal agents to look at public and university library patron circulation records, books checked out, magazines consulted, all subject to government scrutiny. There used to be a time in this country when we were worried whether our young people knew how to read. Now some in our government are more worried that government agents be able to find out what people are reading.

Isn't it nice of the IRS to tell the media where to ambush me before they tell me that the U.S. Attorney is suing me?

Well no administration ever wants an independent overseer, and there are very good career people who are in charge of this investigation, but it could get hairy.

As journalists, we cannot swallow the official line without question. We should challenge almost everything that dictators, presidents and officials say.