Questions for Joe Biden

On October 2, 2008, at a campaign event in Deerfield Florida, a member of the audience asked you this: -

I'd like to know if you guys are going to pursue the violations that have been made against our Constitution by the present administration and restore the Constitution to its rightful place in our society?

You said yes. (Answer in full given below) You said the conduct of the Bush administration would be examined with a fine tooth comb, and any criminality would be pursued .

What happened? No evidence of criminal violations was found? The Bush administration was clean? The conduct of the Iraq War was lawful top to bottom, from beginning to end? And FEMA did a heck of a job after Katrina too?

You said. “No one -- no attorney general, no president, no one is above the law” but, like the executives of big banks, they all walked.

Why should we believe you when you say the same thing again about the current Administration?


BIDEN: Yes. (Applause.) Now, look, here's the deal. My colleagues can tell you, particularly Henry Waxman, one of the things that happens is -- you know, there's a phrase in the law, those of you who are lawyers. Sometimes you're estopped from being able to present something, meaning your failing to have acted in the past precludes you having the right to act in the future. We will not be estopped from pursuing any criminal offense that's occurred. Now, here's what's happening: Patrick Leahy in the Judiciary Committee and Henry Waxman from California, in his oversight committee, as well as John Conyers in his Judiciary Committee, what they're doing is they're doing the right thing. They're not making false accusations about anything. They're not making unfounded accusations. They're collecting data. They are subpoenaing records. They're building the file, and they're going through it and will go through it with a fine- tooth comb. If there has been a basis upon which you could pursue someone for a criminal violation, they will be pursued -- not out of vengeance, not out of retribution; out of the need to preserve the notion that no one -- no one -- no attorney general, no president, no one is above the law. (Applause).

https://www.c-span.org/video/?280848-1/obama-campaign-event-deerfield-beach-florida