Ted Cruz and Sally Yates traded (political) punches in the hearing. Who would YOU say won on points?
You remember Sally Yates, don’t you? She was the acting AG who got dumped by Trump for her insubordination.
She’s back in the news.
She was questioned in a Senate Subcommittee hearing — by Ted Cruz. Things got personal.
He asked a question about the Constitution, whether she was familiar with a particular statute.
Considering what got her fired, you’d think she’d be more familiar with it.
“Are you familiar with 8 U.S.C. section 1182?” Cruz asked.
“Not off the top of my head, no,” Yates responded.
“Well, it is the binding statutory authority for the executive order that you refused to implement and that led to your termination,” Cruz shot back. “So it certainly is a relevant and not a terribly obscure statute.”
The Texas senator then read the statute to Yates, which gives the president the authority to restrict immigration.
But Yates didn’t back down.
“I am familiar with that, and I am also familiar with an additional provision of the INA that says, ‘No person shall receive preference or be discriminated against in issuance of a visa because of race, nationality, or place of birth.’ That, I believe, was promulgated after the statute that you just quoted.”
The clip is included so that you can have the full context… including the statute itself.
Both sides are tripping over themselves claiming victory.
Huffpo, etc are saying Cruz failed to corner her, or that she shut Cruz down. Another said ‘owns and humiliates’ Cruz. Other partisans — like Wolf Blitzer — said ‘she crushed him!
On the other side, we are seeing terms like Cruz ‘brilliantly exposes’ her, etc.
What’s YOUR take? Did someone score a knockout? Or did they trade the kind of glancing blows that will be red meat (and whatever the vegans like) for the partisans, but nothing to write home about for anyone else?
We’re somewhat partial to Cruz. And he certainly gets Moxy points for pointing out her ignorance on the VERY legislation that (a) gave Trump legitimate authority and (b) led to her getting fired.
Whether he ‘drew blood’ in this exchange or not, it’s good to see SOMEONE get us talking about the idea of Legitimate Executive Authority.
Especially in a city where everything seems to be a power grab, to Hell with whatever the Constitution says about who is allowed to do what.
So…
Who won that round?
Who won that round?
