Patrick Leahy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the hockey player, see Pat Leahy (ice hockey). For the American football player, see Pat Leahy (football player).

For other persons named Patrick Leahy, see Patrick Leahy (disambiguation).

Patrick Leahy
Senior Senator from Vermont
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 14, 1975 Serving with Bernie Sanders
Preceded by	George Aiken
Born	March 31, 1940 (1940-03-31) (age 68) Montpelier, Vermont
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Marcelle Pomerleau
Alma mater	Georgetown University
Religion	Roman Catholic
Website	Senator Patrick Leahy

Patrick Joseph Leahy (born March 31, 1940) is the senior United States Senator from Vermont. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and is the current chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

[edit] Early life, private career and family

Leahy was born in Montpelier, Vermont, the son of Alba (née Zambon) and Howard Francis Leahy, a printer. His father was Irish-American and his mother Italian-American. His family roots are traced back to Irish immigrants in Montreal, Quebec and his wife's family is from Quebec. He has a brother, John, and a sister, Mary.

Leahy graduated from Saint Michael's College in 1961 and received his J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law School in 1964. He practiced as a lawyer until he was elected for four terms as State's Attorney of Chittenden County from 1966 to 1974. Leahy was elected to the United States Senate for the first time in 1974 (at 34, he was the youngest U.S. Senator ever to be elected by Vermont), and has been re-elected five times. Leahy was the first Democrat elected to Congress from Vermont since the Civil War, and remains the only Democrat to have been elected Senator from Vermont.

Leahy married Marcelle Pomerleau in 1962. They reside in a farmhouse in Middlesex, Vermont that they moved to from Burlington, and have three children: Kevin (an attorney living in Burlington), Alicia, and Mark. Leahy is legally blind in one eye.

[edit] U.S. Senator

Despite Vermont's 2006 status as a solidly Democrat state, Leahy is the only Democrat to be elected to the Senate by Vermont. (Jim Jeffords was elected as a Republican before he switched to become an Independent, while Bernie Sanders was elected as an Independent; he won and then refused the Democratic Party nomination.)

Leahy was re-elected in 1980, 1986, 1992, 1998, and 2004. He was chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee from 1987 until the Democrats lost control of the Senate in 1995 and was then chairman of the Judiciary Committee from 2001 until the Democrats lost control again in 2003. He is now the chairman of that committee, and is one of the key Democratic leaders in the Senate fight over the rules for filling federal judgeships via advise and consent. Leahy also serves as third-highest Democrat on the Appropriations Committee and as the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs. In his position as the second-highest Democrat on the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Leahy serves as the Ranking Democrat on the Agriculture Subcommittee on Research, Nutrition and General Legislation.

[edit] Top secret disclosure controversies

Leahy "inadvertently" disclosed a top-secret communications intercept during a 1985 television interview. The intercept had made possible the capture of the Arab terrorists who had hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro and murdered American citizens. But Leahy's leak cost the life of at least one Egyptian "asset" involved in the operation.

In July 1987, it was reported that Leahy leaked secret information to a reporter about a 1986 covert operation planned by the Reagan administration to topple Libya's Muammar al-Gaddafi. US intelligence officials stated that Leahy sent a written threat to expose the operation directly to then-CIA Director William Casey. Weeks later, news of the secret plan turned up in the Washington Post, causing it to be aborted.

Leahy resigned from his position as Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee after an investigation into this alleged leak. Because of this incident, Rush Limbaugh now refers to the Senator as "Leaky Leahy" or "Senator Depends," the latter being a crude reference to the over-sized diapers sometimes worn by senior citizens because of incontinence (leaking). The information released by Leahy was not classified and it was determined there was no ethical or criminal violation. In 2005, Leahy was critical of the George W. Bush administration's use of warrantless wiretapping.

A year later, as the Senate was preparing to hold hearings on the Iran-Contra scandal, Leahy had to resign his Intelligence Committee post after he was again caught leaking secret information to a reporter. The Vermont Democrat's Iran-Contra leak was considered to be one of the most serious breaches of secrecy in the committee's 28-year history. After Leahy's resignation, the Senate Intelligence Committee decided to restrict access to committee documents to a security-enhanced meeting room. ^[1]

Senator Leahy (right) with Senator Jon Kyl (left), and Senator Dianne Feinstein (center), speak at a news conference in support of legislation to protect the rights of crime victims in April 2004.

[edit] 1998 election and later Senate events

The 1998 election was noteworthy in that Leahy had the endorsement of his Republican opponent, Fred Tuttle. Tuttle was the lead actor in the movie Man With A Plan, shot in Vermont, in which a farmer decides to run for the House. Tuttle told voters to vote for Leahy because he didn't want to move to Washington D.C. Leahy was touched by this gesture; he once said that Tuttle was the "distilled essence of Vermonthood".

Leahy was one of two Senators targeted in the 2001 anthrax attacks. The anthrax letter meant for him was intercepted before it reached his office. In 2004, Leahy was awarded the Electronic Privacy Information Center's Champion of Freedom Award for efforts in information privacy and open government. Leahy is regarded as one of the leading privacy advocates in Congress. Leahy is also heard often on the issue of land mines.

On June 22, 2004, Leahy and Vice President Dick Cheney participated in the US Senate class photo. After the vote, Cheney was only talking to Republicans. When Leahy asked him to come over and talk to the Democrats, Cheney swore at him.^[2] Cheney upbraided Leahy for the Senator's recent excoriations of Halliburton's activities in Iraq. ^[3] Leahy joked about the incident in 2007 when he escorted Bernie Sanders, Vermont's newly-elected senator, to the well of the Senate where he was sworn in by Cheney: "When it comes to the vice president, it's always better to be sworn in than to be sworn at".^[4]

In March 2004, Leahy and Orrin Hatch introduced the Pirate Act backed by the RIAA. In July 2004, Leahy and Hatch introduced the INDUCE Act. Both were aimed at combating copyright infringement.^[5]

On November 2, 2004, Leahy easily defeated his opponent, businessman Jack McMullen, with 70.6 percent of the vote. On January 5, 2005, Leahy was sworn in for his sixth term in the Senate by Cheney.

On September 21, 2005, Leahy announced his support for John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. However, on January 19, 2006, Leahy announced that he would vote against Judge Samuel Alito to be a justice on the Supreme Court. He has a mixed record on gun control, being one of the few Senate Democrats to vote against the Brady Bill. He voted for NAFTA and is in favor of phasing out farm subsidies that are supported by the populist wing of the Democratic Party. However, he recently voted against CAFTA. Leahy voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and was one of the few in his party to support the ban on intact dilation and extraction procedures.

On March 2, 2006, Leahy was one of 10 senators who voted against the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act, a bill to extend the USA PATRIOT Act. The Reauthorization Act changed the appointment process for interim United States attorneys, allowing the Attorney General to make interim appointments without term limit, and without Senatorial confirmation. This was an aspect of hearings in the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy. Both houses voted to overturn the interim appointment provision in March 2007.

On January 18, 2007, Leahy received widespread coverage for his cross-examination of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales about the Maher Arar affair and the extraordinary rendition of Arar to Syria.^[6]

Leahy endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, and recorded a radio advertisement for the Obama campaign to be aired in Vermont. ^[7]

[edit] Committee Assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Defense
  • Subcommittee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
• Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
  • Subcommittee on Nutrition and Food Assistance, Sustainable and Organic Agriculture, and General Legislation (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support
  • Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry, and Credit
• Committee on the Judiciary (Chairman)
  • As Chairman of the full committee, Sen. Leahy is an ex officio member of all subcommittees.
  • Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights

[edit] Personal life

Leahy is a fan of the Grateful Dead. He has not only attended concerts, but has taped them, and has a collection of the band's tapes in his Senate Offices. Jerry Garcia visited him at his Senate offices, and Leahy gave a tie designed by Garcia to Senator Orrin Hatch (who responded by giving Leahy a Rush Limbaugh tie). Surviving band members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart have participated in fundraisers for Leahy and his Political Action Committee, the Green Mountain Victory Fund. Leahy also appeared in a videotaped tribute to the Dead when they received a lifetime achievement award at the 2002 Jammys. His Senate website notes this response to a question from seventh grade students from Vermont's Thetford Academy who asked Leahy which Dead song was his favorite, he replied: "... my favorite is "Black Muddy River" but we always play "Trucking" on election night at my headquarters."

In a 1994 interview on ABC News, Leahy claimed that, while attending Georgetown Law School, he obtained tickets to see The Beatles' first full U.S. concert, at the Washington Coliseum, inviting a classmate, who declined, saying that the Beatles were a fad. Leahy declined to identify the classmate, but added, "He hasn't gone on to become a very good lawyer, either."

Also a fan of U2, Leahy has a picture mounted on the wall of his office of himself, his wife, President Bill Clinton and Bono. On it, Bono has drawn an arrow pointed to himself, with the caption, "Would you trust this man with your children?"

Leahy is quoted on Loung Ung's website: "In this gripping narrative Loung Ung describes the unfathomable evil that engulfed Cambodia during her childhood, the courage that enabled her family to survive, and the determination that has made her an eloquent voice for peace and justice in Cambodia. It is a tour de force that strengthens our resolve to prevent and punish crimes against humanities." The book he is referring to is Lucky Child.

Leahy is a published photographer.^[8]

A big fan of the Batman comics, Leahy lent his voice in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series as a Governor in a western tale involving Ra's al Ghul and Jonah Hex. He also appeared as a cameo in Batman and Robin, and will have another cameo in the upcoming film The Dark Knight.^[9]

Leahy wrote the introduction to the collected edition of Green Arrow: the Archer's Quest and the foreword to the first volume of The Dark Knight Archives, a hardcover reprinting of the first four issues of the Batman comic book.

[edit] Electoral history

• 1974 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Patrick Leahy (D), 49.5%
  • Richard W. Mallary (R), 46.4%

• 1980 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Patrick Leahy (D) (inc.), 49.8%
  • Stewart M. Ledbetter (R), 48.5%

• 1986 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Patrick Leahy (D) (inc.), 63.7%
  • Richard A. Snelling (R), 34.7%

• 1992 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Patrick Leahy (D) (inc.), 54.2%
  • Jim Douglas (R), 43.3%

• 1998 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Patrick Leahy (D) (inc.), 72%
  • Fred Tuttle (R), 23%

• 2004 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Patrick Leahy (D) (inc.), 71%
  • Jack McMullen (R) 25%
  • Craig Hill (G) 1%
  • Keith Stern (I) 1%
  • Ben Mitchell (LU) 0%

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• United States Senator Patrick Leahy, Senate site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• New York Times — Patrick J. Leahy News collected news and commentary
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Patrick Leahy profile
• Videos of Patrick Leahy, via Meteor

v • d • e United States Senators from Vermont Class 1: M. Robinson • Tichenor • Chipman • Smith • J. Robinson • Tichenor • Seymour • Swift • Phelps • Foot • Edmunds • Proctor • Stewart • Page • Greene • Partridge • Austin • Flanders • Prouty • Stafford • Jeffords • Sanders Class 3: Bradley • Paine • Bradley • Chase • Fisk • Palmer • Chase • Prentiss • Crafts • Upham • Phelps • Brainerd • Collamer • Poland • Morrill • Ross • Dillingham • Dale • Gibson, Sr. • Gibson, Jr. • Aiken • Leahy