FEINGOLD: I thank my colleagues.

The attorney general has demonstrated a clear pattern of repeatedly misleading the American public. In his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the attorney general misled Congress when he said there was not any serious, internal disagreement about the NSA warrantless wiretapping program.

Now, three of the four of us here are members of the Senate Intelligence Committee as well, and I have been briefed on the NSA wiretapping program and other sensitive intelligence programs.

FEINGOLD: I've had the opportunity to review the classified matters at issue here, and I believe that his testimony was misleading, at best. In fact, I am sending a classified letter to the attorney general today outlining my concerns and asking that he clarify his testimony.
And I believe Senator Whitehouse will join me in that as well.

This has gone on long enough. It is time for a special counsel to investigate whether criminal charges should be brought. Congress must not permit anyone, and especially not the attorney general of the United States, to repeatedly mislead us.

Based on what I know, I obviously think that with regard to the Comey-related testimony that he gave, I do believe it was inaccurate. And the fact that both Mr. Negroponte and Mr. Hayden said last year that the March 10, 2004, gang on eight meeting was about the warrantless surveillance program, only further underscores that point.

I've been particularly concerned, having been one of the – the only opponent of the Patriot Act in the Senate when it was voted on -- I've spent years trying to get honest answers whether or not there were abuses under the Patriot Act.

I've been subjected to -- the members of the committee have been subjected to obviously false statements, when the attorney general said he didn't know of any abuses, but we know, for a fact, he knew about those abuses.

This is outrageous. I've been a legislator for 25 years. I agree with Senator Schumer. I have never seen anything like this, from anyone, whether in the state of Wisconsin legislature or here. This is beyond the pale.

I think this effort, by the way, is entirely consistent with the censure resolution on the rule of law that I intend to introduce soon with regard to both the president, who, of course, should fire the attorney general, and with regard to the attorney general himself.

That censure effort is much broader, and involves the president and the attorney general's consistent disrespect for the rule of law in a variety of areas from this NSA program to Guantanamo Bay torture policy.

The disrespect he has shown to Congress as well as the public is all the more reason why Congress should also formally censure him.

But in this particular area, with regard to the attorney general's lack of veracity in his testimony, I think it's appropriate to go further and ask for a special counsel to investigate whether there has been criminal wrongdoing.

FEINGOLD: Censure is a formal judgment of Congress, but it doesn't preclude a formal investigation by a special counsel, it doesn't preclude a court's legal judgment, it doesn't preclude the constitutional proceedings that could follow as well.

So I thank my colleagues. I think this is, again, a sad day, but something that has to happen.