"I have to chuckle sometimes when I am painted as "hard-nosed." In truth, our Justice Department wasn't nearly as aggressive as Roosevelt's. And our respect for civil liberties was far more extensive than the response following Pearl Harbor. Yes, we were tough, but we always operated within the law; it was never our policy or practice to detain any noncombatant without charges. In our conduct, we never approached the limits of the law as closely as Roosevelt did."
John Ashcroft

January 1, 1970

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Added on April 10, 2026
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Original Language: English

Sources

p. 178-179

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Ashcroft