Quotes

We only see the oppressive side of authority. Maybe it comes out of our history and our background. What we don't see is that freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do and how you do it.

I'm pro-choice. I'm pro-gay rights.

[ on President Obama's foreign policy, 2015 ] I do not believe that the President loves America.

[on Barack Obama, referring to Hilary Clinton's use of a private email server to send and receive classified documents when she was secretary of state] I think he will be one of the worst presidents ever if he pardons her.

[on Donald Trump's 2017 executive order restricting travel to the USA] When he first announced it, he said "Muslim ban". He called me up, he said "Put a commission together, show me the right way to do it legally". I put a commission together with Judge Mukasey, with Congressman McCaul, Pete King, whole group of other very expert lawyers on this. And what we did was, we focused on, instead of religion, danger. The areas of the world that create danger for us. Which is a factual basis, not a religious basis, perfectly legal, perfectly sensible. And that's what the ban is based on.

[arguing for the invalidity of the 2020 election result] In the plaintiffs' counties, they were denied the opportunity to have an unobstructed observation and ensure opacity. I'm not quite sure I know what opacity means. It probably means you can see, right?

I know Prince Andrew is very questionable now. I never went out with him - ever. Never had a drink with him, never was with a woman or young girl with him - ever, ever, ever!

[thoughts when the first plane hit the north tower on September 11, 2001] I looked up into the sky, saw an absolutely beautiful day, concluded immediately that it wasn't an accident, that a plane could not have gotten off course on a beautiful day like this. But I didn't know if it was a terrorist attack or just a malicious, insane act - which might've even been more likely at that point, when all you know is a twin engine plane hitting the north tower. Someone angry at a business or angry at their girlfriend or who knows what crazy thing, which happens in a city like New York.