New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady arranged a press conference Wednesday and took the event as an opportunity to call out rival Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter "where he works."
In opening remarks, Brady argued that Specter's recent work, as chair and then as ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in drafting legislation to reconcile Bush administration illegal spying with FISA law, had only "served to undo 27 years of Congressional work developing and fine-tuning a statutory procedure meant to protect the constitutional rights of Americans from executive abuse."
Brady went on to point out that he holds Senator Specter "singularly responsible" for legislation that has established a "comically weak standard of probable cause" by which the courts are to determine the legality of government spying.
"And he's got the nerve to go talkin' to me about spyin'!"
Reaction among the various journalists and sports commentators on hand was that Brady's comments could be seen as an obvious retaliation for Specter's recent calls for Senate inquiry into "Spygate" —as it is commonly known— the controversy surrounding the Patriots' secret taping of opponent signals which surfaced last year. Brady was asked if his interest in and comments upon the Pennsylvania senator's record were merely motivated by a desire to hit back at the five term Republican senator.
"Maybe so, maybe so," Brady replied, "but if he's into my business and my work —well we can both do that. I'm comin' for him where he works."
Brady promised that the Wednesday morning appearance was not going to be the last time he met with the press on this subject. He would be revisiting Senator Specter's voting record, his conduct in the screening process of judicial appointments, and possibly even some of his past political fundraising activities. "This is the first step of a long process. There's a lot of material here," Brady said, "it's all gonna have to be studied very carefully."
In addition to his own press appearances, the Patriots quarterback intends to conduct a number of public hearings on the subject of Specter's senatorial career over the course of the Summer. He intends to solicit testimony from legal scholars, sitting jurists, senate colleagues, former staffers and from some of the senator's past political rivals as well. "We intend to be fair, but also thorough."
For the expressed purpose of conducting these hearings Brady has called together a group of "uniquely talented citizens." The Brady Commission, as he referred to it, would be chaired by the three time Super Bowl champion quarterback himself, and would also be comprised of wide receiver, Randy Moss, Matt Light and Dan Koppen, both of the Patriots offensive line, and defensive nose tackle, Vince Wilfork.
"We've had some preliminary discussions and I believe each member of the commission will bring passion, diligence and a very particular insight to the proceedings," Brady said, smiling, winking and nodding his head confidently as he called an end to the press conference.
When asked for comment, Senator Specter stated that he intends to "cooperate fully" with the Brady Commission, but he did say he would not testify by himself. He insists upon the right of counsel and the company of at least two "hefty bodyguards."
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