WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) tonight spoke on the U.S. Senate Floor to address President Obama’s deeply concerning comments describing the January hostage taking and murder of four Jews in a Kosher supermarket in Paris, France, as “randomly shoot[ing] a bunch of folks in a deli.”

When asked to clarify the President’s comments today, the White House stated that the Jewish victims of this attack were “killed not because of who they were, but because of where they randomly happened to be.” Spokespersons for the White House and U.S. Department of State later attempted to clarify their previous clarifications via Twitter. 

Reuters has reported that the perpetrator of the attack had called into a French television station to declare his allegiance to Islamic State (ISIL) and stated his intention to target Jews. 

Highlights from Sen. Moran’s remarks may be found below, along with links to the video download:

(1:03) “The White House today suggested that because there were non-Jews in the kosher supermarket named ‘Super Kosher,’ the attack did not target Jews specifically. The State Department restated this explanation today, refusing to say that an attack on a Kosher supermarket that killed four Jews could be anti-Jewish. 

(1:29) “The absurdity of this logic is apparent – let me give you a hypothetical…(2:02) if somebody who happens to work in the American Embassy who is not an American is killed in an attack, would we reach the conclusion that an attack on our Embassy is not an attack on America?

(2:14) “The Obama Administration’s logic here challenges common sense and is truly difficult to understand what they are trying to convey. It is also contrary to open source media reports about this attack… (2:41) Given this information, the Obama Administration's now repeated comments that chalked this up to randomness, that's just amazing to me… It's dangerous for our government leaders to reach such a conclusion and for us to be operating [under that assertion] as we make a determination on how to proceed next in the ‘war on terror’…

(3:53) “…the Administration is soon to present to Congress for approval an authorization for the use of military force against Islamic State fighters. Authorizing war is a decision that should be made with the fullest information and most complete understanding possible. The Obama Administration should be doing everything it can to clearly describe the threat America faces and the strategy to be employed under a potential AUMF. The stakes are way too high to operate under anything but a clear understanding of the significant challenges that our country faces. It makes no sense to describe something different than reality.”