In the midst of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Putin invaded the Republic of Georgia. Let's call it for what it is. Here is Vladimir Putin with a failing Soviet franchise. And when he can't win the hearts and minds of his neighboring nations, he uses energy extortion, masked gunmen and barbed wire.

I do believe that [climate change] is real.

If I am going to pick and choose the laws I defend, I wouldn't be doing my duty as attorney general.

We need to deter Putin from further actions because this is a very real threat.

In Maidan Square right now, you see thousands of Ukrainians protesting the Russian occupation of Crimea. So this is a Russian protest by Ukrainians who want their sovereignty. They want their freedom and they're protesting what Russia did in Crimea.

We need to send a message to Vladimir Putin through stronger sanctions. We need him to understand that the sanctions that we put in place can have a significant impact on his economy that we need to deter further action from him. And understand who he is, former KGB colonel, he's a bully, and bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose but we need to do that economically. That is our strongest move at this point.

As a former attorney general. I have the greatest respect for the criminal justice system. But it is not good at intelligence gathering.