Jeff Sessions in Trump campaign vs. Trump administration
On Civil Rights:
1986: Denied confirmation as federal judge
Expect Democrats to bring up Sessions's history of allegedly racist comments as a federal prosecutor in Alabama--comments which saw him denied confirmation as a federal judge in the 1980s.
The nomination sent news outlets scrambling to their archives to dig out transcripts of those fateful Senate judiciary committee hearings from 1986.
Senators heard a Justice Department official testify that Sessions, then US Attorney for the Southern district of Alabama, had suggested that a prominent white civil rights lawyer might justly be called "a disgrace to his race" for representing
black clients. Under questioning Sessions said that he did not recall making that comment, and could not understand why he would have made it, but did not deny his colleague's account.
Source: The Economist on 2017 Trump transition/confirmation hearings
Nov 18, 2016
On Civil Rights:
1986: Called NAACP a "pinko" organization that hates whites
Sessions' nomination sent news outlets scrambling to their archives to dig out transcripts of those fateful Senate judiciary committee hearings from 1986.
Asked whether he had called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights group, a "pinko" organisation that hates white people,
Sessions told his Senate inquisitors: "I am loose with my tongue on occasion, and I may have said something similar to that." He did deny the account of a black federal prosecutor who testified that
Sessions called him "boy" and chided him to be careful how he spoke to "white folks". Twenty years later Sessions is in a position to avenge that humiliation.
Source: The Economist on 2017 Trump transition/confirmation hearings
Nov 18, 2016
On Crime:
Increase in violent crime might be start of dangerous trend
Since the early 1980s, good policing and prosecutions have been a strong force in reducing crime. Drug use and murders are half what they were in 1980. I am very concerned, however, that the recent jump in the violent crime and murder rates are not
anomalies, but the beginning of a dangerous trend that could reverse the hard won gains that have made America a safer and more prosperous place. The latest official F.B.I. statistics show that all crime increased nearly 4 percent from 2014 to 2015 with
murders increasing nearly 11 percent--the largest single-year increase since 1971.In 2016, there were 4,368 shooting victims in Chicago. In Baltimore, homicides reached the second highest per-capita rate ever.
We must not lose perspective when
discussing these statistics. We must always remember that these crimes are being committed against real people, real victims. It is important that they are kept in the forefront of our minds in these conversations.
Source: 2017 Trump transition: A.G. Confirmation Hearings
Jan 10, 2017
On Drugs:
We are in the throes of a heroin epidemic
The country is also in the throes of a heroin epidemic, with overdose deaths more than tripling between 2010 and 2014. Meanwhile, illegal drugs flood across our southern border and into every city and town in the country, bringing violence, addiction,
and misery.We must not lose perspective; [we must ensure that] rights are always protected.
It is a fundamental civil right to be safe in your home and your community.
Source: 2017 Trump transition: A.G. Confirmation Hearings
Jan 10, 2017
On Drugs:
Enforce federal marijuana laws even when state laws allow it
Attorney General Sessions has rescinded the policy that directed federal law enforcement not to target individuals or businesses that are in compliance with state law.In a memo to federal prosecutors dated January 4, Sessions said, "In deciding
which marijuana activities to prosecute under these laws with the Department's finite resources, prosecutors should follow the well-established principles that govern all federal prosecutions. Previous nationwide guidance specific to marijuana
enforcement is unnecessary and is rescinded, effective immediately."
From August 2013 until yesterday, the Department of Justice policy had been not to enforce federal marijuana laws against individuals or businesses in states that are complying with
state medical or adult-use marijuana laws, provided that one of eight federal priorities is not implicated.
While on the campaign trail, President Trump he consistently said that marijuana policy should be a states' rights decision.
Source: MPP.org on 2018 Trump Administration
Jan 4, 2018
On Education:
Harvard misuses affirmative action in college admissions
The Justice Department sharply criticized Harvard University's admissions practices, asserting that the Ivy League school engages in "racial balancing" when it selects a class, a potential violation of boundaries the Supreme Court has set on affirmative
action in college admissions.With a legal brief filed in federal court in Boston, the department weighed in on a closely watched lawsuit challenging Harvard's use of race and ethnicity in admissions, alleging that the university is biased against
Asian-Americans. The Justice Department's brief argues that that Harvard has failed to show it does not unlawfully discriminate against Asian-Americans.
"No American should be denied admission to school because of their race," Attorney General Jeff
Sessions said in a statement. "As a recipient of taxpayer dollars, Harvard has a responsibility to conduct its admissions policy without racial discrimination by using meaningful admissions criteria that meet lawful requirements."
Source: Chicago Tribune on 2018 Trump Administration
Aug 30, 2018
On Education:
Rescind Obama-era guidance on achieving diversity in schools
In July, Sessions rescinded the set of Obama-era policies that promoted using race to achieve diversity in schools. While the decision does not change current US law on affirmative action, it provided a strong illustration of the administration's
position on an issue.Responding to a letter from 21 Senate Democrats criticizing the action, a Justice Department spokeswoman said the "executive branch cannot circumvent Congress or the courts by creating guidance that goes beyond the law and--in
some instances--stays on the books for decades."
"Last year, the Attorney General initiated a review of guidance documents, which resulted in dozens of examples --including July's second tranche of rescissions--of documents that go beyond or are
inconsistent with the Constitution and federal law," a Justice Dept. statement said. "The Justice Department remains committed to enforcing the law and protecting all Americans from all forms of illegal race-based discrimination."
Source: WAAY-TV ABC-31 on 2018 Trump Administration
Aug 7, 2018
On Government Reform:
1986: Voting Rights Act of 1965 is "intrusive legislation"
Expect Democrats to bring up Sessions's role as attorney-general in overseeing voting rights, even after federal monitoring of state and local election rules has been sharply reduced by the Supreme Court. During his confirmation hearing back in 1986,
Sessions agreed that he had called the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) a "piece of intrusive legislation." By the time he became a senator his tone had greatly changed.
He voted to reauthorise the VRA and sponsored legislation to honour with the Congressional Gold Medal the black civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, who endured racist violence at the hands of local police to promote the cause of voting.
In Senate hearings Sessions frequently said that there had been serious racial discrimination against blacks in the South.
Source: The Economist on 2017 Trump transition/confirmation hearings
Nov 18, 2016
On Government Reform:
The South has changed; no longer any need to monitor voting
Sessions sided with those conservatives who argued that the South had changed, making it unnecessary to maintain Section Five of the Voting Rights Act which obliged a long list of jurisdictions with a history of racism to seek federal "preclearance" for
any change to electoral laws, down to the location of polling places. In time the Supreme Court would come to agree with Sessions and colleagues, striking down Section Five.
Democrats and civil-rights groups charge that Republican-run state governments across the South responded with a spate of laws making it harder to vote. As a senator Sessions has opposed calls for Congress to step in and restore federal powers over
voting laws, saying in 2014: "To pass a law in the U.S. Congress that provides penalties only to some states and not to others can only be justified for the most extraordinary circumstances. And the justification no longer exists."
Source: The Economist on 2017 Trump transition/confirmation hearings
Nov 18, 2016
On Gun Control:
As US attorney, led nation in gun prosecutions every year
If I am confirmed, we will systematically prosecute criminals who use guns in committing crimes. As United States attorney, my office was a national leader in gun prosecutions every year. We will partner with state and local law enforcement to take
down drug-trafficking cartels and dismantle gangs. We will prosecute those who repeatedly violate our borders. It will be my priority to confront these crises vigorously, effectively and immediately.
Source: 2017 Trump transition: A.G. Confirmation Hearings
Jan 10, 2017
On Homeland Security:
Giving alleged terrorists criminal rights is "too soft"
In 2009 Mr Sessions called Eric Holder, attorney-general under Mr Obama, "'too soft" in his handling of terrorism, and accused him of helping America's enemies by releasing Bush-era legal memos about the use of harsh interrogation techniques.
In 2011 he wrote in the Washington Post that the Department of Justice was making a "dangerous" mistake by treating alleged terrorists as candidates for criminal prosecution, with the same legal rights to remain silent and be represented by a
not criminal prosecution--is the only way our country can detect and foil the next al-Qa'eda plot," wrote Mr Sessions.
Source: The Economist newsmagazine coverage of 2016 Trump transition
Nov 18, 2016
On Immigration:
Skeptic of H1-B visa scheme that recruits skilled foreigners
There are some 11 million migrants in America without the right legal papers--a number so large that many in the Senate, from both parties, believe that not all can possibly be deported, so that law-enforcement should focus on those guilty of serious
crimes and the government should offer a path to legal status for those who have built productive lives. Sessions disagrees. He has spent the last decade leading Senate opposition to bipartisan immigration reform bills, arguing that illegal immigration
depresses wages and takes jobs from out-of-work Americans. On legal migration, he is a sceptic of the H1-B visa scheme that helps companies recruit highly skilled foreigners, such as scientists or engineers, accusing wealthy business bosses, the
government, the national press and the "cosmopolitan set" of mocking the anxieties and needs of "everyday Americans." On the campaign trail Sessions has echoed Trump's focus on immigration as a menace to national security.
Source: The Economist newsmagazine coverage of 2016 Trump transition
Nov 18, 2016
On Immigration:
Protect our communities with commitment to deport aliens
On the campaign trail Sessions has echoed Trump's focus on immigration as a menace to national security. On the eve of the election he called for a president willing to enforce immigration laws, saying that "without a commitment to deport aliens who
violate our immigration laws, we lose our ability to protect our communities from criminal aliens, terrorism, and cartel-related crime and violence." As attorney-general it is safe to assume he will put intense pressure on so-called "sanctuary cities"--
mostly Democratic-run cities, including some of the country's largest, which typically instruct police officers or city officials not to ask people about their immigration status, and in some cases limit co-operation with federal immigration authorities.
Such cities call it vital for immigrants to feel able to report crimes to police or interact with social services and schools without fear, and will resist federal pressure to turn their municipal officers into de facto immigration agents.
Source: The Economist newsmagazine coverage of 2016 Trump transition
Nov 18, 2016
On Principles & Values:
Total fidelity to the laws and the Constitution
The office of the attorney general of the United States is not a political position, and anyone who holds it must have total fidelity to the laws and the Constitution of the United States. He or she must be committed to following the law. He or she must
be willing to tell the president "no" if he overreaches. He or she cannot be a mere rubber stamp to any idea the president has. He or she also must set the example for the employees in the department to do the right thing and ensure that they know the
attorney general will back them up, no matter what politician might call, or what powerful special interest, influential contributor, or friend might try to intervene. The message must be clear: Everyone is expected to do their duty.That is the way
I was expected to perform as an assistant US attorney. That is the way I trained my assistants when I became US attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. And if confirmed, that is the way I will run the Department of Justice.
Source: 2017 Trump transition: A.G. Confirmation Hearings
Jan 10, 2017
Page last updated: Nov 02, 2024