Sessions Attorney General Nomination Roundup

Here are some of the notable articles about Sen. Jeff Sessions' nomination as Attorney General from the last week.

Confirm Jeff Sessions as attorney general, 12/16:

Would a racist introduce a bill - the Fair Sentencing Act - that rectified disparities in sentencing for drug crimes, and then work across the aisle for nine years to get it passed and signed into law? As U.S. Senator, Jeff Sessions did precisely that. In a similar vein, would a racist work to desegregate schools in Alabama? As U.S. Attorney, Jeff Sessions successfully desegregated Alabama’s schools. Or would a racist prosecute and seek the death penalty for Henry Francis Hays, a Klansman, on charges of murdering a teenage African American? That conviction was one of Jeff Sessions’ greatest accomplishments, and later, once elected as Alabama’s Attorney General, he ensured that Hays received the death penalty. These are hardly the accomplishments of a racist, of course, and Senate Democrats know the charge that Sen. Sessions is racist is ridiculous.

Attorney General Luther Strange urges confirmation of Jeff Sessions as U.S. Attorney General, 12/16:

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange joined 24 other state attorneys general in urging the leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions as United States Attorney General. 

“Few positions are more important than our nation’s attorney general,” Attorney General Strange wrote in a joint letter to Senators Chuck Grassley, R-IA, and Patrick Leahy, D-VT, Thursday. 

“The person who fills that role is not only charged with keeping our streets safe, but upholding the legal principles that are the bedrock of our republic. Senator Sessions has proven over a long and distinguished career that he has the character to serve as United States Attorney General for all Americans. We urge his confirmation.”

Trump’s un-PC cabinet matches his campaign promises to a T, 12/17:

President-elect Donald Trump is assembling a Cabinet designed to govern exactly as he promised he would during the campaign. Naturally, the left is freaking out. . . . 

Nor is Attorney General-to-be Jeff Sessions any kind of racist. He got blindsided by such charges during confirmation hearings decades ago, but his public record since then includes successfully prosecuting the Alabama head of the Klan — which set up a civil suit that bankrupted the state branch of that hate group.

Smear Campaign Against Sessions Ignores the Facts, 12/18:

After all, the smear that Sessions is, or was, a racist has come up against a mountain of hard evidence to the contrary. Sessions opposed race-baiting George Wallace when he attended college. In Alabama. In the 1960s. As U.S attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, Sessions prosecuted the Klan and its murderous thugs, and worked to desegregate public schools. Later, as Alabama’s attorney general, he went after the perpetrators of a series of black church arsons in the 1990s. . . . 

What is evident in Sessions’ record is a public servant whose humble background and color-blind concern for everyday Americans made him a principled advocate of working-class people long before Donald Trump ever thought of public office. It animated his pursuit of real racists in Alabama, and his hard-line stance on immigration in Washington, D.C. Sessions was working to “drain the swamp” before draining the swamp was cool, convinced that that the “masters of the universe” from Washington, D.C., to New York City have been stacking the deck for themselves and their connected friends, while conditions stagnated or deteriorated for the rest of America in all its colors. This is the Sessions record, and it’s an admirable one.

Why They Oppose Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, 12/19:

When hearings for attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions start next month, prepare for a trip back in time to 1986. Three decades ago, his nomination for a seat on the federal bench was wrecked because Jeff Sessions fought voter fraud as a United States attorney. 

The same group of far-left activists are again opposing Jeff Sessions because Jeff Sessions will fight voter fraud as attorney general.

Clinton FBI Director Backs Trump's Attorney General Pick Jeff Sessions, Defends His Records on Civil Rights, 12/21:

The campaign to rally support for Donald Trump’s pick to head the Justice Department is growing, with former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who served under President Bill Clinton, now joining the effort. 

In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Freeh offered his “strong recommendation” that Senators confirm their colleague Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., as the next attorney general, defending his record on civil rights, which has become a key concern for critics. 

“I have known Jeff since 1989 when we worked together as prosecutors on one of the most important civil rights cases investigated and prosecuted by the United States Department of Justice,” Freeh wrote. “[I] have always been greatly impressed with his commitment to the rule of law, his fair and balanced prosecutorial judgment, and his personal dedication to protecting civil rights.”

“Unreliable and Misleading” Charges against Sessions, 12/22:

As I’ve written before, much of the reporting on Senator Sessions’ bid for Attorney General has failed to dig deeper than the top-level talking points of his opponents. New reports ​are out digging up a decades-old lawsuit Sessions was involved with in which a state judge wrote that “the misconduct of the Attorney General in this case far surpasses in both extensiveness and measure the totality of any prosecutorial misconduct ever previously presented to or witnessed by this court.”  

Sounds pretty damning, at least until you learn that the order quoted above itself was found “particularly unreliable and misleading” by a unanimous panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court faulted the judge below for simply cutting and pasting his order from the opposing lawyer’s briefs, which explains the over-the-top language. Far from finding prosecutorial misconduct, the Eleventh Circuit held that there had been probable cause for prosecution. And it found the trial court’s order to be sufficiently misleading that the $7.2 million verdict in a related civil case was thrown out because the jury had been read that order. 

State Legal Leaders Speaking at RNLA Conference

As RNC Chair and upcoming RNLA National Policy Conference Speaker Reince Priebus points out the strength of the Republican Party is in the states.  While DC is stuck in gridlock and not getting much done, it is in the states where ideas are happening and where the country is moving forward.

A key part of that effort is the great Republican Attorneys General.  The RNLA National Policy Conference will feature four of these leaders who will give a one-of-a-kind overview of the nation’s legal health from their perspectives.  And we are lucky to have four such great leaders attending and speaking.  In alphabetical order:

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli will speak and sign copies of his book: The Last Line of Defense: The New Fight for American Liberty.  From the book description: 

With Obamacare and agencies like the EPA, the FCC, and the National Labor Relations Board attempting to exercise unprecedented control over the American people, the Obama Administration was breaking federal laws, ignoring federal courts, and violating the Constitution to achieve its goals of redistributing wealth, concentrating power in Washington, and rewarding its supporters.  Without enough lawmakers in Washington devoted to protecting the rule of law to stop the federal government's liberty-stealing power grab, the battle had to be waged in an unprecedented way: from the states -- just as our Founding Fathers intended.  The man who led the charge was Ken Cuccinelli, the first state attorney general to argue in federal court against Obamacare, an unapologetic defender of the Constitution, and a man admirers and detractors alike said "was tea party long before there was a Tea Party."  The Last Line of Defense provides a behind-the-scenes account of the myriad of legal battles in which our states were the only instruments of resistance to federal abuses of power.

While General Cuccinelli is coming to the end of his time as Attorney General, our next speaker West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is just starting.  Morrisey is no stranger to the important legal battles of our day and has led them from inside Washington and in the court room.  A brief excerpt from his bio:

Prior to his election, Morrisey assisted in the successful multi-state challenge to the national health care law in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and counseled Members of Congress on strategies to repeal the law. He has also led successful efforts to thwart the federal government's efforts to impose price controls on health care products and seeks to limit the scope of federal regulations over our nation's health care system.  In addition to his health care expertise, Morrisey has handled administrative law, election law, public policy, and several criminal defense matters during his 21 year legal career.  Between 1999 to 2004, Morrisey served as the Deputy Staff Director and Chief Health Care Counsel to the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, helping draft and negotiate major legislation, including the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and the Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness Act of 2002.

Next up is Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens.   The charismatic General Olens has spoken frequently to RNLA events.  General Olens is leading in issues across the board from a statewide campaign against child sex trafficking on the “local” level to joining in national efforts challenging Dodd-Frank.  On the latter he wrote:

“Dodd-Frank violates basic principles of separation of powers and government that is accountable to the people.  It also gives the federal government the power to pick winners and losers, putting the State of Georgia’s financial assets at risk,” added Olens. “By joining this lawsuit, we are standing up for the Constitution, standing up for our local communities, and protecting our State’s finances.”

Our final speaker is long time RNLA Member Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange.  Prior to his election as Alabama’s 49th Attorney General, General Strange earned the reputation as one of Alabama's leading lawyers. He represented Hyundai when they located in Alabama along with many other companies, creating jobs across Alabama.  As Attorney General he is standing up for the second amendment as he recently wrote in response to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s actions:

The rights guaranteed us under the Second Amendment are fundamental and sacred. The Senate Democrats are using the tragedies that befell our nation to advance their political agenda. If these bills become law, I will move quickly to challenge them and protect Alabama citizens from this abusive federal overreach.

The RNLA is greatly honored to have all these legal leaders speaking at our April 26th Policy Conference.  It is in the states led by these Generals, that the battle to uphold the Constitution is being waged.