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| Jeff Sessions confirmation hearing for attorney general: the key points | Jeff Sessions confirmation hearing for attorney general: the key points |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Jefferson Bureaugard Sessions III | Jefferson Bureaugard Sessions III |
| US attorney general | US attorney general |
| Key moments from the hearing | Key moments from the hearing |
| (We will be updating this section throughout the hearing. Please refresh the page for latest news.) | (We will be updating this section throughout the hearing. Please refresh the page for latest news.) |
| Sessions promises that he would recuse himself from any Department of Justice investigations of Hillary Clinton due to past political comments. | Sessions promises that he would recuse himself from any Department of Justice investigations of Hillary Clinton due to past political comments. |
| Reversing Donald Trump’s campaign pledges, the attorney general nominee says: “This country does not punish its political enemies.” | Reversing Donald Trump’s campaign pledges, the attorney general nominee says: “This country does not punish its political enemies.” |
| Amid protests, Sessions also attacks claims against him of racism as “damnably false charges”, and pledges to protect minorities and women. | Amid protests, Sessions also attacks claims against him of racism as “damnably false charges”, and pledges to protect minorities and women. |
| Sessions says he “does not support the idea” of the Muslim ban proposed by President-elect Trump during his campaign. | Sessions says he “does not support the idea” of the Muslim ban proposed by President-elect Trump during his campaign. |
| Sessions says he would be prepared to prosecute the president, his family and associates if charges against them were warranted. | Sessions says he would be prepared to prosecute the president, his family and associates if charges against them were warranted. |
| 12.03pm – Under questioning from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Sessions avoided giving a personal view on whether waterboarding amounts to torture. But, he noted, Congress has said that it does. “It is absolutely improper and illegal to use waterboarding,” he said. “I used to teach the Geneva conventions and the laws of warfare as an army reservist,” he added. | |
| Whitehouse went on to ask whether Sessions would be prepared to prosecute “the president, his family and associates” if inquiries into Russia’s interference in the US presidential election led to charges against them being warranted. Sessions effectively said yes. “If there are laws violated, and they can be prosecuted, then of course you’d have to handle that in the appropriate way,” he said. | |
| 11.20am – Sessions, who last year voted against a measure outlawing a ban on people entering the US based on their religion, joined Trump in walking back the president-elect’s campaign pledge to bar all Muslims from coming into the country. | |
| Under questioning from Democratic senator Patrick Leahy, Sessions said: “I believe the president-elect has subsequently to that statement made clear the focus should be individuals coming from countries that have a history of terrorism.” | |
| Sessions said that while he believes that “many people do have religious views that are inimical to the public safety of the United States”, at the same time, “I have no belief, and do not support the idea, that Muslims as a religious group should be denied admission to the United States”. | |
| 10.45am – Under questioning from Senator Chuck Grassley, Sessions makes headlines by promptly promising to recuse himself from any justice department investigations of Hillary Clinton’s private email server or the Clinton Foundation, due to his past political remarks on the subject. He also says: “This country does not punish its political enemies, but this country ensures that no one is above the law.” | |
| Feinstein elicits assurances from Sessions that in spite of his personal political views, he recognizes that the US supreme court rulings allowing same-sex marriage and protecting a woman’s right to an abortion are the laws of the country. “I will follow that decision,” he says of both cases, while reiterating his view that the 1973 ruling in Roe v Wade was unconstitutional. | |
| 10.15am - Jeff Sessions gave robust opening remarks, in which he defended his law-and-order conservatism while dismissing allegations of racism against him as “damnably false charges”. He was quickly interrupted by protesters loudly chanting: “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” and calling Sessions a racist. | 10.15am - Jeff Sessions gave robust opening remarks, in which he defended his law-and-order conservatism while dismissing allegations of racism against him as “damnably false charges”. He was quickly interrupted by protesters loudly chanting: “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA” and calling Sessions a racist. |
| Sessions said: “I abhor the Klan and what it represents, and its hateful ideology.” He denied ever condemning the activities of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as “un-American” or describing a white attorney in Alabama as a race traitor. | Sessions said: “I abhor the Klan and what it represents, and its hateful ideology.” He denied ever condemning the activities of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as “un-American” or describing a white attorney in Alabama as a race traitor. |
| In comments that were not included in printed remarks published before the hearing, Sessions promised that he understood the ills that racial discrimination and prejudice had inflicted on “our African American brothers and sisters”. | In comments that were not included in printed remarks published before the hearing, Sessions promised that he understood the ills that racial discrimination and prejudice had inflicted on “our African American brothers and sisters”. |
| He continued by saying he would work to protect LGBT people and women who are victims of assault and abuse. | He continued by saying he would work to protect LGBT people and women who are victims of assault and abuse. |
| Before this, however, Sessions went on the offensive against the record of the Obama administration. Citing recent spikes in violent crime in some cities and the heroin epidemic that has afflicted several regions, Sessions painted a grim picture of a country needing rescue. “These trends cannot continue. It is a fundamental civil right to be safe in your home and your community,” he said. | Before this, however, Sessions went on the offensive against the record of the Obama administration. Citing recent spikes in violent crime in some cities and the heroin epidemic that has afflicted several regions, Sessions painted a grim picture of a country needing rescue. “These trends cannot continue. It is a fundamental civil right to be safe in your home and your community,” he said. |
| He accused the administration of abandoning police officers amid national criticism over their use of force. “In the last several years, law enforcement as a whole has been unfairly maligned and blamed for the unacceptable actions of a few bad actors,” he said. | He accused the administration of abandoning police officers amid national criticism over their use of force. “In the last several years, law enforcement as a whole has been unfairly maligned and blamed for the unacceptable actions of a few bad actors,” he said. |
| Still, in apparent recognition of concerns about Trump’s intentions, Sessions said of the Attorney General: “He or she must be willing to tell the President ‘no’ if he overreaches. He or she cannot be a mere rubberstamp.” | Still, in apparent recognition of concerns about Trump’s intentions, Sessions said of the Attorney General: “He or she must be willing to tell the President ‘no’ if he overreaches. He or she cannot be a mere rubberstamp.” |
| “I understand the absolute necessity that all my actions must fall within the bounds of the constitution and the laws of the United States,” said Sessions. “I am ready for this job.” | “I understand the absolute necessity that all my actions must fall within the bounds of the constitution and the laws of the United States,” said Sessions. “I am ready for this job.” |
| 10am - Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the most senior Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, gave a powerful opening statement in which she raised deep concerns about the prospect of Sessions serving as Donald Trump’s attorney general. | |
| Citing President-elect Trump’s campaign threat to use the Department of Justice to go after his opponent, Hillary Clinton, Feinstein told Sessions his loyalty must be “to the people and the law, not the president”. She said Sessions must assure senators that he can “dispatch himself from the president and from his record” and enforce the law “fairly, evenly, without personal bias”. “Will he be independent of the White House? Will he tell the president no when necessary?” Feinstein asked. | |
| Feinstein said that Sessions’ “extremely conservative agenda” had seen him vote against – and speak enthusiastically against – the notion that the US must not block people’s entry to the country on the basis of their religion. He voted against immigration reform and against giving some legal status to the children of undocumented immigrants, which he called a “reckless proposal for mass amnesty”. He voted against banning illegal torture, said Feinstein. He voted against a law against hate crimes, saying in 2009: “Today I’m not sure women or people with different sexual orientations face that kind of discrimination. I just don’t see it.” | |
| In a sharply critical closing section, Feinstein said: “We cannot ignore that there are deep concerns and anxieties throughout America. There is a deep fear about what a Trump administration will bring in many places and this is the context in which we should consider Senator Sessions’s record. | |
| “Communities across this country are concerned about whether they will be able to rely on the Department of Justice to protect their rights and freedoms. These freedoms are so cherished. They are what make us unique among nations.” | |
| Background | Background |
| Jeff Sessions was nominated by Donald Trump to become the most senior law enforcement official in the US after being the first sitting US senator to endorse Trump for president in 2016. The 70-year-old former federal prosecutor and state attorney general has represented Alabama in the upper chamber since 1997. | Jeff Sessions was nominated by Donald Trump to become the most senior law enforcement official in the US after being the first sitting US senator to endorse Trump for president in 2016. The 70-year-old former federal prosecutor and state attorney general has represented Alabama in the upper chamber since 1997. |
| Sessions, a law-and-order conservative, would as attorney general be responsible for implementing the draconian criminal justice agenda on which Trump campaigned. Both men have been dismissive of bipartisan efforts to pass reforms to help reduce prisoner numbers. They have also been sharply critical of the Black Lives Matter protest movement and its campaign against deadly shootings by police. | Sessions, a law-and-order conservative, would as attorney general be responsible for implementing the draconian criminal justice agenda on which Trump campaigned. Both men have been dismissive of bipartisan efforts to pass reforms to help reduce prisoner numbers. They have also been sharply critical of the Black Lives Matter protest movement and its campaign against deadly shootings by police. |
| Claims of prejudice and racial insensitivity, which Sessions denies, have dogged his career. In 1986, the Senate blocked his nomination by President Ronald Reagan to a federal judgeship after hearing testimony about racist remarks he made to colleagues, as well as a failed voter-fraud prosecution that he brought against black civil rights activists. | Claims of prejudice and racial insensitivity, which Sessions denies, have dogged his career. In 1986, the Senate blocked his nomination by President Ronald Reagan to a federal judgeship after hearing testimony about racist remarks he made to colleagues, as well as a failed voter-fraud prosecution that he brought against black civil rights activists. |
| Key points to watch for | Key points to watch for |
| Race and civil rights: Sessions is sure to come under intense questioning over his record regarding African Americans. Democratic senators on the judiciary committee are likely to ask why a man viewed as too racist for the 1980s should be approved 30 years later for the job of overseeing the enforcement of civil rights laws in the US. | Race and civil rights: Sessions is sure to come under intense questioning over his record regarding African Americans. Democratic senators on the judiciary committee are likely to ask why a man viewed as too racist for the 1980s should be approved 30 years later for the job of overseeing the enforcement of civil rights laws in the US. |
| Criminal justice reform: Sessions last year helped block a bipartisan congressional plan to reduce “mandatory minimum” prison sentences and make other changes to the federal prisons system. Senators will want to know what he and Trump intend to do about the country’s high rates of incarceration and recidivism. | Criminal justice reform: Sessions last year helped block a bipartisan congressional plan to reduce “mandatory minimum” prison sentences and make other changes to the federal prisons system. Senators will want to know what he and Trump intend to do about the country’s high rates of incarceration and recidivism. |
| Use of force by police: Sessions has described Black Lives Matter as “really radical” and blamed the protest movement for a spike in violent crime in some US cities. He has consistently attacked justice department investigations into troubling practices in local police departments, which the Obama administration opened in cities such as Ferguson, Missouri. Sessions may well face questions on whether too many people are killed by police. | Use of force by police: Sessions has described Black Lives Matter as “really radical” and blamed the protest movement for a spike in violent crime in some US cities. He has consistently attacked justice department investigations into troubling practices in local police departments, which the Obama administration opened in cities such as Ferguson, Missouri. Sessions may well face questions on whether too many people are killed by police. |