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| Attorney general nominee stresses outreach in confirmation testimony | Attorney general nominee stresses outreach in confirmation testimony |
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| Attorney General nominee Loretta E. Lynch highlighted her strong bonds with law enforcement and emphasized the need for Congress and the Justice Department to foster a better relationship Wednesday morning for the first time before the Senate Judiciary Committee. | Attorney General nominee Loretta E. Lynch highlighted her strong bonds with law enforcement and emphasized the need for Congress and the Justice Department to foster a better relationship Wednesday morning for the first time before the Senate Judiciary Committee. |
| Lynch, 55, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the first African American woman nominated to be attorney general, testified at the beginning of a two-day confirmation hearing before the committee. | Lynch, 55, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the first African American woman nominated to be attorney general, testified at the beginning of a two-day confirmation hearing before the committee. |
| The new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), opened the hearing with an attack on the leadership of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. | The new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), opened the hearing with an attack on the leadership of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. |
| “Over the last few years, public confidence in the department’s ability to do its job without regard to politics has been shaken, with good reason,” Grassley said. “The department’s own inspector general listed as one of it stop management challenges: ‘Restoring Confidence in the Integrity, Fairness and Accountability of the Department.’ ” | “Over the last few years, public confidence in the department’s ability to do its job without regard to politics has been shaken, with good reason,” Grassley said. “The department’s own inspector general listed as one of it stop management challenges: ‘Restoring Confidence in the Integrity, Fairness and Accountability of the Department.’ ” |
| Lynch was accompanied by her husband; her father, who traveled from Durham, N.C.; and her only surviving brother, who is a preacher in Charlotte. Her other brother, Lorenzo Jr., a former Navy SEAL, died in 2009. She placed his Navy SEAL trident pin on the witness table in front of her while she testified. A group of two dozen of Lynch’s fellow U.S. attorneys from around the country are in Washington, watching the hearing together on television from the Justice Department building. | Lynch was accompanied by her husband; her father, who traveled from Durham, N.C.; and her only surviving brother, who is a preacher in Charlotte. Her other brother, Lorenzo Jr., a former Navy SEAL, died in 2009. She placed his Navy SEAL trident pin on the witness table in front of her while she testified. A group of two dozen of Lynch’s fellow U.S. attorneys from around the country are in Washington, watching the hearing together on television from the Justice Department building. |
| “I look forward to fostering a new and improved relationship with this committee, the United States Senate, and the entire United States Congress — a relationship based on mutual respect and constitutional balance,” Lynch said. | “I look forward to fostering a new and improved relationship with this committee, the United States Senate, and the entire United States Congress — a relationship based on mutual respect and constitutional balance,” Lynch said. |
| Holder had a rocky relationship with Congress during his six-year tenure and was a regular target of Republicans’ ire on a range of issues from an investigations into the IRS and the Benghazi attacks to a botched gun-trafficking operation run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. | Holder had a rocky relationship with Congress during his six-year tenure and was a regular target of Republicans’ ire on a range of issues from an investigations into the IRS and the Benghazi attacks to a botched gun-trafficking operation run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. |
| On the second day of testimony, several witnesses are expected to criticize Holder’s time as attorney general. Holder announced his resignation in September, but said he will stay on until a new attorney general is confirmed by the Senate. | On the second day of testimony, several witnesses are expected to criticize Holder’s time as attorney general. Holder announced his resignation in September, but said he will stay on until a new attorney general is confirmed by the Senate. |
| If Lynch is confirmed as the 83rd attorney general, she will take the reins of the Justice Department at a moment of high tension between law enforcement and minority communities around the country. | If Lynch is confirmed as the 83rd attorney general, she will take the reins of the Justice Department at a moment of high tension between law enforcement and minority communities around the country. |
| In her testimony, she emphasized her strong bonds with law enforcement and her desire to heal the rifts between police and the communities they are tasked with protecting. | In her testimony, she emphasized her strong bonds with law enforcement and her desire to heal the rifts between police and the communities they are tasked with protecting. |
| One of her key priorities will be to work to strengthen “the vital relationships between our courageous law enforcement personnel and all the communities we serve,” Lynch said. | One of her key priorities will be to work to strengthen “the vital relationships between our courageous law enforcement personnel and all the communities we serve,” Lynch said. |
| “In my career, I have seen this relationship flourish – I have seen law enforcement forge unbreakable bonds with community residents and have seen violence-ravaged communities come together to honor officers who risked all to protect them,” she said. “As attorney general, I will draw all voices into this important discussion.” | “In my career, I have seen this relationship flourish – I have seen law enforcement forge unbreakable bonds with community residents and have seen violence-ravaged communities come together to honor officers who risked all to protect them,” she said. “As attorney general, I will draw all voices into this important discussion.” |
| If confirmed, Lynch will face daily national security challenges. She told the committee that she would make cybercrime prosecutions a priority of her tenure. | If confirmed, Lynch will face daily national security challenges. She told the committee that she would make cybercrime prosecutions a priority of her tenure. |
| “I intend to expand and enhance our capabilities in order to effectively prevent ever-evolving attacks in cyberspace, expose wrongdoers, and bring perpetrators to justice,” Lynch testified. | “I intend to expand and enhance our capabilities in order to effectively prevent ever-evolving attacks in cyberspace, expose wrongdoers, and bring perpetrators to justice,” Lynch testified. |
| Lynch also told committee about her family and the values instilled in her by her parents, both from North Carolina. | Lynch also told committee about her family and the values instilled in her by her parents, both from North Carolina. |
| “My mother, Lorine, who was unable to travel here today, is a retired English teacher and librarian for whom education was the key to a better life,” Lynch said. “She recalls people in her rural community pressing a dime or a quarter into her hands to support her college education. As a young woman, she refused to use segregated restrooms because they did not represent the America in which she believed.” | “My mother, Lorine, who was unable to travel here today, is a retired English teacher and librarian for whom education was the key to a better life,” Lynch said. “She recalls people in her rural community pressing a dime or a quarter into her hands to support her college education. As a young woman, she refused to use segregated restrooms because they did not represent the America in which she believed.” |
| “She instilled in me an abiding love of literature and learning, and taught me the value of hard work and sacrifice,” Lynch said. | “She instilled in me an abiding love of literature and learning, and taught me the value of hard work and sacrifice,” Lynch said. |
| Lynch’s father, Rev. Lorenzo Lynch, a fourth-generation Baptist preacher opened his Greensboro church in the early 1960s to those planning sit-ins and marches, standing with the protestors while carrying her on his shoulders. | Lynch’s father, Rev. Lorenzo Lynch, a fourth-generation Baptist preacher opened his Greensboro church in the early 1960s to those planning sit-ins and marches, standing with the protestors while carrying her on his shoulders. |
| “As I come before you today in this historic chamber, I still stand on my father’s shoulders, as well as on the shoulders of all those who have gone before me and who dreamed of making the promise of America a reality for all and worked to achieve that goal,” Lynch said. “I believe in the promise of America because I have lived the promise of America.” | “As I come before you today in this historic chamber, I still stand on my father’s shoulders, as well as on the shoulders of all those who have gone before me and who dreamed of making the promise of America a reality for all and worked to achieve that goal,” Lynch said. “I believe in the promise of America because I have lived the promise of America.” |
| On Tuesday night, Holder made an unannounced visit to see Lynch at the Justice Department as she was preparing for the hearing, a department official said. He wished her luck, the official said, and looking at the administration officials and other advisers gathered nearby, joked: “Don’t listen to any of them! Just be Loretta Lynch.” | On Tuesday night, Holder made an unannounced visit to see Lynch at the Justice Department as she was preparing for the hearing, a department official said. He wished her luck, the official said, and looking at the administration officials and other advisers gathered nearby, joked: “Don’t listen to any of them! Just be Loretta Lynch.” |