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Attorney general nominee pressed on administration’s immigration, drug policies Attorney general nominee pressed on administration’s immigration, drug policies
(about 3 hours later)
Attorney general nominee Loretta E. Lynch defended the Obama administration’s actions on a range of issues including immigration and surveillance on Wednesday, as she pledged to foster a better relationship with the Senate Judiciary Committee. Attorney general nominee Loretta E. Lynch carefully backed the Obama administration’s policies on immigration and drug enforcement on Wednesday, sidestepping political tripwires before lawmakers deeply critical of the department she has been picked to lead.
During the first two hours of her confirmation hearing before the Judiciary Committee, Republican senators expressed their frustration and anger at the administration, peppering Lynch with questions on President Obama’s executive action on immigration and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.’s decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act. During an all-day confirmation hearing that highlighted Republican anger with the administration, Lynch declined repeated opportunities to disavow actions taken by the Justice Department under Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
Lynch, in calm, deliberate replies, acknowledged those concerns and said she would work with lawmakers if confirmed. Instead, the first African American woman nominated to be attorney general cast herself as a career federal prosecutor determined to uphold the rule of law and willing to provide honest counsel to the president even when he might disagree.
In calm, polished replies, Lynch also acknowledged Republican concerns and pledged to foster a better relationship lawmakers if confirmed.
“You’re not Eric Holder, are you?” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) asked at one point.“You’re not Eric Holder, are you?” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) asked at one point.
“No, sir,” Lynch replied. “No, I ‘m not, sir,” Lynch replied.
The hearing opened with an attack on Holder by the new chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who said that “public confidence in the department’s ability to do its job without regard to politics has been shaken, with good reason.” Lynch, 55, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said she supports the use of the death penalty as effective punishment and considers waterboarding “torture and thus illegal.” She said it was the Justice Department’s job to enforce the laws Congress passes, but when pushed about Holder’s decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act said there are “rare instances” when careful analysis of existing laws raises constitutional issues.
In his first question, Grassley asked Lynch about Obama’s executive action on immigration and whether the president could prevent deportations “for millions of individuals in the country illegally and grant them permits and other benefits, regardless of what the U.S. Constitution or immigration laws say?” Immigration proved to be the most significant flashpoint during the hearing, with Republicans voicing continuing outrage over the administration’s executive actions.
Lynch said it was important for the Justice Department to ensure that any executive action be legal, but she said she was not involved in the decisions leading to the president’s actions. Lynch said of the Justice Department memo giving legal advice to the White House on immigration policy: “I don’t see any reason to doubt the reasonableness of those views.” At the start of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, which was interrupted many times as senators left to vote, chairman Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) asked whether the president could defer deportations “for millions of individuals in the country illegally and grant them permits and other benefits, regardless of what the U.S. Constitution or immigration laws say?”
Lynch said she supports the use of the death penalty as effective punishment and considers waterboarding “torture and thus illegal.” She said it was the Justice Department’s job to enforce the laws Congress passes, but when pushed about Holder’s decision not to defend DOMA, she said there are “rare instances” when careful legal analysis of laws raises constitutional issues. Lynch said it was important for the Justice Department to ensure that any executive action be legal, but said she was not involved in the decisions leading up to the president’s decision.
When pressed by Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) on the legality of the National Security Agency’s controversial surveillance programs, Lynch replied that she believed they were “constitutional and effective.” Referring to a Justice Department memo on the president’s authority on immigration matters, she said: “I don’t see any reason to doubt the reasonableness of those views.”
In her opening statement, Lynch, 55, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the first African American woman nominated to be attorney general, highlighted her strong bonds with law enforcement and emphasized the need for Congress and the Justice Department to foster a better relationship. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who has said he plans to vote against Lynch, said he was “very disappointed and frustrated” with her responses.
Lynch was accompanied by her husband, Stephen Hargrove; her father, Rev. Lorenzo Lynch, who traveled from Durham, N.C. and sat behind her; and her only surviving brother, Leonzo Lynch, who is a preacher in Charlotte. “I have a huge concern regarding what I think is the president’s illegal, unconstitutional executive amnesty, and I have a huge concern of the fact that you think it is within the law,” Vitter said.
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 is the first Obama cabinet nominee to face a confirmation hearing since Republicans took over the Senate this year. The department she has been selected to oversee has been a regular target of Republicans’ ire on a range of issues, from investigations into the IRS and the Benghazi attacks to a botched gun-trafficking operation run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“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 — whose six-year tenure overshadowed Wednesday’s hearing — had a particularly rocky relationship with Congress. Lynch has chaired the Justice Department committee that advises him on policy decisions.
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 investigations into the IRS and the Benghazi attacks to a botched gun-trafficking operation run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Among the points of contention between the administration and Congress has been the Justice Department’s policy on marijuana in response to the legalization of the drug in Colorado and Washington state. The department announced it would not challenge those state laws and later said that in prosecutions it would prioritize offenses such as the distribution of marijuana to minors.
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. Asked about her own views on marijuana, Lynch said she does not support legalization.
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) asked Lynch whether she agreed with a remark made by Obama — and published last year in the New Yorker magazine — that the drug was no more dangerous than alcohol.
“I certainly don’t hold that view and don’t agree with that view of marijuana,” Lynch said. “I certainly think that the president was speaking from his personal experience and personal opinion, neither of which I’m able to share.”
When pressed on the legality of the National Security Agency’s controversial surveillance programs, Lynch replied that she believed they were “constitutional and effective.”
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 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 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. Lynch was accompanied by her husband, Stephen Hargrove; her father, Rev. Lorenzo Lynch, who traveled from Durham, N.C. and sat behind her; and her only surviving brother, Leonzo Lynch, 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.
“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. A group of two dozen of Lynch’s fellow U.S. attorneys from around the country were in Washington, watching the hearing together on television from the Justice Department building. Also in the audience was a group of Lynch’s Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters, dressed in bright red.
Lynch also told committee about her family and the values instilled in her by her parents, both from North Carolina. Lynch 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, a fourth-generation Baptist preacher, opened his Greensboro church in the early 1960s to those planning sit-ins and marches, standing with the protesters while carrying her on his shoulders.Lynch’s father, a fourth-generation Baptist preacher, opened his Greensboro church in the early 1960s to those planning sit-ins and marches, standing with the protesters 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.”