In Support of the Confirmation of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General
On January 5, 2017, the Committee for Justice joined conservative leaders in a letter urging U.S. senators to confirm Sen. Jeff Sessions as Attorney General of the United States. The full text of the letter follows.
January 5, 2017
The Honorable
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator,
On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Americans we represent, we ask that you vote to confirm Senator Jeff Sessions as the next Attorney General of the United States.
Sen. Sessions is a man of integrity with years of experience serving the American people. His impartial application of the law makes Sen. Sessions a champion of unbiased justice. His defense of civil rights, criminal justice reform, and general promotion of the fair rule of law has earned him bipartisan political support as well as endorsements from multiple national law enforcement organizations for his nomination to Attorney General. Sen. Sessions is more than qualified to ensure justice for all Americans.
40 years of public service
Defender of civil rights and criminal justice reform
Endorsed by nine national law enforcement associations
Bipartisan support for his confirmation
Years of Service
Sen. Sessions has faithfully served his country throughout his life, ranging from military to civil service. After graduating from law school, he spent 13 years in the Army Reserves, where he attained the rank of Captain during a time he describes as one of the most rewarding of his life. While serving in the reserves, Sen. Sessions also began serving in a civil capacity as the appointed Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. He later served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama and the Attorney General of Alabama.
Since being elected to the Senate, Sen. Sessions has been a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 20 years.
With over 18 years of prosecutorial experience, Sen. Sessions has the practical legal experience crucial to successfully serving as Attorney General.
Defender of Civil Rights
Sen. Sessions repeatedly demonstrates his firm belief in equal justice under the law. He oversaw and personally contributed to the investigation, prosecution, and execution of Henry Hays, the son of the head of the Alabama KKK, for murdering Michael Donald, a 19-year-old African-American man. Hays is the only known member of the KKK to be executed in the 20th century for murdering an African-American.[1]
As United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, Sen. Sessions was instrumental in ensuring the case stayed in state instead of taking it up as a federal case, because Alabama had the death penalty. Sen. Sessions’ involvement in carrying out justice for Michael Donald came full circle when, as Attorney General of Alabama, he defeated Hays’s final appeal ensuring he would receive the death penalty.
This was not the only time Sen. Sessions made history defending civil rights. As U.S. Attorney for Alabama’s Southern District, he brought the first anti-voter suppression lawsuit in the history of the Department of Justice in U.S. v. Conecuh County.[2] He also worked on litigation in multiple Alabama counties to switch their electoral system for county commission and local board of education from at-large elections to a district-based system that strengthened the voice of African-Americans in those counties.[3]
Sen. Sessions went beyond fighting for equality on the school boards to promoting the full integration of schools in Mobile 10 years after the county had consented to desegregate schools. Acting on behalf of the United States and with the support of the NAACP, Sen. Sessions took this issue to court and won.[4]
Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform
Sen. Sessions’ equal application of the law has earned him respect from people on both sides of the political aisle. He is known for working with members of the Democratic Party on legislation, including criminal justice reform. Sessions worked alongside Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) to confront the problem of prison rape. Sen. Sessions stated, “We both agree that punishment for a criminal defendant should be set by a judge and should not include sexual assault.”[5] He also worked with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) to pass the Crack-Cocaine Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 that sought to balance the disparity between penalties for crack cocaine versus powder cocaine. This legislation unanimously passed the Senate.
Protector of Everyday Americans
Sen. Sessions has gone toe-to-toe against special interests, scorning the political pressure, to protect everyday Americans. Rather than making headlines, Sessions has taken the political risk to ensure women and children who are victims of domestic violence are helped and protected. He opposed legislation that purported to help victims of domestic violence, because in reality, much of the money never left the big organizations that were supposed to help the women and children across America who need protection. Instead, he supported the Hutchison-Grassley substitute amendment, which would have increased oversight on the grant money and allocated more money to go directly to helping victims.[6]
Sen. Sessions believes it is more important to solve problems than to close your eyes and write a check. Justice is blind. It does not weigh money or political capital when making a decision.
Sen. Sessions has demonstrated a clear ability to address the core of a problem and only accept solutions that go to the root cause, instead of dealing out political platitudes.
Equal Justice under the Law
People who get to know or work with Sen. Sessions recognize he is, as the late Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pennsylvania) described, “egalitarian” in his application of the rule of law. Alabama Democratic state senator for Montgomery, Quinton Ross, Jr., has worked with Sen. Sessions for over 20 years. He issued a press release stating his belief that, as Attorney General, Sen. Sessions would be unbiased in his application of the law and accessible to his constituents. Sen. Ross stated, “We’ve spoken about everything from Civil Rights to race relations, and we agree that as Christian men our hearts and minds are focused on doing right by all people.”[7]
The execution of justice requires trust among all parties involved in protecting the rule of law. At least nine national law enforcement organizations have endorsed the nomination of Sen. Sessions to be the next Attorney General of the United States. America should take note when groups such as the Fraternal Order of Police, the AFL-CIO International Union of Police Association, and National Sheriff’s Association, among others, voice full-throated support for Sen. Sessions’ nomination.
The American people deserve an Attorney General who will fight for justice for everyone, who has a proven track record of not just defending, but promoting equal protection under the law.
Sen. Sessions has that trust and support; he is more than qualified to serve the American people as Attorney General. Vote “yes” for Sen. Sessions’ confirmation, and give the people the Attorney General they deserve.
Sincerely,
Penny Young Nance, CEO and President, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee
Andrea Lafferty, President, Traditional Values Coalition
Eunie Smith, Acting President, Eagle Forum; President, Eagle Forum of Alabama
Gary L. Bauer, President, American Values
Susan A. Carleson, Chairman/CEO, American Civil Rights Union
Morton Blackwell, Chairman, The Weyrich Lunch
Dan Schneider, Executive Director, American Conservative Union
Gerrye Johnston, Founder/CEO, Women for Democracy in America, Inc.
Mat Staver, Esq., Founder and Chairman, Liberty Council
Elaine Donnelly, President, Center for Military Readiness
Lewis K. Uhler, President, National Tax Limitation Committee
Willes K. Lee, President, National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Judson Phillips, Founder, Tea Party Nation, TPN News
Tom Kilgannon, President, Freedom Alliance
Steven W. Mosher, President, Population Research Institute
Timothy Head, Executive Director, Faith and Freedom Coalition
Larry Cirignano, Children First Foundation
Rick Manning, President, Americans for Limited Government
Tom McClusky, Vice President of Government Affairs, March for Life Action
Frank J. Gaffney, President and CEO, Center for Security Policy
The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell, Distinguished Fellow, American Civil Rights Union
Allen Roth, President, Secure America Now
Stephen Stone, President, Renew America; Editor, RenewAmerica.com
Dick Patten, President, American Business Defense Council
Congressman Steve Stockman, Former U.S. Representative, Texas 9th District
Michael J. Bowen, CEO, Coalition for a Strong America
Phillip L. Jauregui, President, Judicial Action Group
Robert K. Fischer, Meeting Coordinator, Conservatives of Faith
E. Everett Bartlett, President, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments
Ron Robinson, President, Young America's Foundation
Ron Pearson, President, Pearson & Pipkin
Nadine Maenza, Executive Director, Patriot Voices
James L. Martin, Founder/Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Ryan Bomberger, Chief Creative Officer, The Radiance Foundation
Terry T. Campo, Esq., YR Alumni Network, Inc.
Curt Levey, President, Committee for Justice
Endnotes
“Sessions broke the back of the KKK in Alabama…” Yellowhammer News, November 20, 2016, accessed at http://yellowhammernews.com/politics-2/sessions-broke-back-kkk-alabama-now-media-wants-think-hes-racist/ on December 8, 2016.
United States v. Conecuh County.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, 667 F. Supp. 786 (S.D. Ala. 1987), August 13, 1987.
Davis v. Board of Sch. Comm'rs of Mobile County, 402 U.S. 33 (1971).
“President Bush Signs Legislation Sponsored By U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions to Reduce Prison Rape,” Press Release, September 4, 2003, accessed at sessions.senate.gov on December 16, 2016.
On the Hutchison Amendment (No. 2095) to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011, U.S. Senate roll call vote, accessed at senate.gov.
“Democratic leader in Alabama Senate praises Jeff Sessions,” AL.com, December 7, 2016, accessed at http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2016/12/democratic_leader_in_alabama_s.html on December 16, 2016.
