Tag: Attorney General

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Sen. Jeff Sessions Tapped For Attorney General In Trump Administration

Early Trump supporter, Sen. Jeff Sessions, has been tapped by Donald Trump to act as U.S. Attorney General.

Sessions currently serves as Chairman of the Judiciary committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Refugees.

In 1986, Sessions was considered for a federal judgeship, but was rejected for racially insensitive remarks, including calling the NAACP and the ACLU “un-American.”

A witness also testified Sessions said the Ku Klux Klan was okay “until I found out they smoked pot,” a comment Sessions insisted was a joke.

As senator, Sessions worked to oppose the Affordable Care Act and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act, and voted for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. So, a friend of the LGBT community he is not.

Civil rights groups are not pleased with the AG nomination.

From People For The American Way:

The last time Senator Sessions sought Senate confirmation was 1986 when he was nominated to be a federal judge. Despite the fact that Republicans controlled the chamber at the time, he was rejected because of a long history of racially insensitive remarks and a disastrous record on civil rights.

In the last 30 years, Sessions has done nothing that demonstrates that the Senate’s judgement was incorrect or that he’s learned from his mistakes. Instead, he’s spent years making a name for himself as one of the Senate’s most extreme anti-immigrant voices, even attacking the Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship.

As a senator he’s voted in favor of torture programs under the Bush administration and opposed hate crime protections for LGBT people. If anyone still thinks that Donald Trump might govern with more responsibility or moderation than he campaigned, this nomination is a wakeup call. The Senate should reject this nomination.

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Senate: Loretta Lynch Approved As Attorney General By Vote Of 56-43

After waiting on hold for more than five months, Loretta Lynch was approved by the U.S. Senate today by a vote of 56-43 to serve as U.S. attorney general.

Lynch becomes the first African-American woman to lead the Justice Department.

All Democrats voted for her, plus 10 Republicans: Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Thad Cochran (Miss.), Susan Collins (Maine), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Rob Portman (Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.).

The delay for Lynch’s confirmation vote was a result of Senate Republicans using her confirmation as a political football in a dispute over abortion language in an anti-human trafficking bill. The Senate reached a compromise on that bill earlier this week, clearing the way for Lynch’s vote.

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Attorney General Eric Holder: “Nothing justifies excluding same-sex couples from the institution of marriage”

Attorney General Eric Holder

In an op-ed for USA Today, US Attorney General Eric Holder makes clear his – and the administration’s – support for marriage equality across the United States:

This week, the Justice Department will file a brief setting forth our position that state bans on same-sex marriage violate the fundamental constitutional guarantee of “equal protection of the laws.” It is clear that the time has come to recognize that gay and lesbian people deserve robust protection from discrimination.

Nothing justifies excluding same-sex couples from the institution of marriage. Denying them the right to marry serves only to demean them and their children, to degrade the dignity of their families and to deny them the full, free and equal participation in American life to which every citizen is entitled.

Marriage bans inflict concrete harms that touch nearly every aspect of daily life for gay and lesbian couples. The bans intersect with issues as varied as workers’ compensation, taxation and inheritance, posing challenges to basic financial security. Same-sex couples living in states with bans too often face obstacles to adopting and raising children together. And restrictions on medical decision-making and hospital visitation impose devastating burdens during the moments when a partner is needed most.

Read the entire essay at USA Today here.

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US Attorney General Issues Statement On SCOTUS Decision To Hear Same-Sex Marriage Cases

Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear four cases on same-sex marriage equality:

“After the Justice Department’s decision not to defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, the Supreme Court sent a powerful message that Americans in same-sex marriages are entitled to equal protection and equal treatment under the law. This landmark decision marked a historic step toward equality for all American families.

“The Supreme Court has announced that it will soon hear several cases raising core questions concerning the constitutionality of same-sex marriages. As these cases proceed, the Department of Justice will remain committed to ensuring that the benefits of marriage are available as broadly as possible. And we will keep striving to secure equal treatment for all members of society – regardless of sexual orientation.

“As such, we expect to file a ‘friend of the court’ brief in these cases that will urge the Supreme Court to make marriage equality a reality for all Americans. It is time for our nation to take another critical step forward to ensure the fundamental equality of all Americans – no matter who they are, where the come from, or whom they love.”

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Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi Elected Chairperson of Republican Association of Attorneys General

Pam Bondi

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has been elected chairperson of the Republican Association of Attorneys General.

Since taking office, the Associated Press points out that Bondi has accepted $51,000 in gifts (hotels, meals, free trips) to attend RAGA events.

Bondi, along with Florida Gov. Rick Scott, is responsible in great part for continuing the ban on same-sex marriage in the state.

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President Obama To Nominate Loretta Lynch For US Attorney General

On Saturday, President Obama will nominate Brooklyn federal prosecutor Loretta Lynch for US Attorney General, replacing outgoing AG Eric Holder.

From Reuters:

President Barack Obama will nominate Brooklyn federal prosecutor Loretta Lynch to replace the retiring Eric Holder as U.S. attorney general and if confirmed, she would become the first black woman to serve in the post, the White House said on Friday.

The 55-year-old North Carolina native and Harvard-trained lawyer has deep experience in both civil rights and corporate fraud cases.

Lynch is known for a low-key personality and stirred little controversy during two tenures as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Her nomination requires Senate confirmation. The Senate twice previously has voted to confirm her to federal prosecutor jobs, the last time in 2010.

Bolding is mine.

This should be an easy confirmation in that the Senate has already confirmed her twice before.

Or will the now GOP controlled Senate decide to get unnecessarily political with this confirmation?

We shall see…

Two of Ms. Lynch’s cases to note:

• Lynch first gained attention for her work prosecuting members of the New York City Police Department for the 1997 beating and sexual assault of a Haitian immigrant with a broom handle. The case became a national symbol of police brutality.

• Lynch has led the prosecution of Rep. Michael Grimm, a Republican congressman from Staten Island, for alleged tax fraud. Even under indictment, Grimm was reelected to the House this week.

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US Attorney General Eric Holder Announces Resignation

Attorney General Eric Holder has offered his resignation and will step down as soon as his successor can be confirmed.

Via NPR:

The decision to leave was Holder’s alone — the two sources tell NPR that the White House would have been happy to have him stay a full eight years and to avoid what could be a contentious nomination fight for his successor. Holder and Obama discussed his departure several times and finalized things in a long meeting over Labor Day weekend at the White House.

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Florida Attorney General says same-sex marriage would “impose significant public harm”

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit against the state of Florida filed on behalf of eight same-sex couples seeking recognition of their out-of-state marriages.

With an argument NO state has yet to find successful in court, AG Bondi writes in court documents that recognizing the marriages would “impose significant public harm.”

From ABC News:

Bondi’s office also argues that the state has a legitimate interest in defining marriage as between a man and woman. Florida first banned same-sex marriages nearly two decades ago and voters reinforced that ban when they passed a constitutional amendment in 2008.

“Florida’s marriage laws, then, have a close, direct, and rational relationship to society’s legitimate interest in increasing the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by the mothers and fathers who produced them in stable and enduring family units,” Bondi’s office said in court documents.

The state’s legal position also notes that there would be significant financial and logistical problems for the state’s pension and health insurance programs if same-sex marriages were recognized.

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Virginia’s Attorney General files brief in support of marriage equality lawsuit

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has filed a brief with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of AFER’s marriage equality lawsuit.

One of the key tenets of Herring’s brief focuses on the fact that “heightened scrutiny” should be applied in deciding the case.  From his brief:

Virginia’s same-sex-marriage ban violates the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Because the ban substantially interferes with the right to marry, it is subject to strict scrutiny.

The ban also discriminates on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, triggering at least heightened scrutiny.

All of the considerations apply here for the judiciary to be suspicious of laws that discriminate against gay people. And the Clerks’ claim that the ban treats men and women equally is like saying that interracial-marriage bans treat blacks and white equally, an argument rejected by the Supreme Court.

Like many AG’s across the country, Herring has refused to defend the law on the basis that he feels it is unconstitutional.

(via JMG)