Bloomberg Law: Sessions Nominated as Trump AG (Audio)

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You're listening the Bloomberg Law with June Grosso in New York and Greg's store here in our ninety nine point one Washington Studios. Donald Trump's selection of Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama as his attorney general is provoking a storm of controversy. Sessions as a former U s Attorney and Alabama Attorney General. He's a hardliner on a legal immigration.

He opposes efforts to reduce sentences for drug offenses, and he was one of the few senators to defend Donald Trump's campaign proposal for a complete shutdown of Muslims entering the country. He has joined Trump's call for a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton. But what makes Sessions especially contentious are the allegations of racism. Allegations serious enough that

they derailed his nomination for a federal judge ship. In at that confirmation process, he acknowledged that he joked about the KKK by saying he thought the group was okay until he learned they smoked marijuana. A black prosecutor testified that Sessions called him boy, and Sessions was accused of calling the Double a CP and other civil rights groups un American. Here is Sessions defending himself at a Senate hearing. I am not a racist, I am not insensitive to blacks.

I have supported civil rights activity in my state. I have done my job with integrity, equality and fairness for all. And announcing the appointment, Donald Trump said Sessions is a quote world class legal mind and greatly admired by legal scholars and virtually everyone who knows him. But Democratic Representative Luis Gutierre as of Illinois said, no senator has fought harder against the hopes and aspirations of Latinos, immigrants, and

people of color than Senator Sessions. Is Jeff sentence Jeff Sessions fit to be Attorney General? And what would he do at the Justice Department. We're going to talk to two people with very different perspectives. First, Marge Baker, Vice President and People for the American Way, and a moment

we'll talk with Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch. Marge uh, Let's hold on just for a second on on the some of those allegations about Jeff Sessions in terms of conventional qualifications it's clear that he has the understanding and the resume, you know, to be Attorney general. Right, that's

not what it is. What's that issue here? Um? The person tasked with protecting the rights of all Americans of being the people's lawyers simply cannot be someone who has been and is continuing to be an arch foe of civil rights, as Session has. That's the bottom line here. This this, this Session is unfit to be the Attorney General United States. Unfit to be the people's lawyer. Um,

as that position is frequently referred to. You ran through a number of elements of his history, Um, starting with there was a reason why he was rejected for his nomination to sit on the court, to sit on the sit on the court. I mean this, this, this man has been an archhow civil rights his whole life, and it isn't inconceivable that this person could sit as Attorney General United States. March. Explain how much of a platform the a G has to shape civil rights in this country. Well,

it's it's it's enormous. I mean this is this is the agency of the administration that defends the rights of all Americans, enforces the law, but also defends the rights of all Americans to be free from discrimination, to be able to vote, um, to be able to escape the impact of hate and bigotry directed at them in their communities. This is someone who has to be a lawyer for all the people. The scope of the Justice Department is enormous. I mean, it's not just the civil rights divisions, every

aspect of the Justice Department. And you need somebody to make sure that those laws that you're that that we enforce are fairly enforced and and Jeff Sessions are simply not demonstrated a commitment to the interests and concerns of Justice US for all the people. Margin so far, I think it's fair to say that Senate Democrats, and of course it's a Senate that would have to confirm them,

are are basically holding their fire. Are you concerned that that both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are going to be too deferential to somebody who is right now one of their colleagues. Well, um, we're we We absolutely want to see Democrats and response to Republicans UM evaluate this nomination as it should be, and we are going to do whatever we can to make sure, um uh, that that there is a really rigorous um examination of

this nominee. We actually believe that the Senators should be calling for the nomination to be withdrawn. It's trust as a non starter. But if the hearings do go forward, were they have to be rigorous hearings and and we have seen statements from Democrats. But what I've seen also the statements from Democrats UM saying that they're going to make sure that this nominee is rigorously a value evaluate it. And this is not some This cannot be a sense

of giving difference to somebody who's been a colleague. And this has got to be a serious examination of the person who is going to sit as the chief, as I said, as the people's lawyer. Okay, thank you so much, Marge. Marge Baker, vice president at People for the American Way. We want to turn out to Tom Fitton, who is president of Judicial Watch. That's a group that, among other things, played a leading role in compelling the US to find

and release Hillary Clinton's emails. Um, Tom, thanks thanks for joining us. Uh, why do you think, despite everything that we've been talking about with Marge Baker, why do you think Jeff Sessions is fit to be attorney General. Well, I think he has not only the temperament to be attorney general, but he has a rebellious streak that would make him a perfect person for a place in the government that requires someone to be a little bit more

independent than the difficult cathery official from the White House. Uh. You his wary o Republicans in the Senate by taking principle stands. And I think it pushed came to Chew, he'd you know, he'd royal the Trump administration if pushed came to Chew, and he thought one way one way was the appropriate way, despite the wishes of those who appointed him. And the Justice Department is in crisis. It's terribly politicized. It applies the law unevenly and unfairly. It

does not equally apply to civil rights laws. It thinks the civil rights laws can't be enforced on behalf of anyone but minorities, which is not. Which is a racial approach to decision making there at the department. Uh, they've worked to protect the legal secrecy and the Obama administration work to protect corruption in the Abama administration by suppressing

or not seriously investigation serious Uh seriously investigating? Uh really in your face allegations of criminal wrongdoing UH at the White House and other government agency, not to mention Mrs Clinton's fecies. So we need we need someone who's going to bring a fresh set of prosecure eyes UH to uh this Justice Department. You know, liberals, liberals think they could the justicist Department. Only liberals should work there, and they're going to destroy any conservative to the who there

does there. Tom, Let's let's talk about Jeff Sessions though. Let's talk about how what he'll do with the Justice Department to shape civil rights in a completely different way from the way it's that you object to. That's very political. Well, the Justice of Hartment does not enforce the civil rights laws in a fair manner. There are areas of the law that it does enforce or other areas that refuses to enforce because it's politically inconvenient. It's been politically inconvenient.

And what we need is a Justice Department that will enforce all the laws, which would be a radical reform and I think something that we that Senator Senator Sessions would want to do, and certainly we would encourage him to do. I mean, this is where I'm talking out. It's suing the Justice Department all the time, and would be nice to finally have someone there, and let's hope that he's this person who stands with us on the rule law as opposed to instructions. Stands you that's political, Well,

what do you means political? We're asking that the law be enforced on transparency, on election integrity, that the civil rights laws be enforced across the board, and not in a politicized ideological manner. And if people don't agree with the people for American way and civil rights, it doesn't make you, uh, you know, someone that is ineligible for a public office. Time we have just about thirty seconds