Sessions says he would be independent
Attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions vows he would enforce the nation’s laws — even in areas like torture, abortion, gay rights, surveillance and hate crimes where he has made his opposition known.
WASHINGTON — Sen. Jeff Sessions, one of President-elect Donald Trump’s earliest supporters, told Congress on Tuesday that he would be an independent-minded attorney general who would stand up to the president. He promised to aggressively enforce the nation’s laws — even in areas like torture, abortion, gay rights, surveillance and hate crimes where he has made his opposition well known.
Sessions, a deeply conservative Republican from Alabama, appeared headed for confirmation. Even the most liberal Democrats spared him any vitriol and declined to vigorously confront him on allegations of racism from three decades ago. Unable to prevent his confirmation without Republican help, they opted to use the hearings to try to establish the early legal boundaries of a Trump administration.
“The law has been passed, the Congress has spoken, and you can be sure I will enforce it,” Sessions said when asked about a law, which he opposed, that makes it a hate crime to attack people because of their sexual orientation. He promised to defend access to abortion clinics, despite his opposition to abortion.
A forceful voice
And he dealt a significant blow to Trump’s campaign promise to once again authorize the CIA to waterboard terrorism suspects. Sessions has for years supported waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics, but he said that today’s laws “absolutely” prohibit waterboarding. He offered no hints at any legal workaround for Trump.
Sessions also said he would recuse himself from any lingering investigations involving Hillary Clinton or her family’s foundation. Sessions previously supported appointing a special prosecutor to investigate her.
In his two decades on Capitol Hill, Sessions has been a forceful voice from the far right of his party. He has questioned whether the Constitution guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the United States, has said courts have interpreted the separation of church and state too broadly and has declared same-sex marriage a threat to American culture. He also voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.
Sessions spent much of the hearing drawing distinctions between holding those views as a senator and carrying out the duties of the attorney general. “I will follow the law,” he said.
No ‘easy decision’
He said he did not support an outright ban on Muslim immigration, as Trump frequently suggested during the presidential campaign. But he noted that Trump has since clarified that restrictions should be placed on immigration from countries that support terrorism, which Sessions said was lawful.
At times, Sessions offered more moderate versions of the strident views he held as a senator. A former U.S. attorney who came of age in the Justice Department during the height of the crack epidemic, Sessions has been unabashed drug warrior. He has for years accused the Obama administration of going soft on marijuana. But Tuesday he sidestepped the question of whether he would pit the Justice Department against states that have legalized marijuana. “I know it won’t be an easy decision,” he said.