what will sessions do as attorney general

by Dr. Eddie Carter III 9 min read

Who is Attorney General Jeff Sessions and how old is he?

Feb 17, 2017 · Recently confirmed Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been one of President Donald Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks — not an insignificant distinction given that a number of his ...

Who is the Attorney General of the United States?

Nov 19, 2016 · But Mr. Sessions can do plenty of damage without any congressional action. As attorney general, he would set the guidelines prosecutors follow in deciding what cases and charges to bring.

Did Attorney General Sessions issue memo on capital punishment?

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland was sworn in as the 86 th Attorney General of the United States on March 11, 2021. As the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Garland leads the Justice Department’s 115,000 employees, who work across the United States and in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Does sessions have lawyered up too?

Feb 16, 2022 · It is Washington, D.C. US attorney generals have responsibilities within the executive branch of government including directing the Justice Department. In addition, US AGs tend to be leading legal...

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Feb 10, 2017 · Here, too, Sessions holds the appropriate view that the attorney general is an enforcer of our nation’s laws – not the sole arbiter of what the laws should be. These are, of course, only a few examples of where the Obama Justice Department engaged in rogue behavior, politicizing the department and effectively rewriting existing laws on the books.

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Who is sessions in the White House?

Jeff SessionsIn office February 9, 2017 – November 7, 2018PresidentDonald TrumpDeputyDana Boente (acting) Rod RosensteinPreceded byLoretta Lynch33 more rows

What does the president's Attorney General do?

The principal duties of the Attorney General are to: Represent the United States in legal matters. ... Furnish advice and opinions, formal and informal, on legal matters to the President and the Cabinet and to the heads of the executive departments and agencies of the government, as provided by law.Oct 8, 2021

Who was the Attorney General after sessions?

Matthew WhitakerPreceded byJeff SessionsSucceeded byWilliam BarrChief of Staff to the United States Attorney GeneralIn office September 22, 2017 – November 7, 201820 more rows

Who is Jeff Sessions wife?

Mary Blackshear SessionsJeff Sessions / Wife (m. 1969)

What are 5 duties of the President?

These roles are: (1) chief of state, (2) chief executive, (3) chief administrator, (4) chief diplomat, (5) commander in chief, (6) chief legislator, (7) party chief, and (8) chief citizen. Chief of state refers to the President as the head of the government. He is the symbol of all the people.

What are the 4 major things that the executive branch does?

The head of the executive branch is the president of the United States, whose powers include being able to veto, or reject, a proposal for a law; appoint federal posts, such as members of government agencies; negotiate foreign treaties with other countries; appoint federal judges; and grant pardons, or forgiveness, for ...Jul 16, 2015

Who is Matt Whitaker married to?

Marci WhitakerMatthew Whitaker / Spouse

What is the role of the attorney general UK?

The Attorney General is chief legal adviser to the Crown and has a number of independent public interest functions, as well as overseeing the Law Officers' departments.

How old is Merrick Garland?

69 years (November 13, 1952)Merrick Garland / Age

Are Pete and Jeff Sessions related?

Pete Sessions is not related to former Senator and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

How tall is Jeff Sessions?

5′ 5″Jeff Sessions / Height

Who was attorney general before Barr?

William BarrPresidentGeorge H. W. BushPreceded byDonald B. AyerSucceeded byGeorge J. Terwilliger IIIUnited States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel30 more rows

When was Sessions elected?

Sessions was elected Attorney General of Alabama in November 1994, unseating incumbent Democrat Jimmy Evans with 57% of the vote. The harsh criticism he had received from Senator Edward Kennedy, who called him a "throw-back to a shameful era" and a "disgrace", was considered to have won him the support of Alabama conservatives.

What did Sessions do in 1996?

In 1996, Sessions promoted state legislation in Alabama that sought to punish a second drug trafficking conviction, including for dealing marijuana, with a mandatory minimum death sentence. Sessions's views on drugs and crime have since softened.

Why did Trump nominate Sessions?

Trump would later state in an August 22, 2018 interview with Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt that the only reason he nominated Sessions was because Sessions was an original supporter during his presidential campaign. The nomination engendered support and opposition from various groups and individuals. He was introduced by Senator Susan Collins from Maine who said, "He's a decent individual with a strong commitment to the rule of law. He's a leader of integrity. I think the attacks against him are not well founded and are unfair." More than 1,400 law school professors wrote a letter urging the Senate to reject the nomination. A group of black pastors rallied in support of Sessions in advance of his confirmation hearing; his nomination was supported by Gerald A. Reynolds, an African American former chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Six NAACP activists, including NAACP President Cornell William Brooks, were arrested at a January 2017 sit-in protesting the nomination.

What did Al Franken say about the Russians?

Sessions replied that he was "not aware of any of those activities" and said "I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I didn't have – did not have communications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on it."

How many children does Jeff Sessions have?

Sessions and his wife Mary have three children and as of March 2020, ten grandchildren. The family attends a United Methodist church. Specifically, Jeff and Mary Sessions are members of the Ashland Place United Methodist Church in Mobile, Alabama; Jeff Sessions has taught Sunday school there.

Who is Coretta Scott King?

Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr. wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee to oppose the nomination. In her letter, she wrote that "Mr. Sessions has used the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters.".

Why did Sessions ask Congress to repeal the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment?

In a May 2017 letter, Sessions personally asked congressional leaders to repeal the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment so that the Justice Department could prosecute providers of medical marijuana. The Rohrabacher–Farr amendment is a 2014 measure that bars the Justice Department from using federal funds to prevent states "from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana". Sessions wrote in the letter that "I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime." John Hudak of the Brookings Institution criticized the letter, stating that it was a "scare tactic" that "should make everyone openly question whether candidate Trump's rhetoric and the White House's words on his support for medical marijuana was actually a lie to the American public on an issue that garners broad, bipartisan support."

Who is the Attorney General of the United States?

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III was born on 24 December 1946, in Selma, Alabama USA, and is a politician and lawyer, who is now best known for serving as the 84th Attorney General of the United States since 2017.

What did Sessions do in 1994?

Despite that, he was harshly criticized and called “throw-back to a shameful era” and “a disgrace”. Sessions subsequently handled the issue of school funding, but his work was found unconstitutional because of the differences between rich and white, and mostly black poor schools.

Who was the US attorney for the Southern District of Alabama?

Jeff began working as an assistant us attorney in 1975, then in 1981 President Reagan nominated him for the position of the US attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, a position he held for the next 12 years until under Bill Clinton’s presidency, he resigned. His office filed civil rights charges for the killing of Michael Donald in 1981 by two members of the Ku Klux Klan, and although Jeff did not prosecute the case, both of the murderers were convicted. In 1985, he prosecuted three African-American men for voter fraud which led to charges of selective prosecution of black voters. In the following year, the President Reagan nominated Jeff to serve on the position of the US District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, supported by Republican Alabama Senator Jeremiah Denton. However, this proposal fell through.

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Controversial from The Start

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Sessions’ tenure began back in early 2017. During his confirmation hearings, Sessions testified incorrectly under oath that he had had no contacts with Russian officials during his active role in the 2016 Trump campaign. When it became public that he had met with the Russian ambassador, he claimed he had not lied. …
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Crackdown on Drugs

  • Sessions enthusiastically waged the war on drugs, much to the chagrin of those who considered that war a proven failure. Sessions instructed prosecutors to seek the maximum possible sentences for drug offenses and in 2017 reversed an Obama-era Department of Justice policythat barred the Department of Justice from contracting with private prisons. He also reversed the Ob…
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‘Zero Tolerance’ at The Border

  • On immigration, Sessions faithfully put into action the tough talk of the president – even where, some would say, supporting evidence was lacking. Research shows that immigrants commit fewer crimes in the U.S. than non-immigrants. But Sessions often falsely claimed that there was a strong correlation between immigration – including legal immigration – and crime, including terr…
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Overview

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United States Senator from Alabama from 1997 to 2017 before resigning that position to serve as Attorney General in the administration of President Donald …

Attorney General of the United States (2017–2018)

President-elect Trump announced on November 18, 2016, that he would nominate Sessions to be Attorney General of the United States. Trump would later state in an August 22, 2018 interview with Fox News' Ainsley Earhardtthat the only reason he nominated Sessions was because Sessions was an original supporter during his presidential campaign. The nomination engendered supp…

Early life and early career

Sessions was born in Selma, Alabama, on December 24, 1946, the son of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, Jr., and the former Abbie Powe. Sessions, his father, and his grandfather were named after Jefferson Davis, a U.S. senator and president of the Confederate States of America, and P. G. T. Beauregard, a veteran of the Mexican-American War and a Confederate general who oversaw the Battle of Fort Sumter that commenced the American Civil War. His father owned a general st…

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama (1981–1993)

Sessions was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama beginning in 1975. In 1981, President Reagan nominated him to be the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. The Senate confirmed him and he held that position for twelve years. In 1993, Sessions resigned his post after Democrat Bill Clinton was elected President of the United States.

Failed nomination for federal trial court judgeship (1986)

In 1986, Reagan nominated Sessions to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. Sessions's judicial nomination was recommended and actively backed by Republican Alabama senator Jeremiah Denton. A substantial majority of the American Bar AssociationStanding Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which rates nominees to the federal bench, rated Sessions "qualified", with a minority voting tha…

Alabama attorney general (1995–1997)

Sessions was elected Attorney General of Alabama in November 1994, unseating incumbent Democrat Jimmy Evans with 57% of the vote. The harsh criticism he had received from Senator Ted Kennedy, who called him a "throw-back to a shameful era" and a "disgrace", was considered to have won him the support of Alabama conservatives.

U.S. Senate (1997–2017)

In 1996, Sessions won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, after a runoff, and then defeated Democrat Roger Bedford 53%–46% in the November general election. He succeeded Howell Heflin (a Democrat), who had retired after 18 years in the Senate, making his victory a Republican pickup in the Senate.
Following the Columbine High School massacrein April 1999, Sessions took pa…

U.S. Senate campaign (2020)

In October 2019, Sessions began exploring a potential candidacy for his old Senate seat in the 2020 election. On November 7, 2019, Sessions, the night before the deadline to file in the hyper-competitive Republican race, announced his candidacy. The winner of the Republican primary would challenge incumbent Democrat Doug Jones.

Who Is Attorney General Jeff Sessions?

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Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III was born on 24 December 1946, in Selma, Alabama USA, and is a politician and lawyer, who is now best known for serving as the 84th Attorney General of the United States since 2017. Besides that, he was a senator for Alabama over the course of two decades from 1997, as a member of t…
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Family and Background

  • Jeff was born to Jefferson Beauregard Sessions Jr. and Abbie Powe, and was named after his father, who was named after his grandfather, who had served as the president of Confederate States of America during the civil war of the mid-19thcentury. He was a student of Wilcox County High School, located near Camden and went on to attend Huntingdon College, Montgomery, an…
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Career

  • Jeff began working as an assistant us attorney in 1975, then in 1981 President Reagan nominated him for the position of the US attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, a position he held for the next 12 years until under Bill Clinton’s presidency, he resigned. His office filed civil rights charges for the killing of Michael Donald in 1981 by two members of the Ku Klux Klan, and altho…
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Attorney General of The United States

  • In late 2016, Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Jeff to serve on the position of the Attorney General of the United States. He was introduced by Susan Collins who described him as a decent individual with a strong commitment to the rule of law, adding that the attacks on him were unfair. In early February 2017, Jeff was confirmed as Attorney General with a vote of 52 to …
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Private Life and Social Media

  • Sessions has been married to Mary Blackshear since 1969, and the couple has three children and six grandchildren. Speaking about family’s religious beliefs, they are United Methodists and Jeff serves as a Sunday school teacher at the Ashland Place United Methodist Church, located in Mobile. Jeff is active on social media such as Twitter and Instagram, and is followed by 16,500 …
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