Trump Cabinet nominee Sessions takes questions on independence, record on civil rights

In 1986, his nomination to be a federal judge was blocked by the committee amid questions about his prosecution of civil rights advocates on voter fraud charges and allegations he had made racially insensitive remarks.

“I have said a few things”, Sessions said about his comments during the presidential race accusing former Democratic candidate Clinton of illegal activity. “I’ve never had a negative interaction with him anyway”.

Considering the fact that Sessions is scheduled for hearings on both Tuesday and Wednesday, the flux of protesters could potentially grow and gain steam.

Before Sessions could take his seat at the witness table, protesters wearing Ku Klux Klan costumes erupted with shouts of “white power” before they were ushered out, the first clash of several pitting demonstrators against Capitol Police. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), in introducing his home-state colleague, described his “extensive record of treating all Americans fairly under the law”, while two others posing as KKK members were pulled from the hearing room before the hearing had even begun. Cedric Richmond and civil rights icon Rep. Cory Booker was to testify against Sessions’s nomination, calling some of the Republican’s political views “deeply troubling”. Democrats on the committee have expressed concerns about whether the Alabama Republican can be nonpolitical in his role as the nation’s top law enforcement officer.

“The process is going to be fair and thorough”, Feinstein said.

“We can not ignore that there are deep concerns and anxieties throughout America”, Feinstein said.

Sessions outlined his conservative priorities, and Democrats will be questioning Sessions this afternoon on his civil rights record. “I have witnessed it”.

Republic leaders say despite the background checks not being finished, the process will move forward. “It is important that they are kept in the forefront of our minds in these conversations, and to ensure that their rights are always protected”. I understand the lifelong scars born by women who are victims of assault and abuse.

Sessions also testified that the Supreme Court’s decisions on same-sex marriage and abortion were “settled law”, although he said he still believed that the court’s Roe. v. Wade decision was unconstitutional. “It violated the Constitution, and really attempted to set policy and not follow law”.