Jeff Sessions

United States politician, lawyer, and former Attorney General

Jeff Sessions
84th United States Attorney General
44th Attorney General of Alabama
United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018, before being fired by President Donald Trump. A Republican, Sessions previously served as United States Senator from Alabama from 1997 to 2017, resigning from the position in order to serve in the Trump administration.

From 1981 to 1993, he served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. Sessions was nominated in 1986 to be a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, but was not confirmed. Sessions was elected Attorney General of Alabama in 1994, and to the U.S. Senate in 1996, being re-elected in 2002, 2008, and 2014. During his time in Congress, Sessions was considered one of the most conservative members of the U.S. Senate.

Sessions was an early supporter of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, and was nominated by Trump for the post of U.S. Attorney General. He was confirmed on February 8, 2017, with a 52–47 vote in the Senate, and was sworn in on February 9, 2017. In his Attorney General confirmation hearings, Sessions stated, while under oath, that he did not have contact with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential campaign and that he was unaware of any contacts between Trump campaign members and Russian officials. However, in March 2017, news reports revealed that Sessions had twice met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in 2016. Sessions subsequently recused himself from any investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, while some Democratic lawmakers called for his resignation. In testimony before the House Intelligence Committee in November 2017, Carter Page declared that he had notified Sessions about his contacts with Kremlin officials in July 2016, contradicting Sessions's earlier denials.1

As U.S. Attorney General, Sessions overturned a memo delivered by one of his predecessors, Eric Holder, that had sought to curb mass incarceration by avoiding mandatory sentencing,2 and ordered federal prosecutors to begin seeking the maximum criminal charges possible. Sessions signed an order adopting civil asset forfeiture, which allows law enforcement to seize the property of those suspected but not charged with crimes.34 A staunch opponent of illegal immigration, Sessions adopted a hard-line on so-called sanctuary cities and told reporters that cities failing to comply with federal immigration policy would lose federal funding; Trump issued an executive order revoking the funding from the cities, but it was successfully challenged by San Francisco and forbidden from enforcement by a federal judge.5 As Attorney General, Sessions supported allowing the Department of Justice to prosecute providers of medical marijuana.6

On November 7, 2018, the day after the midterm elections, Sessions tendered his resignation at Trump's request, following a months long public and private contention between Trump and Sessions over his recusal.7

Early life and early career

He was born in Selma, Alabama, on December 24, 1946,8 the son of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, Jr., and the former Abbie Powe.9 He was named after his father, who was named after his grandfather, who was named after Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America,10 and P. G. T. Beauregard, the Confederate general who oversaw the bombardment of Fort Sumter, starting the American Civil War.11 His father owned a general store in Hybart, Alabama, and then a farm equipment dealership. Both of Sessions's parents were of primarily English descent, with some Scots-Irish ancestry.1213 In 1964, Sessions became an Eagle Scout, and later, he earned the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award for his many years of service.14

After attending Wilcox County High School in nearby Camden, Sessions studied at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1969. He was active in the Young Republicans and was student body president.15 Sessions attended the University of Alabama School of Law and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1973.16

Sessions entered private practice in Russellville and later in Mobile.1718 He also served in the Army Reserve in the 1970s, with the rank of captain.19

Legal and political career

U.S. Attorney

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 12 years until Bill Clinton's Attorney General, Janet Reno, asked for his resignation.20

Sessions's office filed civil rights charges in the 1981 killing of Michael Donald, a young African-American man who was murdered in Mobile, Alabama by a pair of Ku Klux Klan members.2122 Sessions's office did not prosecute the case, but both men were arrested and convicted.23

In 1985, Sessions prosecuted three African American community organizers in the Black Belt of Alabama, including Martin Luther King Jr.'s former aide Albert Turner, for voter fraud, alleging tampering with 14 absentee ballots. The prosecution stirred charges of selective prosecution of black voter registration. The defendants, known as the Marion Three, were acquitted of all charges by a jury after three hours of deliberation. Historian Wayne Flynt told The Washington Post he regarded concerns about tactics employed in the 1984 election and by Turner in particular as legitimate, but also noted Sessions had no history of advocating for black voter rights before 1984.2425 Interviewed in 2009, Sessions said he remained convinced that he did the right thing, but admitted he "failed to make the case".26

Failed nomination to the district court

In 1986, Reagan nominated Sessions to be a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.27 Sessions's judicial nomination was recommended and actively backed by Republican Alabama Senator Jeremiah Denton.28 A substantial majority of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which rates nominees to the federal bench, rated Sessions "qualified", with a minority voting that Sessions was "not qualified".29 His nomination was opposed by the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and People for the American Way.30

At Sessions's confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, four Department of Justice lawyers who had worked with Sessions testified that he made racially offensive remarks. One of those lawyers, J. Gerald Hebert, testified that Sessions had referred to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as "un-American" and "Communist-inspired" (Sessions said he was referring to their support of the Sandinistas31) and that they did more harm than good by trying to force civil rights "down the throats of people".32 Hebert, a civil rights lawyer,33 said that he did not consider Sessions a racist, and that Sessions "has a tendency sometimes to just say something, and I believe these comments were along that vein".34 Hebert also said that Sessions had called a white civil rights attorney "maybe" a "disgrace to his race". Sessions said he did not recall making that remark and he did not believe it.35

Thomas Figures, a black Assistant U.S. Attorney, testified that Sessions said he thought the Ku Klux Klan was "OK until I found out they smoked pot". Sessions later said that the comment was not serious, but did apologize for it, saying that he considered the Klan to be "a force for hatred and bigotry".36 Barry Kowalski, a prosecutor in the civil rights division, also heard the remark and testified that prosecutors working such a gruesome case sometimes "resort to operating room humor and that is what I considered it to be". Another DOJ lawyer, Albert Glenn, said, "It never occurred to me that there was any seriousness to it."37383940 Figures testified that on one occasion, when the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division sent the office instructions to investigate a case that Sessions had tried to close, Figures and Sessions "had a very spirited discussion regarding how the Hodge case should then be handled; in the course of that argument, Mr. Sessions threw the file on a table, and remarked, 'I wish I could decline on all of them'", by which Figures said Sessions meant civil rights cases generally. Kowalski, however, testified that he believed "[Sessions] was eager to see that justice was done in the area of criminal civil rights prosecutions."41

Figures also said that Sessions had called him "boy", which Sessions denied. Figures testified that two assistant prosecutors had also heard Sessions, including current federal judge Ginny Granade. Granade denied this.4243 He also testified that "Mr. Sessions admonished me to 'be careful what you say to white folks'." Sessions denied this.44 In 1992, Figures was charged with attempting to bribe a witness by offering $50,000 to a convicted drug dealer who was to testify against his client. Figures claimed the charge was retaliation for his role in blocking the Sessions nomination. Sessions denied this, saying that he recused himself from the case. Figures was ultimately acquitted.454647

Hebert, Kowalski and Daniel Bell, deputy chief of the criminal section in the Civil Rights Division, testified that they considered Sessions to have been more welcoming to the work of the Civil Rights Division than many other Southern U.S. Attorneys at the time.4849 Sessions has always defended his civil rights record, saying that "when I was [a U.S. Attorney], I signed 10 pleadings attacking segregation or the remnants of segregation, where we as part of the Department of Justice, we sought desegregation remedies".50 Critics later argued that Sessions had exaggerated his involvement in civil rights cases. Michigan Law professor Samuel Bagenstos, reviewing Sessions's claims, argued that "[a]ll this shows is that Sessions didn't completely refuse to participate in or have his name on pleadings in cases that the civil rights division brought during his tenure ... These four cases are awfully weak evidence of Sessions's supposed commitment to civil rights."51

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."52

On June 5, 1986, the Committee voted 10–8 against recommending the nomination to the Senate floor, with Republican Senators Charles Mathias of Maryland and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania voting with the Democrats. It then split 9–9 on a vote to send Sessions's nomination to the Senate floor with no recommendation, this time with Specter in support. A majority was required for the nomination to proceed.53 The pivotal votes against Sessions came from his home state's Democratic Senator Howell Heflin of Alabama. Although Heflin had previously backed Sessions, he began to oppose Sessions after hearing testimony, concluding that there were "reasonable doubts" over Sessions's ability to be "fair and impartial". The nomination was withdrawn on July 31, 1986.54

Sessions became only the second nominee to the federal judiciary in 48 years whose nomination was killed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.55 He was quoted then as saying that the Senate on occasion had been insensitive to the rights and reputation of nominees.56 A law clerk from the U.S. District Court in Mobile who had worked with Sessions later acknowledged the confirmation controversy, but stated that he observed Sessions as "a lawyer of the highest ethical and intellectual standards".57

When Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania left the GOP to join the Democratic Party on April 28, 2009, Sessions was selected to be the Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee. At that time, Specter said that his vote against Sessions's nomination was a mistake, because he had "since found that Sen. Sessions is egalitarian".58

Alabama Attorney General (1995–1997)

Senators Sessions and Shelby meet with President George W. Bush, 2004

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. As Attorney General, Sessions led the state's defense of a school funding model which was ultimately found to be unconstitutional because of disparities between rich, mostly white, and poor, mostly black, schools.596061

U.S. Senate (1997–2017)

Official photo of Sessions as Senator (2004)

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.62 He succeeded Howell Heflin, who had retired after 18 years in the Senate. That same year, the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance sued the state of Alabama after the Alabama Legislature attempted to deny funding to student organizations that advocated on behalf of homosexuality at public universities.63 As Attorney General of Alabama, Sessions defended the state, arguing that funding should not be provided to student groups that advocated unlawful behavior, including the breaking of sodomy and sexual misconduct laws.64 Sessions also argued that "the State of Alabama will experience irreparable harm by funding a conference and activities in violation of state law". A U.S. District court ultimately ruled the law unconstitutional in Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance v. Sessions, 917 F. Supp. 1548 (1996).65

Senators Sessions and Chambliss talk to sailors, NAS Sigonella, Italy, 2004

In 2002, Sessions won reelection by defeating Democratic State Auditor Susan Parker. In 2008, Sessions defeated Democratic State Senator Vivian Davis Figures (sister-in-law of Thomas Figures, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who testified at Sessions's judicial confirmation hearing) to win a third term. Sessions received 63 percent of the vote to Figures's 37 percent. Sessions successfully sought a fourth term in 2014.66 In 2014, Sessions was uncontested in the Republican primary and was only opposed in the general election by write-in Democratic candidate Victor Sanchez Williams.67686970

Sessions was only the second freshman Republican senator from Alabama since Reconstruction and gave Alabama two Republican senators, a first since Reconstruction. In 2002, he became the first Republican reelected to the Senate from Alabama since Reconstruction (given that his colleague Richard Shelby, who won reelection as a Republican in 1998, had previously run as a Democrat, switching parties in 1994).71

Sessions was the ranking Republican member on the Senate Budget Committee,72 a former ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. He also served on the Environment and Public Works Committee.

Campaign donors

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, between 1995 and 2016, Sessions's largest donors came from the legal, retired, health, real estate, and insurance industries.73 From 1995 to 2016, the corporations employing donors who gave the most to his campaign were the Southern Company utility firm, Balch & Bingham law firm, Drummond Company coal mining firm, Collazo Enterprises, and Vulcan Materials.74

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Airland
  • Subcommittee on Seapower
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces (Chairman)
• Committee on the Budget75
• Committee on Environment and Public Works76
  • Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
  • Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy
  • Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
  • Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs
  • Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Refugees (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security
• International Narcotics Control Caucus

2016 presidential election

Sessions speaking at a campaign event for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on August 31, 2016

Sessions arriving at Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2017

Sessions was an early supporter of the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump, and was a major policy adviser to the Trump campaign, especially in regard to immigration and national security.77 He was also on the short list to become Trump's running mate, a position that ultimately went to Mike Pence.

Uncorroborated Russian communications intercepted by U.S. Intelligence agencies discuss Ambassador Sergey Kislyak meeting privately with Sessions at the Mayflower Hotel during a Trump campaign event in April 2016.78 Sessions donned a "Make America Great Again" cap at a Trump rally in August 2015, and Stephen Miller, Sessions's longtime-communications director, joined the Trump campaign.79 On February 28, 2016, Sessions officially endorsed Donald Trump for president. Sessions's and Rudy Giuliani's appearance was a staple at Trump campaign rallies.80 The Trump campaign considered Sessions for the position of running mate, and Sessions was widely seen as a potential Cabinet secretary in a Trump administration.81

Transition

Sessions being sworn in at his confirmation hearing on January 10, 2017

During the transition, Sessions played a large role in appointments and policy preparation relative to space, NASA and related facilities in Alabama,82 while Peter Thiel advocated for private spaceflight.83

Attorney General of the United States (2017–2018)

Nomination

President-elect Trump announced on November 18, 2016, that he would nominate Sessions to be Attorney General of the United States.84 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.85 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."86 More than 1,400 law school professors wrote a letter urging the Senate to reject the nomination.8788 A group of black pastors rallied in support of Sessions in advance of his confirmation hearing,89 and his nomination was supported by Gerald A. Reynolds, an African-American former chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights.90 Six NAACP activists, including NAACP President Cornell William Brooks, were arrested at a January 2017 sit-in protesting the nomination.9192

On January 10, 2017, the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on his nomination began93 and were interrupted by protesters.9495 The committee approved his nomination February 1 on an 11 to 9 party-line vote.96 The nomination then went to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.97 The vote on Sessions was delayed until after the vote on Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos, because his confirmation – and subsequent resignation from the Senate – would create a temporary vacancy, which otherwise would have jeopardized DeVos's narrow confirmation.98 On February 7, 2017, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stopped Senator Elizabeth Warren from reading statements opposing Sessions's nomination as federal judge that had been made by Ted Kennedy and Coretta Scott King. Warren was then officially rebuked per Senate Rule XIX on a party-line vote for "impugning a fellow senator's character".99 A few hours later Senator Jeff Merkley read without interruption the same letter by King that Warren had attempted to read.100101

On February 8, 2017, Sessions was confirmed as Attorney General by a vote of 52 to 47.102103

Tenure

Sessions is sworn in as Attorney General by Vice President Mike Pence.

On March 10, 2017, Sessions oversaw the firing of 46 United States Attorneys, leaving only his acting Deputy Dana Boente and nominated Deputy Rod Rosenstein in place after Trump declined their resignations.104

On April 10, 2017, Sessions disbanded the National Commission on Forensic Science and ended the department's review of the forensic accuracy in closed cases.105

Sessions imposed a hiring freeze on most of the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division and U.S. Attorneys' offices, and a total freeze on the Department's Fraud Section.106 On April 24, 2017, Sessions traveled to an ethics lawyers conference to assure them the department would continue prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, regardless of Trump's comments that it is a "horrible law" and "the world is laughing at us".107

On May 9, 2017, Sessions delivered a memo to the President recommending Trump fire FBI Director James Comey, attaching a memo by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein which called the Director's behavior indefensible. Trump fired Comey that day.108 In March 2017, Sessions had recused himself from investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Comey was leading the investigations prior to his dismissal.109110

On June 5, 2017, Sessions issued a memo preventing the Justice Department's future lawsuit settlements from including funding for third-parties, such as had been included for the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Volkswagen emissions scandal.111

In a November 2017 overview of his tenure in the Washington Post, Sessions was described as having made "dramatic and controversial changes [which] reflect his nationalist ideology and hard-line views."112

On December 21, 2017, Sessions rescinded 200 pages of guidance documents. Some of those 25 guidance documents had included warnings not to impose excessive fees on the poor, not to ship some guns across state lines, and to encourage accommodation of the developmentally disabled.113 Sessions's recessions were criticized by the United States Commission on Civil Rights and prompted a lawsuit by the City Attorney of San Francisco.114115 In 2018, Sessions shuttered the Justice Department's Office for Access to Justice, which had focused on legal aid.116

On November 7, 2018 Sessions resigned at President Trump's behest. It has been reported that his letter of resignation had also been submitted on a prior occasion.117118

Controversies about Russia

See also: Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections

Senator Franken questioning Sessions

During Sessions's Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on January 10, Senator Al Franken asked him what he would do as Attorney General "if there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign". Franken was referring to a news report alleging that Russia had compromising material on Trump, and that Trump surrogates were in contact with the Russian government. 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."119120

A week later, in his responses to written questions presented by Senator Patrick Leahy, Sessions stated that he had not been "in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election".121122

On March 1, 2017, reports surfaced that Sessions had contact with Russian government officials during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, even though during his confirmation hearings he denied he had any discussions with representatives of the Russian government.123 News reports revealed that Sessions had spoken twice with Russia's ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak.124125 The first communication took place after a Heritage Foundation event at the 2016 Republican National Convention attended by several ambassadors, including Kislyak who spoke with Sessions. The second interaction took place on September 8, 2016, when they met in Sessions's office;126 Sessions said they discussed Ukraine and terrorism.127 Sessions released a statement on March 1, 2017, saying "I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false."128129130 U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said: "There was absolutely nothing misleading about his answer. He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign – not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee ... Last year, the Senator had over 25 conversations with foreign ambassadors as a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, including the British, Korean, Japanese, Polish, Indian, Chinese, Canadian, Australian, German and Russian ambassadors."131132133

Upon the revelation that Sessions had met several times with the Russian ambassador, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called for Sessions to recuse himself from any investigations into the connections between Russia and the Trump campaign.134 Several Democratic members of Congress called on Sessions to resign his post as United States Attorney General.135136 Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Elijah Cummings and Senator Al Franken accused Sessions of having lied under oath at his confirmation hearing.137138139

On March 20, 2017, FBI Director James Comey testified in front of the House Intelligence Committee that since July 2016, the FBI has been conducting a counter-intelligence investigation to assess the extent of Russia's interference into the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump associates played a role in Russia's efforts.140 In May 2017 the Justice Department reported that Sessions had failed to disclose meetings with Russian officials during the presidential campaign in 2016, when he applied for his security clearance. Sessions's staff had been advised by the FBI that meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staff connected with his Senate activities did not need to be disclosed.141142143

On June 13, 2017, Sessions testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee after canceling testimonies before the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.144145146 Sessions rejected reports he had met with Russian Ambassador Kislyak during Trump's April 2016 speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., testifying that he did not remember any "brief interaction" he may have had with the ambassador.147 Accused of "stonewalling" by Senator Ron Wyden, Sessions discussed the executive privilege power, and said that he was refusing to answer questions about his conversations with Trump because "I am protecting the President's right to assert it if he chooses."148149 He was being advised by his personal lawyer Charles J. Cooper.150

In July 2017, The Washington Post reported that Kislyak, in communications intercepted by U.S. intelligence, had told his superiors in Moscow that his conversations with Sessions had concerned Trump's campaign as well as "Trump's positions on Russia-related issues".151 Previously, after initially denying having met with Kisylak at all, Sessions had repeatedly asserted that in his meetings with the Russian ambassador he never discussed the campaign and only met with him in his capacity as a U.S. senator.152153 The Department of Justice responded by saying that Sessions stands by his testimony that he "never met with or had any conversations with any Russians or any foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election".154

In March 2016, one of Trump's foreign policy advisors named George Papadopoulos suggested that he could use personal connections to arrange a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Sessions rejected the proposed meeting, according to information provided to CNN by a person in attendance.155 This raised questions on the truthfulness of Sessions's testimony and whether Sessions committed perjury during his testimony.156157 Furthermore, on the same day, testimony given by Carter Page to the House intelligence committee contradicted Sessions's previous statements by stating that he had told Sessions about plans to visit Russia during the campaign.158159

Beginning in March 2017, Senators asked the FBI to conduct a criminal perjury investigation into Sessions.160 Deputy Director Andrew McCabe then assigned FBI agents to investigate.161 According to Sessions's personal lawyer, the investigation concluded without charges being brought.162

On March 16, 2018, Sessions fired McCabe hours before the Deputy Director would have qualified for a government pension, citing McCabe's lack of candor to the Department's Inspector General.163

Recusal from election investigation, and relationship with Trump

The idea that Sessions might have to recuse himself from the Russia investigation was raised almost as soon as he took office. Trump was concerned about the implications of such a recusal, reportedly telling aides that he needed a loyalist overseeing the investigation.164 In early March he told White House Counsel Don McGahn to urge Sessions to retain oversight of the investigation, but Sessions told McGahn he intended to follow the advice of Justice Department lawyers.165

On March 2, 2017, Sessions announced that he would recuse himself from any investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, or any other matters related to the 2016 presidential election.166 He had been advised to do so by career Justice Department personnel, citing concerns about impartiality given his prominent role in the Trump election campaign.167 That same day, The Wall Street Journal reported that Sessions's contacts with Russians had been investigated, but it was not clear whether the investigation was ongoing.168 Sessions said during a televised interview that the recusal was not an admission of any wrongdoing.169 On June 8, 2017, James Comey, who had been dismissed as FBI Director a month earlier, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that he had expected Sessions to recuse himself from the Russia investigation two weeks before he did so, for classified reasons that made Sessions's continued engagement in the investigation "problematic".170

Attorney General Sessions Statement on Recusal

A few days after he announced his recusal, Sessions traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump. Sessions wanted to talk about implementing Trump's proposed travel ban, but instead Trump berated him for recusing himself and asked him to reverse his recusal. Sessions refused.171 The meeting is reportedly under investigation by the special counsel.172 Trump reportedly urged him to reverse the recusal on at least three additional occasions during 2017.173 In May 2017, Sessions offered to resign after receiving criticism from Trump, but Trump did not accept the resignation.174

For the rest of Sessions's tenure Trump continued to be furious with him for his recusal, blaming it for the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel by Assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.175 Trump publicly attacked Sessions multiple times via Twitter and in public comments, saying he regretted choosing him as attorney general and that he never would have done so if he had known Sessions was going to recuse himself from the investigation.176177 According to Bob Woodward's book Fear: Trump in the White House, Trump called Jeff Sessions "mentally retarded" and described him as a "dumb southerner".178179 Trump denied ever using "these terms on anyone", although earlier tape recordings show that he has done so repeatedly.180

In addition to criticizing him, Trump often used Twitter to suggest things he thought Sessions should do or to criticize Justice Department actions.181 According to Senator Jeff Flake, "the president has been pushing [Sessions] very openly to go after the president's enemies and lay off his friends," adding "And so far, Jeff Sessions, bless his heart, has resisted and maintained that the judiciary needs to be independent."182 Trump demanded that Sessions investigate Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and various employees of the FBI and Justice Department. In August 2018 he said that Sessions should "stop" the Mueller investigation. He later tweeted that "Our A.G. is scared stiff and Missing in Action."183 In an August interview Trump complained that Jeff Sessions "never took control of the Justice Department," to which Sessions in a rare response said "While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. ... I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in."184

On September 3, 2018 Trump complained on Twitter that "investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time." Many lawmakers, including Republican senators, said Trump's remark was inappropriate, and a spokesperson for House Speaker Paul Ryan said the Justice Department "should always remain apolitical".185

Trump often hinted he wanted to fire Sessions, perhaps after the November 2018 elections. Sessions told associates he did not intend to resign,186 but on November 7, 2018, he submitted a letter of resignation to Chief of Staff John Kelly at President Trump's request.

Criminal justice

On April 3, 2017, Sessions announced that he was going to review consent decrees in which local law enforcement agencies had agreed to Department oversight.187 U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar then denied Sessions's request to delay a new consent decree with the Baltimore Police Department.188

On May 12, 2017, Sessions ordered federal prosecutors to begin seeking the greatest criminal charges possible.189 The new guidelines rescinded a memo by Attorney General Eric Holder that had sought to reduce mass incarceration by avoiding mandatory sentencing.190

On July 19, 2017, Sessions signed an order reviving federally adopted civil asset forfeiture, which allows local law enforcement to bypass state limitations on seizing the property of those suspected but not charged of crimes.191192

On December 22, 2017, Sessions rescinded guidelines intended to warn local courts against imposing excessive fines and fees on poor defendants.193

Sessions has brought prominence to prosecutions of the MS-13 gang.194

In February 2018, Sessions sent a public letter to Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) opposing the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman's bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act bill.195 Sessions opposed White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner's support for the reforms until Kushner reportedly agreed to focus instead on improving prison conditions.196

On March 20, 2018, Sessions signed a memo instructing federal prosecutors to seek capital punishment on major drug dealers.197198

Asylum and illegal immigration

On March 27, 2017, Sessions told reporters that sanctuary cities failing to comply with policies of the Trump administration would lose federal funding, and cited the shooting of Kathryn Steinle as an example of an illegal immigrant committing a heinous crime.199

On April 11, 2017, Sessions issued a memo for federal attorneys to consider prosecuting anyone harboring an illegal immigrant. On the same day, while at an entry border port in Nogales, Arizona, Sessions insisted the new administration would implement policies against those continuing "to seek improper and illegal entry into this country".200 On April 21, nine sanctuary cities were sent letters by the Justice Department giving them a deadline of June 30 to provide an explanation of how their policies were not in violation of the law, and Sessions hours later warned "enough is enough" in San Diego amid his tour of the U.S.-Mexico border.201 Two days later, Sessions said that reducing false tax credits given to "mostly Mexicans" could pay for the U.S.-Mexico border and it would be paid for "one way or the other".202

Sessions meets with Department of Justice and DHS personnel in El Paso, Texas, April 2017

Sessions attempted to block funding to sanctuary cities. Sessions also threatened to criminally prosecute uncooperative local officials.203 Federal judges in Chicago, San Francisco, and Philadelphia have rejected Sessions's efforts.204205

On March 6, 2018, Sessions sued the state of California in federal district court, alleging that the state's laws regarding prisoner release, workplace inspection, and detention site inspection are preempted by the federal government's immigration policy.206207208

In June 2018, Sessions gave a speech in which he cited the Bible to justify his new policy of separating detained children from their families when they are caught illegally crossing the border, declaring that people should "obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order".209 Christian leaders strongly disagreed with the policy, with Cardinal Daniel DiNardo calling it "immoral", Reverend Franklin Graham calling it "disgraceful", and Bishop Kenneth Carter of Session's own church (the United Methodist Church) calling it "unnecessarily cruel". Bible scholar and professor Matthew Schlimm said that history was being repeated as Sessions had taken the quote "completely out of context" just like how slave traders and Nazis had misused the Bible before.210

On June 11, 2018, Sessions reversed a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals granting a battered woman asylum and announced that victims of domestic abuse or gang violence will no longer qualify for asylum in the United States. He stated that "[t]he mere fact that a country may have problems effectively policing certain crimes – such as domestic violence or gang violence – or that certain populations are more likely to be victims of crime, cannot itself establish an asylum claim."211212 Domestic violence victims had been eligible for asylum since 2014.213 According to The New Yorker, legal experts estimated that "Sessions had single-handedly dismantled between sixty and seventy per cent of asylum jurisprudence from the previous three decades."214

Comments on travel ban

In April 2017, while on a radio talk show, Sessions said that he was "amazed that a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the President of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and Constitutional power".215 This was in reference to Derrick Watson, a judge for the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, blocking an executive order by President Donald Trump. After receiving criticism for the remark,216 Sessions said there is nothing he "would want to phrase differently" and that he "wasn't criticizing the judge or the island".217

Marijuana

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.218 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."219 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."220 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."221

On January 4, 2018, Sessions rescinded the Cole Memorandum, which had prevented federal prosecutors from bringing charges against state legalized marijuana use.222

Unite the Right rally violence and civil rights investigation

Sessions called the fatal vehicle-ramming attack at the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia an act of domestic terrorism, and began a civil rights investigation into the attack to determine if it will be tried in court as a hate crime.223 Sessions said "You can be sure we will charge and advance the investigation toward the most serious charges that can be brought, because this is an unequivocally unacceptable and evil attack that cannot be accepted in America."224

Gender identity

In a "Dear Colleague" letter issued February 22, 2017, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Education withdrew and rescinded the 2016 "Dear Colleague" letter issued jointly by the same organizations.225 The earlier "Dear Colleague" letter, issued on May 13, 2016, had established that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 allows access to sex-segregated facilities (such as restrooms) corresponding to a student's gender identity.226 The 2017 letter argued that the 2016 letter lacked "extensive legal analysis", did not "explain how the position is consistent with the express language of Title IX", and it had not undergone "any formal public process."227 Sessions issued a statement which said "Congress, state legislatures, and local governments are in a position to adopt appropriate policies or laws addressing this issue."228

On October 4, 2017, Sessions released a Department of Justice (DoJ) memo interpreting Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, stating that Title VII "is ordinarily defined to mean biologically male or female," but it "does not prohibit discrimination based on gender identity per se."229 The memo was written to withdraw an earlier DoJ memorandum issued by Eric Holder on December 15, 2014, which aligned the DoJ with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on interpreting Title VII to include gender identity or transgender status as a protected class. At that time, DoJ had already stopped opposing claims of discrimination brought by federal transgender employees.230 Devin O'Malley, representing the DoJ, stated "the last administration abandoned that fundamental principle [that the Department of Justice cannot expand the law beyond what Congress has provided], which necessitated today's action." Sharon McGowan, a lawyer with Lambda Legal who previously served in the Civil Rights division of DoJ, rejected that argument, saying "this memo [issued by Sessions] is not actually a reflection of the law as it is — it's a reflection of what the DOJ wishes the law were" and "[t]he Justice Department is actually getting back in the business of making anti-transgender law in court."231

Turkey's sanctions against Sessions

On August 1, 2018, the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on top Turkish government officials who were involved in the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson,232 who was arrested in October 2016, several months after a failed coup attempt in Turkey.233 Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered the freezing of Jeff Sessions's assets in Turkey in retaliation for U.S. sanctions.234

Resignation

Sessions's resignation letter

On November 7, 2018 – the day after the 2018 midterm elections – Jeff Sessions resigned as Attorney General at the president's request.235236237

Policy positions

During his tenure, Sessions was considered one of the most conservative members of the U.S. Senate.238239

Immigration

U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions addressing voters in 2011

Sessions was an opponent of legal and illegal immigration during his time in Congress.240241 He opposed the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 and the bi-partisan Gang of Eight's Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. He said that a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants undermines the rule of law, that the inflow of guest workers and immigrants depresses wages and raises unemployment for United States citizens, and that current immigration policy expands an underclass dependent on the welfare state. In a May 2006 floor speech, he said, "Fundamentally, almost no one coming from the Dominican Republic to the United States is coming because they have a skill that would benefit us and that would indicate their likely success in our society."242243 He is a supporter of E-Verify, the federal database that allows businesses to electronically verify the immigration status of potential new hires,244 and has advocated for expanded construction of a Southern border fence.245 In 2013, Sessions said that an opt-out provision in immigration legislation before Congress would allow Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to avoid building a border fence. PolitiFact called Session's statement "False", stating that the provision would allow Napolitano to determine where the fence was built, but not opt out of building it entirely.246

Sessions's Senate website expressed his view that there is a "clear nexus between immigration and terrorism" and that "Plainly, there is no way to vet these refugees" who would immigrate to the U.S. from Syria in 2016 or who came to the U.S. after September 11, 2001 and were alleged to be involved in terrorism. The news release said that "the absence of derogatory information in our systems about an individual does not mean that admitting that individual carries no risk".247248 Sessions has expressed the view that the children of immigrants from Muslim-majority countries are "susceptible to the toxic radicalization of terrorist organizations" on the basis of the Orlando and San Bernardino Attacks.249250 Sessions supported establishing safe zones as an alternative to immigration from war-torn countries.251252

Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon talked about Jeff Sessions as the leader of the movement for slowing down both legal and illegal immigration before Donald Trump came to the scene, considering his work to kill immigration reform as akin "to the civil rights movement of 1960". Sessions and his communications director Stephen Miller developed what Miller describes as "nation-state populism" as a response to globalization and immigration.253

Immigration is the issue that brought Sessions and Trump together.254 Trump has credited Sessions as an influential advisor on immigration.255256 After Trump was elected and announced Sessions as his Attorney General nominee, Cato Institute immigration analyst Alex Nowrasteh observed "It's almost as if Sessions wrote Trump's immigration platform."257

On June 18, a group of more than 600 United Methodist Church clergy and laity announced that they were bringing church law charges against Sessions. The members of the group accused him of "child abuse, immorality, racial discrimination and dissemination of doctrines contrary to the standards of the doctrine of the United Methodist Church."258 The last charge refers to Sessions's "misuse" of Romans 13, which he quoted to argue that secular law must always be obeyed.259

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a woman and her child fled domestic abuse in El Salvador to seek asylum in the U.S. However the mother was removed from her detention facility and likely put on a plane on August 9, 2018, despite Justice Department promises that she and others would not be deported before the judge could rule on their cases. Judge Emmet G. Sullivan demanded, "Turn that plane around." He threatened to hold those responsible for the removal in contempt of court, starting with Sessions, if the situation was not rectified. A Department of Homeland Security official stated, "We are complying with the court's requests ... the plaintiffs will not disembark and will be promptly returned to the United States." An ACLU suit challenged a recent decision by Sessions to make it nearly impossible for victims of domestic violence and gangs to qualify for asylum in the U.S. The lawsuit claims the woman and her young daughter came to the U.S. from El Salvador after twenty years of spousal abuse and her receiving death threats from a violent gang."260

Foreign and military policy

Senator Sessions speaks during Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA) 2012 in Nashville, TN

In 2005, Sessions spoke at a rally in Washington, D.C. in favor of the War in Iraq organized in opposition to an anti-war protest held the day before. Sessions said of the anti-war protesters: "The group who spoke here the other day did not represent the American ideals of freedom, liberty and spreading that around the world. I frankly don't know what they represent, other than to blame America first."261 The same year, he opposed legislation by Senator John McCain prohibiting the U.S. military from engaging in torture; the amendment passed 90–9.262

Sessions opposed the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia,263 the 2011 military intervention in Libya,264 and arming the Syrian rebels.265 As Attorney General, he reportedly advised President Trump against increasing the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.266

In the 109th Congress, Sessions introduced legislation to increase the death gratuity benefit for families of service members from $12,420 to $100,000.267 The bill also increased the level of coverage under the Servicemen's Group Life Insurance from $250,000 to $400,000. Sessions's legislation was accepted in the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2005.268

In June 2014, Sessions was one of three senators to vote against additional funding for the VA medical system. He opposed the bill due to cost concerns and indicated that Congress should instead focus on "reforms and solutions that improve the quality of service and the effectiveness that is delivered".269

Crime and security

Senator Sessions and Indiana Governor, and Republican vice presidential nominee, Mike Pence at an immigration policy speech in Phoenix, Arizona in August 2016

Sessions speaking at the 2017 Police Week Candlelight Vigil

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.270 Sessions's views on drugs and crime have since softened.271

Sessions supported the reduction (but not the elimination) of the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powdered cocaine, ultimately passed into law with the Fair Sentencing Act 2010.272273274

On October 5, 2005, Sessions was one of nine Senators who voted against a Senate amendment to a House bill that prohibited cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment of individuals in the custody or under the physical control of the United States Government.275

In November 2010, Sessions was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee when the committee voted unanimously in favor of the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), and sent the bill to the full Senate for consideration.276 The proposed law would allow the Attorney General to ask a court to issue a restraining order on Internet domain names that host copyright-infringing material.277

In October 2015, Sessions opposed Chairman Chuck Grassley's (R-IA) Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, a bipartisan bill which sought to reduce mandatory minimum sentences for some nonviolent crimes.278 The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary approved the bill by a vote of 15–5.279 According to The New York Times, Sessions, Tom Cotton, and David Perdue "stalled the bill in the Senate and sapped momentum from a simultaneous House effort". Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a co-sponsor of the bill, has said Sessions was its top opponent.280

Sessions has been a strong supporter of civil forfeiture, the government practice of seizing property when it has allegedly been involved in a crime.281 Sessions opposes "any reform" of civil forfeiture legislation.282

Economic issues

Sessions voted for the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts, and said he would vote to make them permanent if given the chance.283 He is a signer of Americans for Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge.284

In 2006, Sessions received the "Guardian of Small Business" award from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB),285 an honor that the organization bestows upon legislators who vote in accord with its stance on small business issues at least 70% of the time.286 He was recognized by the NFIB again in 2008287 and 2010;288 in 2014 the organization endorsed him in his run for a fourth term, noting that he had achieved a 100% NFIB voting record on key issues for small businesses in the 112th Congress.289

Sessions was one of 29 senators who voted for an amendment to the 2008 budget resolution, offered by Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, that would have placed a one-year moratorium on the practice of earmarking.290

Sessions was one of 25 senators to vote against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (the bank bailout), arguing that it "undermines our heritage of law and order, and is an affront to the principle of separation of powers".291

Sessions opposed the $837 billion stimulus bill, calling it "the largest spending bill in the history of the republic".292 In late 2011 he also expressed skepticism about the $447 billion jobs bill proposed by President Obama, and disputed the notion that the bill would be paid for without adding to the national debt.293

Higher education and research

In 2013, Sessions sent a letter to National Endowment for the Humanities enquiring why the foundation funded projects that he deemed frivolous.294 He also criticized the foundation for distributing books related to Islam to hundreds of U.S. libraries, saying "Using taxpayer dollars to fund education program grant questions that are very indefinite or in an effort to seemingly use Federal funds on behalf of just one religion, does not on its face appear to be the appropriate means to establish confidence in the American people that NEH expenditures are wise."295

Social issues

In the 114th United States Congress, Sessions earned a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign, the United States' largest LGBTQ advocacy group.296 He voted against the Matthew Shepard Act, which added acts of bias-motivated violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity to federal hate-crimes law,297 commenting that it "has been said to cheapen the civil rights movement".298 Sessions "believes that a marriage is union between a man and a woman, and has routinely criticized the U.S. Supreme Court and activist lower courts when they try to judicially redefine marriage".299 Sessions voted in favor of advancing the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 and 2006, a U.S. constitutional amendment which would have permanently restricted federal recognition of marriages to those between a man and a woman.300 Sessions voted against the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.301

Sessions has also said regarding the appointment of a gay Supreme Court justice, "I do not think that a person who acknowledges that they have gay tendencies is disqualified, per se, for the job"302 but "that would be a big concern that the American people might feel—might feel uneasy about that".303

Sessions is against legalizing marijuana for either recreational or medicinal use. "I'm a big fan of the DEA", he said during a hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee.304 Sessions was "heartbroken" and found "it beyond comprehension" when President Obama said that cannabis is not as dangerous as alcohol.305 In April 2016, he said that it was important to foster "knowledge that this drug is dangerous, you cannot play with it, it is not funny, it's not something to laugh about ... and to send that message with clarity that good people don't smoke marijuana".306

Jeff Sessions speaking at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C.

Sessions believes "that sanctity of life begins at conception".307

Sessions was one of 34 Senators to vote against308 the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007,309 which was vetoed by President Bush and would have provided funding for human embryonic stem cell research.

Health care reform

In 2006, Sessions coauthored legislation amending the Ryan White CARE Act to increase the share of HIV/AIDS funding going to rural states, including Alabama.310

Sessions opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009,311 and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.312

Following Senator Ted Cruz's 21-hour speech opposing the Affordable Care Act in 2013, Sessions joined Cruz and 17 other Senators in a failed vote against cloture on a comprehensive government funding bill that would have continued funding healthcare reform.313

Energy and environment

Sessions speaks at the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in London in 2018

Sessions is skeptical of the scientific consensus on climate change.314 He has voted in favor of legislation that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases.315 He has voted to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.316 The League of Conservation Voters, a pro-environment advocacy group, gave him a lifetime score of 7%.317 Sessions is a proponent of nuclear power.318

Judicial nominations

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sessions defended unsuccessful circuit court nominee Charles W. Pickering against allegations of racism, saying he was "a leader for racial harmony".319 Sessions rejected criticisms of successful circuit court nominee Dennis Shedd's record, saying he "should have been commended for the rulings he has made".320321 In 2003, Sessions viewed criticisms of Alabama Attorney General William H. Pryor Jr.'s ultimately successful circuit court appointment as being due to his faith, stating that "Are we not saying that good Catholics need not apply?"322323

Sessions was a supporter of the "nuclear option", a tactic considered by then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in the spring of 2005 to change longstanding Senate rules to stop Democratic filibusters (or, "talking a bill to death") of some of George W. Bush's nominees to the federal courts. When the "Gang of 14" group of moderate Senators reached an agreement to allow filibusters under "extraordinary circumstances", Sessions accepted the agreement but argued that "a return to the tradition of up-or-down votes on all judicial nominees would ... strengthen the Senate".324

While serving as the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee in the 110th Congress, Sessions was the senior Republican who questioned Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama's nominee to succeed retiring Justice David Souter. Sessions focused on Sotomayor's views on empathy as a quality for a judge, arguing that "empathy for one party is always prejudice against another".325 Sessions also questioned the nominee about her views on the use of foreign law in deciding cases,326 as well as her role in the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF). On July 28, 2009, Sessions joined five Republican colleagues in voting against Sotomayor's nomination in the Judiciary Committee. The committee approved Sotomayor by a vote of 13–6.327 Sessions also voted against Sotomayor when her nomination came before the full Senate. He was one of 31 senators (all Republicans) to do so, while 68 voted to confirm the nominee.328

Sessions also served as the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee during the nomination process for Elena Kagan, President Obama's nominee to succeed retired Justice John Paul Stevens. Sessions based his opposition on the nominee's lack of experience, her background as a political operative (Kagan had said that she worked in the Clinton White House not as a lawyer but as a policy adviser329), and her record on guns, abortion, and gay rights. Sessions pointed out that Kagan "has a very thin record legally, never tried a case, never argued before a jury, only had her first appearance in the appellate courts a year ago".330

Sessions focused the majority of his criticism on Kagan's treatment of the military while she was dean of Harvard Law School. During her tenure, Kagan reinstated the practice of requiring military recruiters to coordinate their activities through a campus veterans organization, rather than the school's Office of Career Services. Kagan argued that she was trying to comply with a law known as the Solomon Amendment, which barred federal funds from any college or university that did not grant military recruiters equal access to campus facilities. Sessions asserted that Kagan's action was a violation of the Solomon Amendment and that it amounted to "demeaning and punishing the military".331 He also argued that her action showed a willingness to place her politics above the law, and questioned "whether she had the intellectual honesty, the clarity of mind, that you would expect on the Supreme Court".332333

On July 20, 2010, Sessions and five Republican colleagues voted against Kagan's nomination. Despite this, the Judiciary Committee approved the nomination by a 13–6 vote. Sessions also voted against Kagan in the full Senate vote, joining 36 other senators (including one Democrat) in opposition. 63 senators voted to confirm Kagan. Following the vote, Sessions remarked on future nominations and elections, saying that Americans would "not forgive the Senate if we further expose our Constitution to revision and rewrite by judicial fiat to advance what President Obama says is a broader vision of what America should be".334

In March 2016, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia and President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court, Sessions said the "Senate should not confirm a new Supreme Court justice until a new president is elected".335

Legislation

In 1999, Sessions cosponsored the bill to award Rosa Parks the Congressional Gold Medal.336

On December 11, 2013, Sessions cosponsored the Victims of Child Abuse Act Reauthorization Act of 2013, a bill that would reauthorize the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 and would authorize funding through 2018 to help child abuse victims.337 Sessions argued that "there is no higher duty than protecting our nation's children, and this bill is an important step to ensure the most vulnerable children receive the care and support they deserve".338

Personal life

He and his wife Mary have three children and, as of July 2016^[update]Category:Articles containing potentially dated statements from July 2016Category:All articles containing potentially dated statements, six grandchildren.339 The family is United Methodist. Sessions is a Sunday school teacher at the Ashland Place United Methodist Church in Mobile,340 where he and his wife are members.341

Electoral history

2014

2008

2002

1996

1994

See also

• 2017 dismissal of U.S. attorneys
• Nobody Is Above the Law

References

1	Archived copy, accessed November 5, 2017. LINK
2,190	Ruiz, Rebecca R.. Sessions to Toughen Rules on Prosecuting Drug Crimes, May 10, 2017, page A1, accessed May 13, 2017. LINK
3,191	Ruiz, Rebecca R.. Justice Dept. Revives Criticized Policy Allowing Assets to Be Seized, July 20, 2017, page A18, accessed July 20, 2017. LINK
4,192	Press Release Number 17-795: Attorney General Sessions Issues Policy and Guidelines on Federal Adoptions of Assets Seized by State or Local Law Enforcement, July 19, 2017, accessed July 20, 2017. LINK
5,199	Sessions takes aim at 'dangerous' sanctuary cities, warns on funding, Fox News, March 27, 2017. LINK
6,218,219,220,221	Jeff Sessions personally asked Congress to let him prosecute medical-marijuana providers, The Washington Post, June 13, 2017. LINK.
7,117	Jarrett, Laura et al. Jeff Sessions out as attorney general, CNN. LINK
8	Biography of U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, at senate.gov, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. LINK
9	Battle, Robert. Ancestry of Jefferson Beauregard "Jeff" Sessions III, Rootsweb, accessed August 4, 2009. LINK
10	Apuzzo, Matt et al. Jeff Sessions, a Lifelong Outsider, Finds the Inside Track, "Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III was named after his father, who was named after his grandfather, who was named after the Confederate president Jefferson Davis, his parents once said.", January 8, 2017, accessed April 26, 2017. LINK
11	Tullos, Allen. Alabama Getaway: The Political Imaginary and the Heart of Dixie, University of Georgia Press, 2011, ISBN: 978-0-8203-3961-0. LINK
12	Jeff Sessions, U.S. Senator June 17, 2016. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE Geni.com.
13	York, Byron. The Vindication of Jeff Sessions, at Washington Examiner, May 31, 2009, accessed November 16, 2016. LINK
14	Wong, Queenie. 10 Things You Didn't Know About Jeff Sessions, at US News, July 14, 2009, accessed November 18, 2016. LINK
15,62	Sen. Jeff Sessions, CQ Press/Sage Publications, 2000, accessed November 15, 2016. LINK
16	Key Player: Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. | Online NewsHour, PBS, May 26, 2009, accessed November 16, 2016. LINK
17,19	SESSIONS, Jefferson Beauregard III (Jeff), Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed May 10, 2016. LINK
18	Ruble, Joe. Alabama Senator Sessions stumps for Trump in Florida, November 1, 2016. LINK
20	Reno, Janet. Resignation Request Memorandum, at AmericasFreedomFighters, March 23, 1993. LINK
21	Donald Trump offers Jeff Sessions attorney general post, November 18, 2016. LINK
22,336	News, A. B. C.. What Jeff Sessions Has Said About Race and Civil Rights, at ABC News, November 18, 2016. LINK
23	Alabama Judge Overrules Jury, Sentences a Klansman to Death, February 3, 1984, accessed November 19, 2016. LINK
24	Lee, Michelle Ye Hee. The facts about the voter fraud case that sank Jeff Sessions's bid for a judgeship, November 28, 2016, accessed November 28, 2016. LINK
25,30,320	Sarah Wildman. Closed Sessions, December 29, 2002, accessed November 19, 2016. LINK
26	Hemingway, Mark. The Court Is in Sessions, May 8, 2009, accessed November 19, 2016. LINK
27,42	Jeff Sessions's chequered past, The Guardian, The Guardian, May 5, 2009. LINK
28	Elsasser, Glen. Judicial Nomination 'In Deep Trouble, March 29, 1986. LINK
29,54	Goldman, Sheldon. Picking Federal Judges, Yale University Press, page 309, ISBN: 978-0-300-08073-5. LINK
31,35,38,48	Yotk, Byron. How Joe Biden twisted the case against Jeff Sessions, November 28, 2016, accessed November 29, 2016. LINK
32	Mascaro, Lisa. Trump picks Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general, November 18, 2016, accessed November 19, 2016. LINK
33	The Arena: – Gerald Hebert Bio, at Politico, accessed November 19, 2016. LINK
34,39,49	Glover, Scott. Allegations of racism against Sessions: a closer look, November 18, 2016, accessed November 19, 2016. LINK
36,40,55	Rudin, Ken. Blog: Specter Helped Defeat Sessions In 1986 Judiciary Vote, NPR, May 5, 2009, accessed August 4, 2009. LINK (blog)
37,41	Lowry, Rich. The Sessions Smear, January 6, 2017, accessed January 6, 2017. LINK
43	Troyan, Mary et al. Black Belt voter fraud case in Alabama shaped Sen. Jeff Sessions' career, November 18, 2016, accessed November 19, 2016. LINK
44	Apuzzo, Matt. Specter of Race Shadows Jeff Sessions, Potential Trump Nominee for Cabinet, November 16, 2016. LINK
45	Swaine, Jon et al. Jeff Sessions accused of retaliation after claims of racism cost him a judgeship, November 22, 2016. LINK
46	Smothers, Ronald. Retaliation Alleged in Black Lawyer's Indictment, The New York Times, November 8, 1992. LINK
47	Lamothe, Dan. Sen. Jeff Sessions is known for fighting immigration. Now he could lead Trump's Pentagon, November 9, 2016. LINK
50	Q&A Jeff Sessions: Sessions Says He's Looking For Judicial Restraint, at National Journal, May 7, 2009. LINK
51	Serwer, Adam. Did Jeff Sessions Actually Champion Desegregation?, January 23, 2017, accessed January 23, 2017. LINK
52	Read the letter Coretta Scott King wrote opposing Sessions's 1986 federal nomination. LINK
53	Williams, Lena. Senate Panel Hands Reagan First Defeat On Nominee for Judgeship, The New York Times, June 6, 1986, accessed January 2, 2014. LINK
56	Kelley, Matt (May 29, 2009). Supreme Court pick Sotomayor under fire for comments December 30, 2011. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, USA Today.
57	Williams, Victor (March 1, 2010). ""New Gang of 14" : Applying "Lets Get This Done" to Appointments" March 6, 2010. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, Huffington Post.
58	Raju, Manu (May 5, 2009). "Specter regrets 'no' vote on Sessions" October 5, 2009. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, Politico.
59	Gabrielson, Ryan. How Jeff Sessions Helped Kill Equitable School Funding in Alabama, ProPublica, January 30, 2017. LINK
60,272	Sharp, John. From courtrooms to Capitol Hill: The evolution of Jeff Sessions, November 27, 2016, accessed November 28, 2016. LINK
61	Sugrue, Thomas J.. Jeff Sessions' Other Civil Rights Problem, November 21, 2016, accessed November 28, 2016. LINK
63,65	Gay Lesbian, Bisexual Alliance v. Sessions. LINK
64	Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance v. Sessions, 917 F. Supp. 1548 (M.D. Ala. 1996), at Justia US Law, January 29, 1996. LINK
66	Barrabi, Thomas. Jeff Sessions Wins Alabama Senate Race 2014: Republican Re-Elected In Uncontested Race, International Business Times, November 4, 2014, accessed December 4, 2014. LINK
67	Arkansas native proposes challenge to unopposed Republican senator in Alabama September 21, 2017. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE
68	WILLIAMS, VICTOR SANCHEZ September 21, 2017. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE
69,71	Stinson, Jim (July 25, 2014). "Jeff Sessions makes history by being unopposed for U.S. Senate, and re-election campaign is in no hurry November 15, 2016. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE". Real-Time News. AL.com. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
70	Kane, Paul (November 26, 2014). "In chairman fight, Jeff Sessions is battling his perception on immigration debate November 16, 2016. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
72	Sessions: President's Budget Raises Taxes .76 Trillion, March 4, 2014, accessed June 9, 2014. LINK
73	Jeff Sessions: Campaign Finance/Money – Summary – Senate Career, at Center for Responsible Politics. LINK
74	Jeff Sessions: Campaign Finance/Money – Top Donors – Senator 2010, at Center for Responsible Politics, accessed May 16, 2010. LINK
75,76	Committee Assignments: Standing Committees. LINK
77,81	Stanley-Becker, Isaac. In Trump's GOP, Sen. Jeff Sessions rockets from fringe to prime time, The Washington Post, July 18, 2016, accessed July 19, 2016. LINK
78	Apuzzo, Matt et al. Sessions Is Likely to Be Grilled on Reports of Meeting With Russian Envoy, June 13, 2017, page A11, accessed June 15, 2017. LINK
79	Fuller, Matt et al. Donald Trump Could Do Something Unprecedented In Modern Elections, 27 January 2016, accessed January 28, 2016. LINK
80	Partlow, Joshua et al. After subdued trip to Mexico, Donald Trump talks tough on immigration in Phoenix, The Washington Post, "Trump was joined in the meeting by former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, who have become fixtures at his campaign rallies.", September 1, 2016. LINK
82	Pasztor, Andy. Sen. Jeff Sessions Exerts Wide Influence Over Trump Space Plans, Dow Jones & Company, New York City, December 13, 2016, accessed December 21, 2016. LINK
83	Pasztor, Andy. Thiel Pushes to Add Commercial-Space Backers to Trump NASA Team, Dow Jones & Company, New York City, December 13, 2016, accessed December 21, 2016. LINK
84	Donald Trump Selects Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, November 18, 2016, accessed November 18, 2016. LINK
85	Trump and Sessions feud over the direction of the Justice Department, The Washington Post, August 23, 2018. LINK
86	Zapotosky, Matt et al. Collins introduces Trump's AG pick in confirmation hearing, March 2, 2017. LINK
87	yaledailynews.com: Law professors sign letter opposing Sessions January 18, 2017. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE (January 17, 2017)
88,90	Horwitz, Sari. More than 1,100 law school professors nationwide oppose Sessions's nomination as attorney general, The Washington Post, January 3, 2017. LINK
89	King, Guy. Black pastors rally in Washington for AG nominee Jeff Sessions, USA Today, January 9, 2017, accessed January 19, 2017. LINK
91	Wang, Amy B. NAACP president among those arrested at sit-in to protest Trump's nomination of Sessions, at The Washington Post, January 4, 2017. LINK
92	Chan, Melissa. NAACP President Arrested After Sit-In Against Jeff Sessions, at TIME.com. LINK
93	Rafferty, Andrew. Jeff Sessions, Trump's Pick for Attorney General, Testifies at Senate Confirmation Hearing, January 10, 2017, accessed January 10, 2017. LINK
94	Chang, Alisa. Protesters Interrupt Confirmation Hearing For Sen. Sessions As Attorney General, National Public Radio, January 10, 2017, accessed February 8, 2017. LINK
95	Attorney General Confirmation Hearing, Day 1 Part 1, January 10, 2017, accessed February 8, 2017. LINK
96	Kim, Seung Min. Sessions clears committee on party-line 11–9 vote, February 1, 2017, accessed February 2, 2017. LINK
97	Trump cabinet: Democrats boycott health and treasury picks, BBC News, January 31, 2017. LINK
98	Barrett, Ted et al. DeVos, Sessions expected to be confirmed in tight votes, February 6, 2017, accessed February 6, 2017. LINK
99	Republicans vote to rebuke Warren, saying she impugned Sessions's character, February 7, 2017, accessed February 8, 2017. LINK
100	Shapiro, Rebecca. Democrat Defies GOP, Reads Part Of Coretta Scott King's Letter On Senate Floor, February 8, 2017, accessed February 9, 2017. LINK
101	Jeff Merkley reads Coretta Scott King's letter about Jeff Sessions on Senate floor (video), Oregonian, February 8, 2017, accessed February 9, 2017. LINK
102	Killough, Ashley et al. Jeff Sessions confirmed to be the next attorney general, CNN, February 9, 2017, accessed February 9, 2017. LINK
103	Question: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of Jeff Sessions, of Alabama, to be Attorney General), at www.senate.gov, U.S. Senate, accessed February 9, 2017. LINK
104	Charlie Savage et al. Trump Abruptly Orders 46 Obama-Era Prosecutors to Resign, March 11, 2017, page A1, accessed May 10, 2017. LINK
105	Murphy, Erin E.. Sessions Is Wrong to Take Science Out of Forensic Science, April 11, 2017, accessed May 10, 2017. LINK
106,107	Savage, Charlie. Sessions Vows to Enforce an Anti-Bribery Law Trump Ridiculed, April 25, 2017, page A14, accessed May 10, 2017. LINK
108	Shear, Michael D. et al. TRUMP FIRES COMEY AMID RUSSIA INQUIRY — Clinton Email Investigation Cited — Democrats Seek Special Counsel, May 10, 2017, page A1, accessed May 10, 2017. LINK
109	Beavers, Olivia. Franken rips Sessions for encouraging Comey firing, 10 May 2017, accessed May 11, 2017. LINK
110	Davidson, Amy. Jeff Sessions's Role in James Comey's Firing, 10 May 2017, accessed May 11, 2017. LINK
111	Schlossberg, Tatiana et al. Settlements for Company Sins Can No Longer Aid Other Projects, Sessions Says, June 10, 2017, page A1, accessed June 15, 2017. LINK
112	Zapotosky, Matt et al. While eyes are on Russia, Sessions dramatically reshapes the Justice Department, November 24, 2017. LINK
113	Savage, Charlie. Justice Dept. Revokes 25 Legal Guidance Documents Dating to 1975, December 22, 2017, page A17, accessed March 9, 2018. LINK
114	Press Release. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Strongly Criticizes Attorney General Jeff Sessions' Withdrawal of Critical Civil Rights Guidance, January 19, 2018, accessed April 8, 2018. LINK
115	YLS Today. San Francisco Files Student-Generated Civil Rights Case, Yale Law School, April 5, 2018, accessed April 8, 2018. LINK
116	Benner, Katie. Justice Dept. Office to Make Legal Aid More Accessible Is Quietly Closed, February 2, 2018, page A14, accessed March 9, 2018. LINK
118	Jeff Sessions sent Trump a resignation letter in May after humiliating Oval Office meeting: Report, 14 September 2017. LINK
119	Miller, Greg et al. Intelligence chiefs briefed Trump and Obama on unconfirmed claims Russia has compromising information on president-elect, January 10, 2017. LINK
120	Abramson, Alana. Here's Exactly What Jeff Sessions Said About Russia at his Confirmation Hearing, at Time, accessed March 2, 2017. LINK
121	Nomination of Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General of the United States: Questions for the Record Submitted January 17, 2017: QUESTIONS FROM SENATOR LEAHY March 3, 2017. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary p. 26.
122	What Jeff Sessions said about Russia, and when, The Washington Post, March 2, 2017. LINK
123,124	Reevell, Patrick. Who is the Russian ambassador who spoke with Jeff Sessions?, March 2, 2017. LINK
125	Lister, Tim. Who is Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States?, March 2, 2017. LINK
126	Entous, Adam et al. Sessions met with Russian envoy twice last year, encounters he later did not disclose, at The Washington Post, March 1, 2017, accessed March 2, 2017. LINK
127	"Sessions: Discussed Ukraine & terrorism with Russian amb. March 4, 2017. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE". CNBC. March 2, 2017.
128,131	Perez, Evan. Sessions did not disclose meetings with Russian ambassador, CNN. LINK
129,132	Sessions, Russian ambassador reportedly spoke twice during presidential campaign, Fox News, March 2, 2017. LINK
130	Jackson, Hallie. Attorney General Sessions had contact with Russian envoy during campaign, NBC News, March 2, 2017. LINK
133	Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions under fire over Russia meetings, March 2, 2017. LINK
134	Sessions under fire over Russia meetings. LINK
135	Wolf, Richard. Did Attorney General Jeff Sessions misspeak, lie — or commit perjury?, USA Today, March 4, 2017. LINK
136	Landler, Mark et al. Jeff Sessions Recuses Himself From Russia Inquiry, The New York Times, March 2, 2017. LINK
137	Nancy Pelosi calls on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign, March 1, 2017. LINK
138	Shelbourne, Mallory. Cummings says Sessions should step down over conversations with Russian ambassador, The Hill, March 1, 2017. LINK
139	Watkins, Eli. Al Franken: I think Jeff Sessions committed perjury, March 8, 2017. LINK
140	Johnson, Kevin et al. Senate's Russia probe churns on as House panel's investigation stalls, March 29, 2017, accessed April 12, 2017. LINK
141	First on CNN: AG Sessions did not disclose Russia meetings in security clearance form, DOJ says, CNN, May 25, 2017. LINK
142	Ruiz, Rebecca R.. Sessions Was Advised Not to Disclose Russia Meetings on Security Forms, May 24, 2017. LINK
143	Perez, Evan. FBI email: Sessions wasn't required to disclose foreign contacts for security clearance, CNN, December 11, 2017, accessed January 13, 2018. LINK
144	Horwitz, Sari. Sessions won't testify at congressional budget hearings but at Senate intelligence hearing instead, at The Washington Post, June 10, 2017. LINK
145	Guardian Wires. US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, is testifying before the Senate – watch live, June 13, 2017, accessed July 7, 2017. LINK
146	McCarthy, Tom. Jeff Sessions testimony: attorney general grilled on Russia ties – live, June 13, 2017. LINK
147	Horwitz, Sari et al. Jeff Sessions testifies: Refuses to say whether he spoke to Trump about Comey's handling of Russia investigation, June 14, 2017, page A1, accessed June 15, 2017. LINK
148	Flegenheimer, Matt et al. Jeff Sessions Denies Collusion, Deploring 'Detestable Lie' in Senate Testimony, June 14, 2017, page A1, accessed June 15, 2017. LINK
149	Mark, Michelle. Here's why Jeff Sessions argued he couldn't tell senators what he said to Trump, June 13, 2017. LINK
150	Taegan Goddard: Sessions Has Lawyered Up Too. August 14, 2017. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE In: Political Wire, June 20, 2017.
151,152	Sessions discussed Trump campaign-related matters with Russian ambassador, U.S. Intelligence intercepts show, accessed July 21, 2017. LINK
153	Wang, Christine. Jeff Sessions reportedly discussed campaign issues with Russian ambassador, at CNBC, July 21, 2017, accessed July 21, 2017. LINK
154	Lima, Cristiano. "Justice spokeswoman questions report of Sessions' exchange with Russian officials" July 22, 2017. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, Politico (July 21, 2017).
155	Raju, Manu et al. Sessions under renewed scrutiny on Capitol Hill, November 2, 2017, accessed November 5, 2017. LINK
156	Schumacher, Elizabeth. US Attorney General Jeff Sessions faces perjury claims, November 2, 2017, accessed November 5, 2017. LINK
157	Carter, Brandon. Dem lawmaker: Sessions 'absolutely' committed perjury and should resign, November 3, 2017, accessed November 5, 2017. LINK
158	Raju, Manu et al. Exclusive: Carter Page testifies he told Sessions about Russia trip, November 3, 2017, accessed November 5, 2017. LINK
159	Mazzetti, Mark et al. Trump Campaign Adviser Met With Russian Officials in 2016, Washington, DC, November 3, 2017, accessed November 5, 2017. LINK
160	Savage, Charlie. Democrats Sought Inquiry of Testimony by Sessions at His Confirmation Hearing, June 2, 2017, page A16, accessed March 23, 2018. LINK
161,162	Goldman, Adam et al. F.B.I. Investigated Sessions for Possible Perjury Over Russia Denials, March 22, 2018, page A16, accessed March 23, 2018. LINK
163	Apuzzo, Matt et al. Andrew McCabe, a Target of Trump's F.B.I. Scorn, Is Fired Over Candor Questions, March 17, 2018, page A15, accessed March 23, 2018. LINK
164,167,172	Schmidt, Michael S. et al. Trump Asked Sessions to Retain Control of Russia Inquiry After His Recusal, May 29, 2018, accessed June 1, 2018. LINK
165,173	Swan, Jonathan. Scoop: Trump repeatedly pressured Sessions on Mueller investigation, May 31, 2018, accessed June 1, 2018. LINK
166	Shear, Eric et al. Jeff Sessions Recuses Himself From Russia Inquiry, March 2, 2017. LINK
168	Lee, Carol E. et al. Investigators Probed Jeff Sessions' Contacts With Russian Officials, March 2, 2017. LINK
169	Hains, Tim. ”Sessions To Tucker Carlson: Recusal Is Not An Admission Of Any Wrongdoing” January 7, 2018. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, Real Clear Politics (March 3, 2017).
170	Comey Testimony Raises New Questions About Jeff Sessions And Russia, NPR. LINK
171	Cullen, Terri. President Trump reportedly asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reverse his decision to recuse himself from Russia probe, May 30, 2018, accessed June 1, 2018. LINK
174	Haberman, Maggie et al. Sessions Is Said to Have Offered to Resign, June 7, 2017, page A18, accessed June 15, 2017. LINK
175	Trump Grows Discontented With Attorney General Jeff Sessions, The New York Times. LINK
176	Trump wishes he hadn't picked Jeff Sessions for attorney general, May 30, 2018, accessed June 1, 2018. LINK
177	Trump: I'd Never Have Picked Sessions If I'd Known About Recusal On Russia, July 19, 2017, accessed June 1, 2018. LINK
178	Cohen, Marshall. Bob Woodward book: Trump called Sessions 'mentally retarded', September 5, 2018, accessed 15 September 2018. LINK
179,180	Choi, David. Trump denied calling Jeff Sessions — or anyone — 'mentally retarded,' but old records show he has, September 5, 2018, accessed 15 September 2018. LINK
181,183	Hansler, Jennifer. Trump's Twitter attacks on Sessions: an annotated timeline, August 25, 2018, accessed 15 September 2018. LINK
182	Cummings, William. 'Cowardly,' 'cry for help': Reactions to anonymous Trump official's op-ed, September 5, 2018, accessed 15 September 2018. LINK
184	Sessions hits back at Trump: DOJ won't be 'improperly influenced', August 23, 2018, accessed 15 September 2018. LINK
185,186	Lucey, Catherine. Republicans hit Trump for criticizing Justice Department, September 4, 2018, accessed 15 September 2018. LINK
187	Sheryl Gay Stolberg et al. Sweeping Federal Review Could Affect Consent Decrees Nationwide, April 4, 2017, page A1, accessed May 10, 2017. LINK
188	Victor, Daniel. Judge Approves Consent Decree to Overhaul Baltimore Police Dept., April 8, 2017, page A18, accessed May 10, 2017. LINK
189	Ruiz, Rebecca R.. Attorney General Orders Tougher Sentences, Rolling Back Obama Policy, May 13, 2017, page A15, accessed May 13, 2017. LINK
193	Jeff Sessions gives OK for towns like Ferguson to hit the poor with heavy fines, 22 December 2017, accessed December 26, 2017. LINK
194	Nixon, Ron et al. Trump Targets MS-13, a Violent Menace, if Not the One He Portrays, March 2, 2018, page A1, accessed March 9, 2018. LINK
195,196	Apuzzo, Matt. Sessions and Kushner Square Off, and Prisoners Hang in the Balance, March 30, 2018, page A1, accessed June 15, 2018. LINK
197	Tanfani, Joseph. Following Trump's lead, Sessions urges federal prosecutors to seek death penalty against major drug dealers, March 21, 2018, accessed March 23, 2018. LINK
198	Press Release. Attorney General Sessions Issues Memo to U.S. Attorneys on the Use of Capital Punishment in Drug-Related Prosecutions, accessed March 23, 2018. LINK
200	Hesson, Ted. Sessions signals immigration crackdown: 'This is the Trump era', Politico, April 11, 2017. LINK
201	Watson, Kathryn. "Enough is enough": Sessions slams sanctuary cities during border trip, CBS News, April 21, 2017. LINK
202	Temple-West, Patrick. Sessions: Erroneous tax credits to 'mostly Mexicans' could pay for wall, Politico, April 23, 2017. LINK
203	Benner, Katie. Democrats Question Justice Dept. Power to Charge Sanctuary City Leaders, January 19, 2018, page A14, accessed March 9, 2018. LINK
204	Herskovitz, John. U.S. judge in California blocks Trump's order on sanctuary cities, November 21, 2017, accessed March 9, 2018. LINK
205	Ilya Somin. Analysis: Losing so much he may get tired of losing – Trump suffers setback in yet another sanctuary city case, The Washington Post, November 24, 2017, accessed March 23, 2018. LINK
206	Benner, Katie et al. Trump Administration Sues California Over Immigration Laws, March 7, 2018, page A14, accessed March 9, 2018. LINK
207	Liptak, Adam. Sessions Targets California Immigrants Using a Ruling That Protected Them, March 8, 2018, page A1. LINK
208	Fuller, Thomas et al. Jeff Sessions Scolds California in Immigration Speech: 'We Have a Problem', March 8, 2018, page A22, accessed March 9, 2018. LINK
209	Gonzales, Richard. Sessions Cites The Bible To Justify Immigrant Family Separations, June 14, 2018, accessed June 15, 2018. LINK
210	Bendery, Jennifer. Christian Leaders To Jeff Sessions: The Bible Does Not Justify Separating Families, Huffington Post, Huffington Post, 15 June 2018, accessed June 16, 2018. LINK
211	Siddiqui, Sabrina. Trump administration moves to end asylum for victims of domestic abuse and gangs, June 11, 2018, accessed July 22, 2018. LINK
212	Benner, Katie et al. Sessions Says Domestic and Gang Violence Are Not Grounds for Asylum, June 11, 2018, page A1, accessed June 15, 2018. LINK
213	Preston, Julia. In First for Court, Woman Is Ruled Eligible for Asylum in U.S. on Basis of Domestic Abuse, August 29, 2014, page A12, accessed June 15, 2018. LINK
214	Blitzer, Jonathan. Jeff Sessions Is Out, But His Dark Vision for Immigration Policy Lives On, November 8, 2018, accessed November 9, 2018. LINK
215	Jeff Sessions doesn't think a judge in Hawaii — a.k.a. 'an island in the Pacific' — should overrule Trump, at The Washington Post. LINK
216,217	Estatie, Lamia. Jeff Sessions 'reminded' Hawaii is a state, and #AskTheresaMay criticises premier, April 21, 2017. LINK
222	Savage, Charlie et al. Trump Administration Takes Step That Could Threaten Marijuana Legalization Movement, January 5, 2018, page A1, accessed March 9, 2018. LINK
223	Sullivan, Eileen. Sessions Says 'Evil Attack' in Virginia Is Domestic Terrorism, The New York Times, 14 August 2017, accessed August 14, 2017. LINK
224	Savage, Charlie et al. Sessions Emerges as Forceful Figure in Condemning Charlottesville Violence, New York Times, August 14, 2017, accessed August 15, 2017. LINK
225,227	Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students, US Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division; US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, February 22, 2017, accessed October 11, 2017. LINK
226	Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students, US Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division; US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, May 13, 2016, accessed October 11, 2017. LINK
228	Statement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the Withdrawal of Title IX Guidance (no. 17-214), Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, February 22, 2017, accessed October 11, 2017. LINK
229	Moreau, Julie. Federal Civil Rights Law Doesn't Protect Transgender Workers, Justice Department Says, NBC News, October 5, 2017, accessed October 5, 2017. LINK
230	Justice Department Will Now Support Transgender Discrimination Claims In Litigation, BuzzFeed News, December 18, 2014, accessed October 5, 2017. LINK
231	Jeff Sessions Just Reversed A Policy That Protects Transgender Workers From Discrimination, BuzzFeed News, October 5, 2017, accessed October 5, 2017. LINK
232	US sanctions Turkish officials over detained pastor, August 1, 2018. LINK
233	Andrew Brunson, U.S. Pastor, Moved to House Arrest in Turkey, June 25, 2018. LINK
234	Erdogan sanctions US officials in tit-for-tat row over pastor, August 4, 2018. LINK
235	Jeff Sessions resigns as attorney general, at CBS News. LINK
236	Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump's request, at Washington Post, 7 November 2018. LINK
237	Sessions resignation letter – AP Staff upload, at www.documentcloud.org, 7 November 2018. LINK
238	Franklin, Charles. Political Arithmetik: National Journal 2006 Liberal/Conservative Scores, Political Arithmetik, March 5, 2007, accessed August 29, 2010. LINK
239	Lichtblau, Eric. Jeff Sessions, as Attorney General, Could Overhaul Department He's Skewered, New York Times, November 18, 2016, accessed December 26, 2016. LINK
240	What Jeff Sessions thinks about immigration, police and terrorism, "Sessions has also long advocated for curbs to future legal immigration". LINK
241	Phillips, Amber. 10 things to know about Sen. Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, "He's also fought legal immigration, including guest worker programs for immigrants in the country illegally and visa programs for foreign workers in science, math and high-tech... "Legal immigration is the primary source of low-wage immigration into the United States," Sessions argued in a 2015 Washington Post op-ed. " ... What we need now is immigration moderation: slowing the pace of new arrivals so that wages can rise, welfare rolls can shrink and the forces of assimilation can knit us all more closely together."", January 10, 2017. LINK
242	Weisman, Jonathan. Senator Tries to Run Out the Clock on Immigration, June 17, 2013, accessed November 20, 2016. LINK
243	Fabian, Jordan. Sessions Wants to Crush Imm. Reform, June 4, 2013, accessed November 20, 2016. LINK
244	Doyle, Steve. Senate extends E-Verify through Oct. 31, Huntsville Times, October 1, 2009, accessed September 16, 2011. LINK
245	Bunis, Dena. Border fence bill may race the clock, Orange County Register, September 29, 2006, accessed September 16, 2011. LINK
246	Sen. Jeff Sessions says immigration bill has provision that lets Janet Napolitano skip fence, Politifact, June 27, 2013, accessed August 16, 2014. LINK
247	Sessions: Refugee Terrorism Increases while Obama administration increases flow, August 10, 2016. LINK
248	Pappas, Alex. Jeff Sessions Says Clinton's Syrian Refugee Plans Will 'Result In More Terrorism', The Daily Caller, August 16, 2016. LINK
249	Sessions Issues Statement on Orlando Terrorist Attack, Sessions.Senate.gov, "While the vast majority of Muslims are law-abiding and peaceful, we must face the uncomfortable reality that not only are immigrants from Muslim-majority countries coming to the United States, radicalizing, and attempting to engage in acts of terrorism, such as in Boston and Chattanooga; but also, their first-generation American children are susceptible to the toxic radicalization of terrorist organizations. We saw it in San Bernardino just six months ago, and in Orlando yesterday.", June 13, 2016. LINK
250	Sessions links terrorism to immigration, radicalization, The Hill, June 13, 2016. LINK
251	Sessions Delivers Opening Statement on Obama Administration's Plan to Admit 110,000 New Refugees into U.S., September 28, 2016. LINK
252	LoBianco, Tom. Trump taps Sessions to lead national security efforts, CNN, March 3, 2016. LINK
253	Ioffe, Julia. The Believer, June 27, 2016, accessed August 6, 2016. LINK
254	Cooper, Matthew. When Jeff Sessions Calls, Donald Trump Listens, Newsweek, June 22, 2016. LINK
255	O'Keefe, Ed. Jeb Bush on Donald Trump's immigration ideas: 'A plan needs to be grounded in reality', Washington Post, August 17, 2017. LINK
256	Donald Trump Releases Immigration Reform Plan Designed to Get Americans Back to Work, at DonaldJTrump.com, "The ["detailed policy position"/"immigration reform plan"], which was clearly influenced by Sen. Jeff Sessions who Trump consulted to help with immigration policy ...", August 16, 2015, accessed March 3, 2017. LINK
257	Doyle, Michael et al. Attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions wants to hold the line on legal immigration, too, November 18, 2016. LINK
258	Hundreds of United Methodist clergy bring church charges against Jeff Sessions. LINK
259	s3.amazonaws.com/Website_Properties/news-media/documents/A_Complaint_regarding_Jefferson_Sessions.pdf
260	Judge threatens to hold Jeff Sessions in contempt Mobile native's Justice Department deported woman, WKRG, Peter Albrecht, August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
261	Foley, Brian J. (October 1, 2005). "I Gave My Copy of the Constitution to a Pro-War Veteran" March 12, 2008. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, Antiwar.com.
262	Ackerman, Spencer et al. Trump cabinet appointments will 'undo decades of progress', rights activists say, November 18, 2016, accessed November 19, 2016. LINK
263	Past as prologue? How Senators voted on Iraq and Kosovo, September 25, 2013. LINK
264	GOPers oppose Libya intervention, April 5, 2017. LINK
265	Which senators voted against funding Syrian rebels against ISIS?, September 18, 2014. LINK
266	White House Watch: Trump Decides on Afghanistan Troop Surge, August 21, 2017. LINK
267	S.77 – HEROES Act of 2005, Library of Congress, January 24, 2005, accessed August 7, 2011. LINK
268	Congressional Record, August 14, 2005, Sessions.senate.gov, accessed August 7, 2011. LINK
269	VFW attacks the three Republicans who voted against Senate VA bill, June 13, 2014, accessed June 18, 2014. LINK
270	John J. Donohue III et al. Did Jeff Sessions forget wanting to execute pot dealers?, January 23, 2017, accessed May 20, 2017. LINK
271	Ciaramella, C.J.. Here's That Time Jeff Sessions Wanted to Execute Drug Dealers, February 1, 2017, accessed May 20, 2017. LINK
273	Obama signs bill reducing cocaine sentencing gap – CNN.com, August 3, 2010. LINK
274	Phillips, Amber. 10 things to know about Sen. Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, November 18, 2016. LINK
275	On the Amendment S.Amdt. 1977 to H.R. 2863 (Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006), GovTrack, October 5, 2005, accessed November 19, 2016. LINK
276,277	"S. Rept. 111–373 – Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act November 17, 2016. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE" (December 17, 2010). Senate committee report, 111th Congress. Congress.gov. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
278	Kim, Seung Min. Senators plan to revive sentencing reform push, January 4, 2017, accessed May 20, 2017. LINK
279	S. 2123, 114th Cong. (2015).
280	Hulse, Carl. Unity Was Emerging on Sentencing. Then Came Jeff Sessions., May 15, 2017, page A13, accessed May 20, 2017. LINK
281	Desk, Roll Call Copy et al. Civil Forfeiture Finds A Champion | Commentary, Roll Call, May 13, 2015. LINK
282	Grassley clashes with police association over controversial asset seizures, at Washington Post. LINK
283	Jeff Sessions on Tax Reform, Issues2000, accessed August 29, 2010. LINK
284	The Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers 112th Congressional List, Americans for Tax Reform, accessed November 30, 2011. LINK
285	"Sessions Receives Four Awards from Tax Reform and Business Groups November 18, 2016. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE" (October 6, 2006) [press release]. Sessions.senate.gov. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
286,288	"Members of Congress Honored as Guardians of Small Business by NFIB September 16, 2016. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE" (September 23, 2010). NFIB.com. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
287	"NFIB Guardian of Small Business Awards in Alabama – 110th Congress November 18, 2016. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE" (October 15, 2008). NFIB.com. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
289	"NFIB Endorses Jeff Sessions for U.S. Senate November 18, 2016. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE" (May 22, 2014). NFIB.com. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
290	"U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110th Congress – 2nd Session November 10, 2016. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE" (vote date March 13, 2008). U.S. Senate. www.senate.gov. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
291	Jerry Underwood, "Senator Shelby wants auto bailout put in neutral" February 26, 2010. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, Birmingham News, November 16, 2008.
292	Orndorff, Mary. Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions among GOP senators fighting stimulus package, Birmingham News, January 30, 2009, accessed September 16, 2011. LINK
293	Dwyer, Devin. Republicans Demand to See Fine Print of Obama's Jobs Plan, ABC News, September 15, 2011, accessed September 16, 2011. LINK
294	Senator Demands Explanations From Humanities Endowment, The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 24, 2013. LINK
295	Caplan-Bricker, Nora. Senator Outraged that National Endowment for the Humanities Funds Study of Humanities, The New Republic, October 24, 2013. LINK
296	Congressional Scorecard, Human Rights Campaign. LINK
297,300	Jeff Sessions – Civil Rights, Issues2000. LINK
298	congress.gov, 20 July 2009. LINK
299,307	Protecting Traditional Alabama Values. LINK
301	Senate roll call vote on the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, at Senate.gov, accessed August 7, 2011. LINK
302	Sessions open to a gay-tending justice, Politico. LINK
303	Linkins, Jason. Sessions: Gay Supreme Court Nominee "Would Be A Big Concern", May 8, 2009. LINK
304	Obama's DEA Nominee Pledges To Ignore Administration's Medical Marijuana Policy, 19 November 2010. LINK
305	Jeff Sessions: Marijuana Can't Be Safer Than Alcohol Because 'Lady Gaga Says She's Addicted To It'. LINK
306	Senators held a hearing to remind you that 'good people don't smoke marijuana' (yes, really), at Washington Post. LINK
308	U.S. Senate Roll Call Vote, accessed December 16, 2016. LINK
309	S.5 – Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, 20 June 2007. LINK
310	Alexovich, Ariel. Sessions urges money for AIDS prevention, May 4, 2006. LINK
311	On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 3590 as Amended ), U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home, accessed August 7, 2011. LINK
312	U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote, at Senate.gov, accessed August 29, 2010. LINK
313	Twenty-five Republicans buck Cruz on shutdown, Politico, September 27, 2013, accessed October 10, 2013. LINK
314	Phillips, Amber. 10 things to know about Sen. Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, at The Washington Post, November 18, 2016. LINK
315	Senate Votes on 11-SV054, at www.ontheissues.org. LINK
316	Jeff Sessions on Energy & Oil, accessed January 8, 2017. LINK
317	Check out Senator Jeff Sessions's Environmental Voting Record, League of Conservation Voters Scorecard. LINK
318	Sessions, Jeff. Sessions Speaks on his Support of Nuclear Power – Floor Statements, accessed January 8, 2017. LINK
319	Nichols, John. Pickering Nomination Blocked, March 15, 2002, accessed May 24, 2017. LINK
321	Presidential Nomination 888 June 18, 2017. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, 107th Cong. (2002).
322	Presidential Nomination 512 April 29, 2017. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, 108th Cong. (2003).
323	Lewis, Neil A.. BYPASSING SENATE FOR SECOND TIME, BUSH SEATS JUDGE, February 21, 2004, accessed May 24, 2017. LINK
324	Sessions, Jeff. Playing by Reid's rules on filibusters, The Washington Post, November 27, 2009, accessed September 16, 2011. LINK
325	Robert Barnes, Amy Goldstein, Paul Kane, "Nominee Sotomayor at center stage in Senate" September 18, 2009. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, San Francisco Chronicle, July 14, 2009
326	Steve Padilla, "Sotomayor hearings: Judge is adamant, Sessions is unconvinced" October 19, 2012. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, Los Angeles Times, July 15, 2009.
327	Hirschfeld Davis, Julie. Judiciary Committee OKs Sotomayor for high court, July 28, 2009, accessed August 4, 2009. LINK
328	Roll Call Vote on the Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor September 19, 2014. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE, U.S. Senate, August 6, 2009.
329	Kagan, Elena. Speech to West Point Cadets, October 17, 2007, accessed August 13, 2010. LINK
330	Drake, Bruce. Republicans to Focus on Whether Elena Kagan Would be a Judicial Activist, June 27, 2010, accessed August 13, 2010. LINK
331,332	Opposing view on the Supreme Court: A big-government vision, July 20, 2010, accessed November 18, 2016. LINK
333	Cheney, Catherine et al. Sessions questions Kagan's 'honesty', accessed November 20, 2016. LINK
334	Senate Confirms Kagan in Partisan Vote, August 5, 2010, accessed August 13, 2010. LINK
335	Koplowitz, Howard. Merrick Garland Alabama reaction: Shelby, Sessions opposed to hearings for Obama's SCOTUS pick, March 16, 2016. LINK
337,338	Cox, Ramsey. Senate passes bill to protect children from abuse, June 30, 2014, accessed July 28, 2014. LINK
339	De La Cuetara, Ines. Jeff Sessions: Everything You Need to Know, July 18, 2016. LINK
340	Lucas, Fred. Who Is the New Attorney General Pick, Jeff Sessions?, Newsweek, "Sessions is a Sunday school teacher at the Ashland Place United Methodist Church in Mobile and has been a delegate to the annual Alabama Methodist Conference.", November 21, 2016, accessed November 24, 2016. LINK
341	U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions to Deliver Faulkner Law's 2015 Commencement Address, Faulkner University, "Senator Sessions and his wife Mary Blackshear Sessions (also a native of Alabama) are members of the Ashland Place United Methodist Church in Mobile. He serves as a lay leader and Sunday school teacher there.", March 2015, accessed November 24, 2016. LINK
342	Certified General Election Results, Alabama Secretary of State, accessed January 7, 2015. LINK

Sources

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website.

External links

• Media related to Jeff Sessions at Wikimedia Commons
• Works written by or about Jefferson Beauregard Sessions at Wikisource
• Quotations related to Jeff Sessions at Wikiquote
• Attorney General bio
• Jeff Sessions at DMOZ
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
• Collected news and commentary from Politico