DADT Watch: Senator Sessions gets an earful from Admiral Mullen

By GottaLaff

Tuh-weet!


And yet, Teh Gay hasn't rubbed off on Mullen. Contrary to Rushpublic belief, it's not nearly as contagious as they feared.

Just for good measure:



H/t: GregOstravich

Video- Leahy: 'Stop the racial politics' on Sotomayor

SMACK. What I hear from the PR's in my family, that is exactly how they are coming off.

Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) accused the Republicans of playing the race card on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.

"You have one leader of the Republican party call her the equivalent of the head of the Ku Klux Klan. Another leader of the Republican party called her a bigot," said Leahy, appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," and citing Republican attacks on Sotomayor's advocacy for a Hispanic legal group. "The leadership of the Republican party came out against her long before we had the hearings, long before they looked at her record. I think that's unfair."

"I hope we don't go back to the day when we used to African-Americans up for confirmation and say yes, but you belong to the NAACP so we're really suspicious of you," said Leahy. "Come on, stop the racial politics--"

Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary committee tried to jump in, saying, "Come on Pat, I want to disagree--" but Leahy continued:

"That's what comes across. It comes across that if you belong to a group that tries to help Hispanics... somehow you're suspicious. The same arguments were used against Thurgood Marshall and I think it's wrong."

VIDEO-- Sen. Sessions: "We're Gonna Do That Crack Cocaine Thing"

By GottaLaff



See, Jeff, the thing is... well... just stop talking:

"We're going to do that crack cocaine thing."

-- Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), to a witness at Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings.

Cartoon of the Day

Click to enlarge, via.

Video- Senator Sessions on judicial "empathy"

Liveblog: Face the Nation, Leahy v. Sessions on Cheney, special prosecutor

By GottaLaff

I'm liveblogging Face the Nation, with Bob Shieffer, is on now. He's talking to Patrick Leahy, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Jeff Sessions:

Leahy: I still prefer a truth commission. The inquiry would go into everything, while special prosecutors are narrowly focused. Eric Holder is a superb A.G., but I don't want to see the higher ups break the law, but punishment for the lower level troops. I won't interfere with his decision, but I'd like to see the inquiry, and may have problems doing both... immunity issues.

Sessions: It would be sad to me if the A.G. decided to use a special prosecutor...

Leahy: I admire the CIA agents on the front line, but remember Abu Ghraib. The lower echelon got punished, not those who condoned the actions. If someone higher up broke the law, we need to know.

Shieffer: What about the V.P., allegedly, told the CIA not to tell Congress...

Sessions: Sources, sources... leaks from unnamed sources don't turn out to be what they appear to be. I don't know what the facts are, but Cheney served his country with fidelity... outstanding record.

Leahy: We can't leave it lay. It's either true or not true. Nobody is above the law.

AG Holder: 50 or more Gitmo trials possible + bonus VIDEO

By GottaLaff



The video is of A.G. Holder reminding Sessions who's boss.

Moving on:

Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday there may be 50 or more trials of Guantanamo Bay detainees as the Obama administration works to shut the detention center by early next year.

Does that include Fayiz al-Kandari, who's been locked up for nearly 8 years?

Holder told senators protecting Americans from terrorists is his top priority.

Dear A.G. Holder, Please make releasing those who do not threaten Americans a priority, too. Love, Laffy.

Under questioning from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Holder outlined efforts to close Guantanamo. [...]

Graham said he expected about one-quarter or fewer of the inmates to be brought to civilian or military trial. Holder said he thought that figure was "about right."

Holder did not commit to any specific figure and said authorities have only worked through about half the detainee cases so far. [...]

Several of the lawyers representing detainees have previously estimated about two dozen might end up on trial.

If the 25 percent figure were to hold, it would mean about 56 detainees would face a trial of some kind by U.S. authorities. A separate group of detainees would be sent to foreign countries; a third group, the most difficult, would not be released or put on trial.

Holder said officials were discussing how to handle such suspects and whether new legislation would be required to hold them. He said even without a trial, a judge would have to review the basis for holding such detainees. [...]

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., urged the attorney general to make the detainee decisions "an open process" to win the confidence of the American public and the trust of foreign leaders.

And while we're at it, can we please stop abusing them? Yes, that is still happening. More tomorrow.

Quote of the Day

Senator Sessions is a GOP up and comer fer shure!! Via Taegan-

"They wouldn't be treated any better in the United States, and they wouldn't have the tropical breezes blowing through."

-- Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), quoted by the Washington Post, defending the continued detention of prisoners at the military facility in Guantanamo Bay.

Jeff Sessions: Republicans should be wary of filibustering court nominee

By GottaLaff

Sniff, sniff! What's that I smell? A Rushpublic being reasonable? Consistent even? No way... really?

The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee says he's inclined against using a filibuster to block President Barack Obama's nominee to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama said a deal four yours ago that averted filibusters against some of former President George W. Bush's judicial nominees established a "standard" that shouldn't be discarded except in unusual circumstances.

How could we have been so wrong about him? How could we have misjudged him so? How could we have---::scre-e-eching brakes::

Sessions, however, didn't entirely rule out a filibuster.

But why would Jeffy even hint at efforts to attempt rational human beingitude?

Sessions said that Obama assured him in a brief telephone conversation Tuesday that he was not planning to nominate a "bomb-thrower."

So terrorists are out. No Supreme Court Justice Richard Reid. Whew! What a relief. Back goes the Valium into the ol' medicine cabinet.

The Rachel Maddow Show: Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III's Ugly Past

h/t Heather.

Sen. Jeff Sessions Will Take Specter's Spot on Judiciary

By GottaLaff

Because conservative organizations need their special someone:

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) will take over as ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee "after striking a deal with his more senior colleagues over the weekend," sources confirm to The Hill.

Under terms of the deal, Sessions will serve as ranking member until the 112th Congress, when he will take over the ranking member post on the Senate Budget Committee. Current Budget Committee ranking member Judd Gregg (R-NH) is retiring at the end of the 111th Congress.

Think Progress adds:

In 2005, Sessions spoke out against the use of the filibuster to block President Bush’s Supreme Court nominees — will he do the same for President Obama?

My money's on "no".