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Category: Judiciary

New Attorney General Faces Calls to Resign, Recuse Himself from Investigations

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As a result of a story that broke last evening which claims that he spoke with the Russian ambassador to the United States twice during the course of the presidential campaign and then denying during his confirmation hearing that those conversations took place, newly confirmed Attorney General Jeff Sessions today is facing calls to resign from his post or at least recuse himself from investigations into potential Russian involvement in the November election.

A number of Democrats have called on him to resign and have urged for the launch of an independent probe. At the same time, several Republicans have asked Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation into Russian involvement in the election.

Appeals Court Upholds Decision on Travel Ban

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A three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit of Appeals kept in place Thursday a temporary restraining order against the Trump Administration executive order that sought, among other things, to bar visa holders from seven nations from entering the United States. The original order was issued by a federal district judge in Western Washington after a suit against the ban was filed by the states of Washington and Minnesota. The initial suit by Washington and Minnesota included declarations from a number of educational entities, including the University of Washington and Washington State University.

The decision primarily focused on the question of whether the ban should be blocked while the legality of the policy behind the ban is examined. The judges ruled unanimously against the various arguments offered by the Administration.

The Administration is now weighing its next steps in the process.

Attorney General Nominee Confirmed

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After a very contentious debate on the Senate floor, the chamber voted to confirm Wednesday evening Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) as the next Attorney General of the United States by a vote of 52-47. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) was the only Democrat to vote in favor of Sessions. Senator Sessions abstained from voting for himself.

The Senate now turns to the nomination of Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) as Secretary of HHS.

Another Tough Night in the Senate, Confirmations Roll On

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During the second long night of debate (Democrats having debated the DeVos vote all night long), the Senate, which is normally very collegial and staid, voted to silence Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Tuesday evening during her her speech on Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL)’s nomination for Attorney General. Senator Warren was reading a letter from Mrs. Corretta Scott King, late wife of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who wrote in the 1980s in opposition to then Senator Session’s nomination to a federal judgeship. 

The Senate voted 49-43 that Warren violated chamber rules against impugning a fellow Senator after during her speech in opposition to the Sessions nomination.

Sessions is expected to be confirmed as the next attorney general at some point today but the vote could come as late as this evening if Democrats use all of the debate time.

Senate Democrats are expected to continue their tactics of using all the debate time, which results in grueling all night debates, with the remaining Cabinet appointees.

Supreme Court Nominee Unveiled

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Tuesday evening, President Trump named Neil Gorsuch as his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by Antonin Scalia. He currently sits on the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, based in Denver. The nomination now sets up a likely clash in the Senate between the two parties.

Background information about Gorsuch is available here and here.