Jeff Sessions: worst human in America?
April 11, 2017 6 Comments
Good God, is Sessions just the worst Attorney General ever? How can one man be so wrong about so much?! In a way, I think he is worse than Trump, because there’s really not a lot beyond xenophobia and “deals” that Trump really believes. But Sessions firmly believes all the wrong stuff.
I was going to write a post about how amazingly misguided he is on the war on drugs:
When the Obama administration launched a sweeping policy to reduce harsh prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, rave reviews came from across the political spectrum. Civil rights groups and the Koch brothers praised Obama for his efforts, saying he was making the criminal justice system more humane.
But there was one person who watched these developments with some horror. Steven H. Cook, a former street cop who became a federal prosecutor based in Knoxville, Tenn., saw nothing wrong with how the system worked — not the life sentences for drug charges, not the huge growth of the prison population. And he went everywhere — Bill O’Reilly’s show on Fox News, congressional hearings, public panels — to spread a different gospel.
“The federal criminal justice system simply is not broken. In fact, it’s working exactly as designed,” Cook said at a criminal justice panel at The Washington Post last year.
The Obama administration largely ignored Cook, who was then president of the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys. But he won’t be overlooked anymore.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has brought Cook into his inner circle at the Justice Department, appointing him to be one of his top lieutenants to help undo the criminal justice policies of Obama and former attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr. As Sessions has traveled to different cities to preach his tough-on-crime philosophy, Cook has been at his side.
Ouch, the stupid!!
Anyway, speaking of stupid, today we learn that he is all good with forensic “science.” Which, aside from DNA, actual scientists know is largely a joke that has led to probably tens of thousands of Americans being wrongly imprisoned:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will end a Justice Department partnership with independent scientists to raise forensic science standards and has suspended an expanded review of FBI testimony across several techniques that have come under question, saying a new strategy will be set by an in-house team of law enforcement advisers.
In a statement Monday, Sessions said he would not renew the National Commission on Forensic Science, a roughly 30-member advisory panel of scientists, judges, crime lab leaders, prosecutors and defense lawyers chartered by the Obama administration in 2013.
A path to meet needs of overburdened crime labs will be set by a yet-to-be-named senior forensic adviser and an internal department crime task force,Sessions’s statement said.
Yglesias tweet captured this perfectly. Honestly, probably one of my favorite tweets ever.
https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/851589373539864578
I was decrying this in my class today, and I asked what’s left that’s dumb about our criminal justice enforcement that Sessions can double-down on? My students reminded me that Sessions was looking to undo consent decrees between the federal government and police departments that have had trouble with systematic racism.
So, there you go… wrong on war on drugs, wrong on forensic “science,” wrong on race and criminal justice. Trump’s America. Ugh.
About Steve Greene
Fully Myelinated 
Would you tell people why the pressure on this guy to step down disappeared? Policies aside, he recused himself from the Russian tampering investigation due to conflicts of interest and he lied to congress during his confirmation hearing. That’s grounds for ouster in my mind.
Because there was never any pressure from integrity-deficient Republicans and pressure from Democrats wasn’t getting anywhere.
Title of this entry is a new low in toxic liberal hyperbole. Liberals as always think letting bad guys out of prison while legalizing more drugs is a real winner. At least for white casual drug users, I guess.
1) Obviously, title is hyperbole. 2) If you think Sessions is remotely correct on how to do criminal justice, you are shamefully ignorant. (And willfully in denial of the racial implications as well). 3) We should let “bad guys” out of prison when they are no longer a threat. Every other modern country manages to. 4) I would say the evidence is pretty clear the war on drugs destroys more lives than drugs.
Well, at least you don’t deny it was hyperbole. Thats positive. I guess. But Sessions is still the “worst AG ever” 3 months in…..evidently for actually thinking not letting drug dealers out of prison is a good thing……even though its likely what any Republican AG would also think.
I’m glad Sessions hasn’t fallen for all the Left’s feel good nonsense on trashing the War on Drugs……which has led to staggering drops in crime. Whats ironic is the Left would send the same people to prison in a War on Guns. But liberals like drugs way more than guns. And yes, I’m disgusted with the way the Left has tried to trash Sessions so mercilessly, from his confirmation on. Purely toxic. Even “smart liberals” can’t resist.
Sessions is toxic and you are clearly woefully ignorant on criminal justice policy (and a growing bipartisan consensus) and how stupid we’ve been. Read up or stick to policy areas you know about rather than knee-jerk, law-and-order defense of the war on drugs.