U. S. Senator, and u. S. Intelligence officials testify on russian hacking and interfered in the election, and james comey will testify publicly as will the heads of the cia and the nsa, the National Security agency. Then, the confirmation hearing for required general, john kelly, as secretary of homeland security, and he over sees some of trumps controversial promises, and tonight president obama bids farewell to the nation and ditches white house tradition and instead delivers his speech from his adopted hometown of chicago, recovering all the angles as the very busy day here in washington, d. C. Unfolds. Our correspondents are fanned out across washington to break it all down for you. Lets begin with the confirmation hearing for Jeff Sessions scheduled to stop at the bottom of the hour, so Phil Mattingly is up on capitol hill for what promises to be a rather contentious start to the process. Phil, set the scene. Reporter you can look at the witness list to understand how surreal this is, and cory booker will testifying against Jeff Sessions and its an unprecedented move, and the first time in the senate history, and it scores the real divisions that surrounds this nomination. Important to point out, Jeff Sessions on civil rights issues and this is where democrats feel they can attack him not just for his time as a u. S. Attorney, and his time practicing law in alabama but on how his belief u. S. Justice department should handle the civil situations, and republicans have been preparing behind the scenes in a room about 30 or 40 feet away from where the hearing will be held for the last couple of weeks, and they say they are prepared for the questions and prepared to defend a record that he says repeatedly, and his team likes to reiterate, is proud of. Sessions has a lot of highlevel support, and Condoleezza Rice is somebody you are hearing people tout regularly, and cory booker talking, and john lewis a civil rights icon will testify against Jeff Sessions here, and one key point that needs to be made, only 51 republicans need to vote for sessions for him to be confirmed and trumps team feels comfortable, and it doesnt mean it will be a contentious one or two days. It certainly will be. Thank you. Jake, its extraordinary, a sitting United States senator will appear before colleagues, and we are talking about cory booker of new jersey, and testifying against sessions confirmation . Usually theres deference to a fellow member to the most exclusive club in the world, the u. S. Senate. It could have the affect of uniting republicans around Jeff Sessions given this is such an extraordinary step taken by senator booker that might have president ial aspirations for 2020 or beyond, and that could point what he is doing and its personally ambition, and i know booker feels passionately about these issues and feels deeply that senator sessions would be an inappropriate pick to be attorney general. He will testify tomorrow. There will be others that support the confirmation and that will be a panel that goes throughout the day tomorrow. And today there will be members that will grill him on civil rights and other related issues . We heard from the senator talking about how much they may have a personal friendship with senator sessions but that may not mean much when it comes to his view on immigration, and he is a hard liner and thats why he and trump were so united because of the immigration issue, sealing the border and not only reducing illegal immigration but reducing the numbers of legal immigrants in the country, and there are issues having to do with civil rights, with hate crimes, with samesex marriage, and those issues where senator sessions has been on the other side of where the democratic minority is. It will be very tense, i will say that. And hours from now, president obama will give his final speech delivering his farewell address from his adopted home city of chicago. Athena jones will join us with a preview from the white house. Reporter well, its an important speech and we know the president is still working on it and he has gone through at least four drafts with his chief speechwriter, and this is his last speech as president in the city that launched his whole political career and its certainly an important speech, and he is getting help from his longtime friend and cnn contributor, david axelrod, and we expect him to touch on some of the themes that we heard about him more than a decade ago, hope, and theres more that unites us as americans than divides us, and he will talk about health care and bringing troops home from foreign fields of war, and we also expect he will talk about his optimistic views for the future, what he believes the country needs to do to confront the challenges that lie ahead. We are told by White House Press secretary, josh earnest, he is likely to think about justice and fairness and diversity as strength and the idea if you work hard you should be able to succeed no matter who you are and what you look like, and those are the kinds of themes that we think could be seen as something of a rebuke to what we heard on the campaign trail. Athenna jones at the white house, and we will have coverage of the president s Farewell Speech later tonight. Jake, we have a great panel today. Allow me to introduce it to you. Abby phillips, and cnns chief national correspondent, john king, and gloria borger, and dana bash, and justice correspondent, pamela brown, and jeffrey tubin, and this is a rare moment in politics with senator sessions stepping to the plate before the Senate Judiciary committee. It was in 1986 when he went before the committee to get a federal judgeship and was rejected . He gets a do over. He was sitting for about 20 years as a member and at onepoint leading the committee for the republicans. Theres so many strange twists of fate in what we are going to see coming up, and the most fascinating part is traditionally as you were talking about, fellow senators do give their colleagues, especially sitting senators a bit of deference, and thats not happening here, and not only will cory booker thats going to be tomorrow, and not only will booker testify against him, but they went to the Senate Historian to see whether or not this had happened before, and they sought out to see how big of a deal it was inside bookers office and they got the answer it has never happened before. And on the flip side, you mentioned this is uniting republicans, within an hour of booker making his announcement, tim scott, the only sitting black republican senator said, no, i am going to support him with a very strong and passionate statement, and explaining why he invited Jeff Sessions to his home state, and talked about civil rights issues and criminal justice issues and decided based on that and his own homework he said he did on sessions passed with regards to civil rights that he is going to support him. Theres a lot of emotion here within the people who are going to be deciding his fate, never mind what hes going to do as attorney general. What is the calculation going on in senator bookers office right now . Is this a play for National Prominence . To be a leader in the Democratic Party . The fact that the party is rutterless in terms of leaders, or that the issues of booker cares most deeply about . I think its both. Cory booker is somebody who has gone out and done his own thing and kept his own prominent profile by doing things differently from his colleagues and hes also somebody that, i think, wants to be among the democrats and are establishing a moral line for the party, like where do they stand on some of the issues of diversity and inclusion and race, and theres some democrats this is a real debate happening within the party right now, and there are some democrats that want to make some of the issues less prominent and less important and less front and senator, and i think by doing this, cory booker is basically saying i dont think thats a good idea, and i think we have to stand up for this particular set of issues, so it definitely puts him out there within his own party taking a particular road that some democrats are not all united in saying that they want to do. The nc krfplt afplcaa p went his mobile Congressional Office . Yeah, the ncaap, they are going to be about what will the Trump Administration be like . He was a democrat. During the campaign, you come out of the campaign with a lot of questions. Will there really be mass deportations . Can he really get mexico to pay for the wall . That will be for sessions. And then when we get to kelly, what will the president elect want to do . The new administration is laying down the policy markers, and for the Democratic Party and Interest Groups left of center, not only what will they stand for or fight for, and there are some democrats that want to get back to blue bucket issues, and there are others that say we need to plant the flag, and they will do both and they want to learn what the democrats want to fight for and who . The clintons are gone. Nancy pelosi and Chuck Schumer are the two National Leaders of the Democratic Party right now, and they dont have many governors. Is it cory booker . Or amy, she wants to ask sessions about sex assaults and womens issues. They are going to try and make senator sessions effectively a proxy for donald trump, and they are going to say to him, okay, what would you do with the muslim ban, for example . What are you exactly going to advise on this question of mass deportation . What are you going to do on the rest of the immigration policy . Are you interested in water boarding . Where do you stand on water boarding . Where do you stand on a special prosecutor for Hillary Clinton . They are going to answer the questions they could not get donald trump to answer definitively during the campaign. Pamela, we should point out they have been running mock rehearsals for this board . I got under trumps skin and he has not done an interview with me since, and hes in a better position to not let people get under his skin. And he is not taking anything for granted given the failed judgeship in 1996, and he has been meeting with senators and talking to republicans and democrats ahead of the hearing today because they are expecting a lot of tough questions particularly from the democrats about his civil rights record, and particularly what hes going to do as a chief Law Enforcement officer to quell some of the growing tensions and communities between minority groups and police officers. Today he will say hes all about law and order, and he understands the polite of minorities. He will strike that pwol today. The questions are going to be intense. Everybody stand by. Moments from now, senator Jeff Sessions will step up to the microphone for his confirmation hearing. It could get contention, and we will take it live for our viewers here in the United States and around the world. We will also speak live with a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and we will ask why they are opposing sessions . And then a picture of the police causing a fight with republicans. This is cnn live coverage. Theyre twice as big as regular wipes, so youre done in half the time. And youre off. Johnsons. For every little wonder. Of your brain can make it hard to lose weight . Contrave is an fdaapproved weightloss medicine that may help adults who are overweight or struggle with obesity lose weight and keep it off. Contrave is believed to work on two areas of the brain your hunger center. woman im so hungry. avo to reduce hunger. And your reward system. woman ice cream. French fries. avo to help control cravings. Across three longterm studies, contrave patients lost approximately 24x more weight than with diet and exercise alone. Contrave is not for everyone. One ingredient in contrave may increase suicidal thoughts or actions in some children, teens, and young adults within the first few months. 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He is expected to be one of the most contentious of any of trumps nominees, and democrats are planning on interrogating him on a number of fronts especially his record on race and Civil Liberties and this is a concern for many of the Congressional Black Caucus, including new York Democratic congressman, jefferies. We appreciate you joining us. As you know the Trump Transition Team is making the argument when he was a u. S. Attorney, Jeff Sessions prosecuted and sought the Death Penalty successfully for a member of the klan, and what are your concerns . Well, i think there are several. First of all, this is a very divided country and a very divisive election, and putting forth Jeff Sessions who threatens perhaps to turn back the clock and take the country backward on progress on civil rights is highly problematic. His statements from 30 years ago trouble a great number of people, and many of us are more concerned about his record on issues today. Hes someone who has not supported the reconstitution of the Voting Rights act in the aftermath of it being decimated by the Supreme Court and he consistently stood in the way of bipartisan efforts to fix the effort to make sure every american regardless of race or gender or ethnicity can participate in the democratic process and Jeff Sessions is somebody that continues to support the divisive symbol of the Confederate Flag in the aftermath of what took place in charleston with the tragic shooting at mother emanuel church, he stood by the notion of keeping the flag up and hes somebody that supports the failed war on drugs. This is a failed war that has led to america being the country that incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, and he stands by that, and issue after issue he is the wrong person to move the country forward and thats why we are opposed to his nomination. Congressman, the fact that senator cory booker of new jersey is testifying against Jeff Sessions, we believe this is the first time a sitting u. S. Senator has ever testified against a fellow sitting u. S. Senator, and does that carry extra weight . Does that mean more than the opposition to sessions by the n krfpc when you have people like john lewis that was going to testify in opposition to his nomination and a colleague like cory booker who has a great bipartisan history in his short time in the senate, it says we are extremely concerned. People of principle with this nomination, and we understand a president should have the paw raugtive of putting forth a cabinet nomination, and that cabinet nomination being given the benefit of the doubt, but we are in a particularly interesting situation and time, and were very divided on issues of the police and Community Relationship and there has been bipartisan work done to try and reform our Justice System and corp. Y booker has worked on that and Jeff Sessions has been in opposition, and booker has made the decision the right thing to do is to stand in opposition with the nomination and i fully support him in that decision. What is wrong with the argument we heard it repeatedly over the last few days, give the senator a chance, and hes been on the Senate Judiciary committee for so long, and let him testify and ask all the tough questions and hear what he has to say today and then make up your mind whether or not hes qualified to be attorney general of the United States . What do you say to that argument . Its interesting, the people making that argument, many of those refused to give barack obama a chance, and declared war on him on day one, and as recently as last year, the president , his constitutional paw raugtive, they would not give him a hearing, and to lecture us on president ial etiquette as it relates to any nomination is outrageous, and well decide what is appropriate on behalf of the american people. Thats not to say people are not closely evaluating his testimony over the next few days. People can change. But Jeff Sessions has a long record and history of standing in opposition to equality and progress and tolerance and thats highly problematic. Congressman, thank you very much. We are showing our pictures live pictures of the committee, and moments from now the confirmation hearing for attorney general of the United States, the nominee, Jeff Sessions, will begin, and we will have special live coverage here on cnn. Lets take a quick break and when we come back, the gavel will come down. This is my retirement. Retiring retired tires. And i never get tired of it. Are you entirely prepared to retire . Plan your never tiring retiring retired tires retirement with e trade. Im in vests and as a vested investor in vests i invest with e trade, where investors can investigate and invest in vests. Or not in vests. Sign up at etrade. Com and get up to six hundred dollars. Well you dont want to live with mom and dad forever, do you . Then she says. Bazang ok, good one. Uh, how do i check my credit score . Credit karma. Its free. Credit karma. Give yourself some credit. Welcome back to our special coverage. You are looking at live pictures from the Senate Judiciary committee. Any minute now the alabama senator, Jeff Sessions, will face his peers in the confirmation hearing to become the next attorney general. In a surprise move, cory booker from new jersey will testify against him, and its the first time a sitting senator will testify against another sitting senator for a cabinet post during a confirmation, and that will happen, jake, tomorrow, when cory booker testifies against senator sessions. Its an extraordinary moment. We will also be facing the testimony of john lewis, a democrat and civil rights icon from the great state of georgia, although you have in one way people like cory booker and john lewis emboldening democrats to oppose Jeff Sessions, and on another level you have the opposition of cory booker and the fact he is doing this unprecedented thing, is, i believe, bringing republicans around Jeff Sessions saying this is all politics, and cory booker has not heard what Jeff Sessions has to say. Jeffrey tubin, you studied the u. S. Legal system for a long time. Your analysis . This is a moment in civil rights history because Jeff Sessions symbolizes something to democrats that goes back to the bad days. The reason he was turned down for his federal judgeship in 1986 was because he prosecuted a man name Albert Turner for voter fraud and in 1965 Albert Turner led the march in marion, alabama, that led directly a few days later to the famous march from montgomery to from selma to montgomery where john lewis was beaten nearly to death on the bridge, so Jeff Sessions is a direct tie to the people that led the march in 1965. The anger at sessions for prosecutor Albert Turner who later went on to lead the mule at Martin Luther kings funeral is part of why theres so much emotion in the Civil Rights Community about Jeff Sessions because he represents a tie to what the Civil Rights Community says were the bad old days. If you look right now, you are looking at the images from the hearing you see, there are activist and protesters, and they are from code pink with signs and racism signs, stop sessions, and there were a couple on the right side of your screen dressed as members of the ku klux klan, and an example of the anger and passion. Let me bring informer congressman Jack Kingston who represents the trump side of this. This morning sessions will be introduced by a moderate new england republican, susan collins, of maine. I dont think the case is truly there. I understand the rhetoric. Heres somebody that has been in the senate for decades. If he was a racist, we would see it. The charges against him when he was up for confirmation last time were made by somebody that was later indicted for bribing jurors, and Jeff Sessions as a member of the u. S. Senate voted for a 30year extension on the Voting Rights act and he has voted to give the gold medal to rosa parks and works for the equity in terms of cocaine, and this is not somebody who has this sorted history of racism, and if he was, in fact, a racist, we would know this because theres plenty of time to show his card but the case is absolutely not there. Simone sanders . This is the side of these rigged cabinet hearings if you will and folks are calling it a rigged cabinet because things from corruption to questions about where some of these folks stand on policy, and thats where Jeff Sessions stands, and i dont doubt hes probably a nice man and everybody in the senate said that and just because you are a sitting United States senator does not resolve you have a tough hearing and answering tough questions. I think senator sessions has done questionable things when it comes to voting against lbgtq rights, and the women violence act, and when he couldnt get contpurpldz 30 years ago as a judge doesnt say hes racist, but says theres questionable racist things up in there, and that makes a difference. Again, i think we have to hear from him today and these folks testifying tomorrow and folks should not let sessions skate through here. They wont and should not, and tough questions are welcome from both sides and there are philosophical questions, and that doesnt make somebody a racist. This is a guy that prosecuted the first white man in the state of alabama, gave the Death Penalty for killing a black man. And he is also voting about the Voting Rights act. He has one vote to extend the voting right, and then a history fighting against Voting Rights. The next attorney general of the United States of america, Voting Rights are going to be front and center. The person has to put together a department and protects all the people. For the left and for people like Condoleezza Rice and former congressman, gary franks, support Jeff Sessions because hold on for a moment. Senator Chuck Grassly of iowa is the chairman of the committee and looks like they want to start the hearing. The committee convenes for the first time, the 115th congress, and last week senator Dianne Feinstein was named the committees rank and member, and the first time a woman has served in this capacity, and having been either chairman or ranking chairman for the past 20 years, i cant think of anybody better, and its striking that 352 members has served on the committee and only five of those democrats happen to be women and three of the five women are proudly serving on the committee today. Senator feinstein, and so after these 20 years i welcome senator feinstein, and we grapple with some of the most serious issues facing this country and we should be proud shes here and i applaud you for this. Thank you, thats nice. Thank you. Thank you, senator leahy. Good morning. I welcome everybody to this very important hearing to consider the nomination of our colleague, senator sessions, to serve as the 84th attorney general of the United States. First i want to set out a couple ground rules. I want to handle this hearing the same way that i handled the hearing for attorney general lynchs nomination, and its also the same way that chairman leahy handled previous hearings. I want everybody to be able to watch the hearing without obstruction. If people stand up and block the views of those behind them or speak out of turn, its simply not fair and simply not considerate to others so officers will immediately remove those individuals. Now before my opening statement, let me explain how we will proceed. Senators feinstein and i will give our opening remarks, and then senator shelby and collins will introduce the nominee. Following senator sessions opening remarks, well begin our first round of questions. Each senator will have an initial 10minute round for questions, and after the first round we are going to do eightminute rounds of questions. I want everyone to know that i am prepared to stay here as long as members have questions that they would like to ask. Again, thats the way i handled attorney general lynchs nomination, and i think thats the most fair way to proceed for both members as well as our distinguished nominee. I welcome our new members to this committee. I look forward to working with all the new members as well as the ones that are repeating serving on this committee. I would also like to recognize and welcome a number of important audience members, former attorney general meecs, and our former colleague, senator kyle, a former member of this committee and i see the attorney general for ohio is here as well , a former colleage of ours. Finally before my opening remarks, i congratulate senator feinstein on your appointment and the decision to take over the Ranking Membership. We always had a Good Relationship through several things we have done both legislatively and as leaders of the drug caucus and i appreciate very much the opportunity to work with you. Thank you. With that, i will now start my opening comments. Our hearing today hardly introduces senator sessions to the committee. No, were here today to review the character and the qualifications of a colleague who has served alongside us in the senate for 20 years. That includes his time as the Ranking Member of this committee. We know him well. We know the policy positions hes taken as a legislator. I have been on both sides of the debates with this distinguished senator sessions, and after having serving him so well we pretty well know whether he supports your policy positions or rejects them, and he tells us so with his humility and more importantly, his respect. As the chairman of the committee put it, sessions is quote, unquote, wonderful to work with. We know him to be as another senior democrat described him, quote, unquote, a man of his word. As a third senior democrat put it as well, always a gentleman, straightforward and fair. Most of all, the members of this committee know him to be a leader who has served the people of alabama, and all americans with integrity, with dedication, and with courage. That describes how i know the nominee for the 20 years that i have served with him. As former chairman leahy obse e observ observed, the last time a new president took office, its, quote, important, that the Justice Department have a Senior Leadership in place without delay. We need the Justice Department to be at its best, end of quote. Perhaps my good friend, senator schumer said it best when he observed that we should, quote, move to a vote hopefully sooner rather than later, end of quote. When we do, as he said, we quote, wont be voting for or against the president s policies, well be voting or in summary, senator schumer said we will be voting for a colleague whose record proves his record to just Law Enforcement and eminently qualified to lead the department of justice. I have been encouraged by the initial support many of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle have expressed for senator sessions nomination, so i look forward to hearing from senator sessions and moving to his appointment without delay. Senator sessions record is a life of Public Service, and so we know his story. He was raised in a small town in alabama where his father owned and ran a small country store, and he then studied at the university of alabama before practicing law in russellville and mobile. Senator sessions has always been an active member of his community and taught school before attending law school and taught sunday school at ashland place methodist church, and he served in the rank of captain, and then he served as an assistant u. S. Attorney in the Southern District of alabama and then headed that office after the Senate Confirmed him for u. S. Attorney, a post he held for a dozen years. All told this senator, colleague of ours, served 15 years as a federal prosecutor in the department he will soon head. It was during that time he over saw the investigation of klansman haze, and he made sure that case was brought to state court where the defendant was eligible for and received the punishment that he justly deserved, the Death Penalty. Based on his prosecutorial record rp record, the people of alabama elected him their attorney general and then their senator, and he served with us since 1997, and this committee relied on him for his prosecutorial experience, and throughout his Public Service both inside and outside the department, he raised his hand and served with called upon. He has done his duty and enforced the law fairly and let the chips fall where they may, reflecting on this record of service, its no surprise then that senator sessions was also an eagle scout, and other members of the committee know as i do that the scouts model, be prepared, sets on his desk in his senate office. A lifetime of services prepared him for this day, and if he is confirmed, and i expect he will be, senator sessions will shed his role as a legislator that writes law and will uphold the laws that are written. As one member of this committee observed about a lawyers transition into the role of a judge, quote, there are turning points in a persons life when they put away things of the past and move into new responsibilities, end of quote. Serving as our nations attorney general will mark another such turning point in senator sessions distinguished career. Every member of this committee knows from experience in his new role senator sessions will be a leader for law and order administered without regard to person. Leadership to that end is exactly what the department now needs. It should go without saying that the department is tasked for the responsibility of enforcing our laws, all of our laws, in a dispassionate and evenhanded way. We write the law and the executive enforces them faithfully. This is simple, but very foundational principle. Unfortunately for the last several years, the department simply declined to enforce some laws that the executive branch found obnoxious, and not enforcing the laws have went to those violating the law to the immigration laws. Its true theres a duty. Its equally true that the executive has a constitutional responsibility, too, and take care of the laws that they are faithfully executed. I know our colleague, senator sessions, respect the legislative process and the prerogative of congress to write the law. As he explained during the confirmation hearing that we held for the nomination to serve as attorney general, quote, the attorney general is a law enforcer, and theres a big difference between a politician and a senator where we vote on policy and executing that policy, end of quote. I look forward to hearing from senator sessions on how he will transition from voting on policy matters to enforcing the laws he has labored so long to improve and sustain, just as he respect congresss dually enacted laws, senator sessions knows the importance of an independent attorney general at the departments helm. When he has questioned other candidates for the office of attorney general he has made plain the priorities of an attorney generals independence. He sought assurances on this account during the confirmation hearing for attorney general eric holder, a nominee that it happens senator sessions and i asupported despite disagreements with eric holder. He asked, quote, you are not threatening and guaranteeing you are going to prosecute people until you fairly evaluate all the facts and the evidence and the law they thought they were dealing with at the time, end of quote. During this committees hearing on the confirmation of another attorney general, senator sessions reflected on the obligations of the people as he knew them from his service in alabama. Quote, you speak for the legal interests of the state, end of quote, and as a result, he said, quoting again, there are times when the attorney general represents the state, and he has an obligation and duty regardless of what the parties to a litigation may say, including when one of those parties is the government, to insure that it is fair for all the people of the state. This firm grasp of the separation of powers equips this senator sessions to provide the department with independent leadership of the highest priority. He knows the departments obligations well, not only because he knows the department but because he has seen those obligations observed in the breach from his seat beside us in the senate. To this legislator, the departments failure in the justice enforcement of our laws is not a policy disappointment on a issue, but its a front on the separation of powers that defines our role and the voice of the people that warrants our votes and i imagine senator sessions and may have thoughts on that question as well and i hope to hear those points. On this committee we dont always agree on the right way to handle the complex policy issues we consider, and when you have served in the senate as long as senator sessions and i have you are bound to find a few points of disagreements with the most likeminded colleagues, but two decades beside me, i know he is a man of honor and integrity and dedicated to the faithful enforcement of the law and respect well and knows the department of justice and its constitutional role. I look forward to hearing from him about this vision and plans for the department and now it is senator feinsteins turn for her words. Thank you senator leahy. If i may, i would like to begin by just quickly introducing some californians in the audience. Congresswoman Maxine Waters from los angeles. Congresswoman barbara lee from the bay area. Also denise rojas who is a d. R. E. A. M. Er who has been enormously successful. I had the privilege of writing an article about her and also the reverend dr. Amos brown whom ive known for 40 years and reverend doctor frederick hanes. They are part of the ministerial delegation here today. The senator before us this morning is someone that many of us on this committee has worked with for some 20 years. And that makes this very difficult for me. I committed to senator sessions in our private meeting, and ill say it again here. The process is going to be fair and thorough. But today, were not being asked to evaluate him as a senator. Were being asked to evaluate him for the attorney general of the United States. The chief Law Enforcement for the largest and best democracy in the world. As attorney general, his job will not be to advocate for his beliefs, rather, the job of the attorney general is to enforce federal law. Even if he voted against the law, even if he spoke against it before it passed. Even if he disagrees with the precedent saying that the law is constitutional. Most importantly, his job will be to enforce federal law equally equally for all americans. And this job requires service to the people and the law, not to the president. The president elect said to his opponent during a debate, and i quote, if i win, im going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look at your situation, end quote. Mr. Chairman, thats not what an attorney general does. An attorney general does not investigate or prosecute at the direction of the president. Nor do attorneys generals wear two hats. One as the president s lawyer and one as the president s as the peoples lawyer. That model has failed. Rather, the attorney general must put aside loyalty to the president and assure that the law and the constitution come first and foremost, period. President lincolns attorney general edward bates i think said it best when he said this, and i quote. The office i hold is not properly political but strictly legal. And it is my duty above all other ministers of state to uphold the law and to resist all encroachments from whatever quarter, end quote. That is the job of the attorney general. If confirmed, senator sessions will be the top official charged with faithfully and impartially enforcing all federal law and protecting our fundamental right to vote from all incursions, whether they are foreign or domestic. His duty will be to enforce and protect our civil rights and constitutional freedoms, including a womans right to choose. He will run the department that ensures those who commit hate crimes are held accountable. And he will be charged with protecting consumers and taxpayers from fraud and making sure corrupt Public Officials are held accountable. He will prosecute polluters based on federal law. And it is the attorney general who must ensure that this government follows the law. Does not ever torture again. This is an awesome responsibility and an enormous job. What we must do in these hearings is determine what kind of attorney general senator sessions will be if confirmed. And let me express a deep concern. There is so much fear in this country. I see it. I hear it. Particularly in the Africanamerican Community from preachers, from politicians, from everyday americans. As mrs. Evelyn turner of the marion three said in her passionate letter to this committee, and i quote, i am very troubled by his stance against civil rights in the more recent past. As a u. S. Senator, he supported no laws or causes which suggest that he has changed, end quote. Throughout his senate career, senator sessions has advocated an extremely conservative agenda. For example, he voted no and spoke for nearly 30 minutes in this committee against a leahy amendment that expressed the sense of the senate that the United States would not bar people from entering this country based on their religion. He voted against each of three bipartisan comprehensive immigration bills in 2006, 2007 and 2013. Twice he voted against the d. R. E. A. M. Act, the bill for undocumented youth known as d. R. E. A. M. Ers who were brought here as children through no choice of their own, calling it a, quote, reckless proposal for mass amnesty, end quote. He voted against efforts to prohibit the use of waterboarding and other socalled enhanced interrogation techniques. Calling them lawful and praising attorney general mccasey in 2008 for refusing to rule out the use of waterboarding in the future. These interrogation techniques are and were at the time illegal. And thanks to a provision, senator mccain placed in the Defense Authorization bill this past year, they are now prohibited from use. In addition, senator sessions voted against the Matthew Shepard and james byrd hate crime act which among other things expanded the hate crimes law to cover Sexual Orientation and gender identity. Arguing against the hate crimes law in 2009, he said this. Today im not sure women or people with different Sexual Orientations face that kind of discrimination. I just dont see it, end quote. Well, this senator regretfully sees it. Hate crimes are happening. The department of justice must see it, must investigate it and prosecute it appropriately. Those are votes that are deeply concerning. They are recent. They are important and they clearly show this senators point of view. Now for all these seasons, this hearing must determine clearly whether this senator will enforce laws he voted against. We, the american people, want to know how he intends to use this awesome power of the attorney general if he is confirmed. Will he use it fairly . Will he use it in a way that respects law and the constitution . Will he uses it in way that eases tensions among our communities and Law Enforcement officers . Will he be independent of the white house . Will he tell the president no when necessary and faithfully enforce ethic laws and constitutional restrictions. So we will ask questions and we will press for answers. Ultimately, we must determine whether senator sessions can be the attorney general for all of our people. Mr. Chairman, id like to conclude with one final point. We cannot ignore that there are deep concerns and anxieties throughout america. There is a deep fear about what a Trump Administration will bring in many places. And this is the context in which we must consider senator sessions record and nomination to become the chief Law Enforcement of america. Communities across this country are concerned about whether they will be able to rely on the department of justice to protect the rights and freedoms. These freedoms are so cherished. They are what make us unique among nations. There have been sitins, protests and riotings. And the committee has received letters of opposition from 400 different civil rights organizations. 1400 law professors. 1,000 law students. A broad task force of organizations that oppose domestic violence. 70 Reproductive Health organizations and many, many others. All these letters express deep anxiety about the direction of this country and whether this nominee will enforce the law fairly. Evenly. Without personal bias. So i hope todays questions are probing, and the answers are fullsome. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the only way we have to know whether this man can dispatch himself from the president and from his record and vote in full according to the laws of the United States of america. Thank you very much. Thank you, senator feinstein. Before i turn to senator shelby and collins for their opening statement, i note that the Committee Received a letter from former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice indicating that she had hoped to join our colleagues in introducing senator sessions. She strongly supports his nomination. Its a powerful letter and i hope my colleagues will take time to read it. And id like to have it entered in the record at this point. Now to senator shelby and senator collins, in that order. Proceed. Chairman grassley, Ranking Member feinstein, thank you for allowing me to be a part of this historic hearing