[inaudible] [indiscernible] mr. Sessions mr. Chairman, if i might, friends, i would like to thank richard shelby, my colleague and senators susan colleague Susan Collins for their introduction. It was moving and touching for me. Its hard to believe the three of us have served together in this body for almost 20 years. When i arrived in the senate in 1997, i probably would not have anticipated becoming so close to the colleagues from maine. [indiscernible] mr. Sessions it took a while to understand our accents but once we did, we never had a problem. He has been a steady fast friend and we have been a good team representing the interests of alabama and the United States. I want to thank president elect donald trump for the confidence and trust he has shown in me by nominating me to serve as attorney general of the United States. I feel the weight of an honor traders and i aspire to. If i am confirmed, i will commit to do and to the American People to be worth the of the office and special trust that comes with it. I come before you today as a colleague who has worked with you for years, some of you 20 years. You know who i am, you know what i believe in, you know i am a man of my words and can be trusted to do what i say i will do. You know i revere the constitution and im committed to the rule of law and i believe in fairness and impartiality and equal justice under law. Over the years, you heard me say many times that i love the department of justice. The office of attorney general of the United States is not a normal political office. Anyone who holds it must have total fidelity to the laws and the constitution of the United States. Must be committed to following the law. He or she must be willing to tell the president or other top if he or they overreach. A merehe cannot be rubberstamped. He or she must set the example for the employees of the department to do the right thing and ensure when they do the right thing, they know the attorney general will back them up, the matter what politician might call or powerful specialinterest, influential country leader or friend might try to intervene. The message must be clear. Everyone is expected to do their duty. That is the way i was expected to perform as the assistant United States attorney. Way i trained my assistants when i became United States attorney. When if confirmed, that is the way i will lead the department of justice. My over 14 years in the department of justice, i tried cases of every kind, Drug Trafficking, a Large International smuggling cases, many firearms cases, other Violent Crimes, a series of public Corruption Cases of significance, financial wrongdoing and environmental violations. Our office supported historic civil rights cases, protecting the people of this country from is a and Violent Crime high calling of the men and women of the department of justice. Today, im afraid it has become more important than ever. Since the early 1980s, good policing and prosecution have been a strong force in reducing crime and making our communities safer. Drug use and murders are half what they were in 1980 when i became a United States attorney. At thery concerned recent jump in Violent Crime and murder rates are not anomalies at the beginning of a dangerous trend that could reverse those hardwon gains that have made america a safer and more prosperous place. The latest fbi statistics show all crime increased nearly 4 from 2014 through 2015, the since 1991 with murders increasing nearly 11 , the single largest increase since 1971. In 2016, there are 4368 shooting victims in chicago. In baltimore, homicides reached the second highest for capital rate ever. The country is also in the throes of a heroin epidemic with overdosed deaths tripling between 2010 and 2014. Nearly 50,000 people a year died from drug overdose. Flowedle, Illegal Drugs across our southern border into every city and town in the bringing violence, addiction and misery. We must not lose perspective when discussing these statistics and must always remember these crimes are being committed against real people, real victims. It is important they are kept in the forefront of our minds in these conversations and to ensure their rights are so these trends cannot continue. It is a fundamental civil right to be safe in your home and community. If i am confirmed, we will systematically prosecute criminals who use guns in committing crimes. As the united hates attorney, my office was a National Leader in gun prosecutions nearly every year. We will partner with state and local Law Enforcement to take down the major Drug Trafficking cartels and dismantle criminal gangs. We will prosecute those who repeatedly violate our borders. It will be my priority to confront these crimes vigorously, effectively, and immediately. 90 of all Law Enforcement offices are not federal but state and local. On the frontones lines and they are better educated, trained and equipped than ever before. Toy are the ones we rely on keep our neighborhoods, playgrounds and schools safe. In the last several years, Law Enforcement as a whole has been unfairly maligned and blamed for the unacceptable actions for a few of their bad actors. Their Political Leadership has abandoned them and they have become targets. Morale has suffered and while under intense public criticism, the number of Police Officers killed in the line of duty increased by 10 over 2015. Firearm deaths of Police Officers are up 68 . This is a wakeup call. If we are to be more effective in dealing with rising crime, we have to deal with and work more effectively with local Law Enforcement, asking them to lead the way. To do that, they must know they are supported and if i am confirmed as attorney general, they can be assured they will have my support in their lawful duties. As i have discussed with you in our meetings prior to this hearing, the government has a role to play in this as well and we must use the research and expertise and training that has been developed by the department of justice to help these agencies in developing the most effective Law Enforcement methods to reduce crime. We must strengthen the partnership between federal and local officers to enhance a comment and unified effort to reverse the rising crime trends. I did this as United States attorney and worked directly and continuously with local and. Tate Law Enforcement officials if confirmed, this will be one of my priority objectives. Are many things the department can do to strengthen relationships with their own communities where policies like communitybased policing have absolutely been proven to work. I am committed to this effort and ensuring the department of justice is a Unifying Force for improving relations between the police in this country and the communities they serve. This is particularly important in our minority communities. , positivestake relations and great theunications between people and their police are essential for any good police department. When police fail in their duties, they must be held accountable. I have done these things as United States attorney. Ive worked to advance these kind of policies. In recent years, our Law Enforcement officers have been called upon to protect our country from the rising threat of terrorism that has reached our shores. , protectingirmed the people from the scourge of radical islamic terrorism will continue to be a radical priority. We will continue to respond to threats using all lawful means to keep our country safe. Order ships will be vital to achieving much more effect of enforcement against Cyber Threats and the department of justice has a lead role to play in that essential effort. Must honestly assess our vulnerabilities and have a clear plan for defense as well as offense as well as Cyber Security. The department of justice must never falter and subjective to protect the civil rights of every american. Particularly those who are most vulnerable. A special priority for me will be the aggressive enforcement of or without hindrance discrimination and hindering the electoral process which has been a hindrance to the department of justice. Must improve its ability to protect the United States treasury from fraud, waste, and abuse. Is a federal responsibility. We cannot afford to lose a single dollar to corruption and you can be sure if i am confirmed, i will make it a hype priority of the department to root out and prosecute fraud in federal programs and recover moneys lost due to fraud and false names as well as contracting fraud and issues of that kind. The Justice Department mustering ever faithful that our government is not what is one of laws. It is my unyielding commitment to you if confirmed to see that the laws are enforced faithfully, effectively, and impartially. Must holdey general everyone, no matter how powerful accountable. No one is above the law and no many thingsl be protection. No powerful special interest will power this department. Personally thess fabulous men and women who work in the department of justice. Int includes personnel justice and the must the much larger number that faithfully fill their responsibilities every day throughout the nation. I United States attorney, work with them constantly and i know them in the culture of their agencies. The federal investigative agencies represent the finest collection of Law Enforcement officers in the world. Andow there integrity professionalism and i pledge to them a unity of effort that is unmatched. We can and will reach the highest standards and highest results. It would be the greatest honor for me to lead these fine public servants. To my colleagues, i appreciate the time you have taken to meet with meet with me oneonone. Theont always have opportunity to sit down and discuss matters face to face. I understand and respect the conviction you bring to your duties. Even though we may not always be alwaysement, you have been understanding and respectful of my positions and i have yours. In our meetings over the past week, you had the opportunity to and youreme relating to the department from prosecuting crimes on tribal lands, a matter that was greater than i understood, the scourge of Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation to concerns about the in Grant Programs and protection of American Civil Liberties and the scourge of heroin Overdose Deaths just to name a few things. I learned a lot during those meetings, particularly with my meeting with senator whitehouse when we discussed Cyber Security. He is a great deal of knowledge there and im glad you and senator graham have taken the lead on this important issue. I think we can Work Together and make some progress. Senator graham, congratulations on your football victory last night. I want to assure all my colleagues i had given your concerns earnest reflection and will bear them in mind as we move forward. I will sincerely endeavor to keep these lines of communication open and hope we can continue our collegiality and friendships. Confirmed, i commit to you the department of justice congressesponsive to and we will work with you on your priorities and provide you with guidance and views where appropriate. The department will respect your constitutional duties, your oversight role and the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. Let me address other issues straight on. I was accused in 1986 of failing to protect the Voting Rights of africanamericans in a voter fraud case and of condemning civil rights advocates and organizations and even harboring, amazingly, sympathies for the kkk. These are dam the bully. His. The voter fraud case my office prosecuted was in response to pleas from africanamerican incumbent officials who claimed the absentee ballot process involved a situation in which ,lex cast for them were stolen altered, and test for their opponent. The prosecution sought to protect the integrity of the ballot, not to block voting. It was a Voting Rights case. As to the kkk, i invited civil rights attorneys to help solve a into the investigation unconscionable, her in this death of a young africanamerican coming home from a 7eleven store at night andly because he was black actively backed the attorneys throughout the case and they broke that case. That effort led to a guilty plea and a life sentence in court and his testimony against the other defendants, there was no federal death healthy at the time. I felt this Death Penalty was appropriate in this case and i pushed to have it tried in state court, which was done. That defendant was sentenced to years later, as alabamas attorney general, my staff are dissipated in the defense of that verdict and a few months after, i became the United States senator. That murdering klansman was indeed executed. I am poor the clan and its hate all ideology. The Southern Poverty Law Center that led to the successful collapse of the clan at least in alabama, the seizure of their holding, at least for that time. As civil rights attorneys have testified before the committee, i have supported fully their historic cases that the Justice Department filed to advance civil rights and i support it, to desegregate schools, abolish atlarge elections for cities, county commissions and school boards. These atlarge elections were mechanisms used to block africanamerican candidates from being able to be elected to boards and commissions. A deliberate part of a systemic plan to reduce the ability of africanamericans to have influence in the election and governing process. I never declared the naacp was an american or that a civil rights attorney was a disgrace to his race. There is nothing i am more proud of than my 14 years of service in the department of justice. I love and venerate that great institution. I hold dear its highest ideals. If god gives me the ability, i will work every day to be worthy of the demands of this august office. Sure that absolutely i understand the immense responsibility i would have. I am not naive. I know the threat our rising crime and addiction rate poses to the health and safety of our country. I know the threat of terrorism. I deeply understand the history of civil rights in our country and the horrendous impact relentless and systemic dissemination and the denial of Voting Rights has had on our africanamerican brothers and sisters. I have witnessed it. We must continue to move forward and never back. I understand the demand for ourice and fairness made by lgbt community. I will ensure the statutes protecting their civil rights and safety are fully enforced. I understand the lifelong scars of war and by women who are the victims of assault and abuse. If i am so fortunate to be confirmed as your attorney general, you can know i understand the absolute necessity and all my actions the bounds ofn the constitution and the laws of the United States. While all humans must recognize the limits of their abilities and i certainly do, i am ready for this job. We will do it right. Your input will be valued. Local Law Enforcement will be our partners. And federal government ive had in Law Enforcement will be respected. I have always loved the law. Its the very foundation of this country. It is the Exceptional Foundation of america. I have an abiding commitment to pursuing and achieving justice and a record of doing that. If confirmed, i would give all my efforts to this cause. I only ask you do your duty as god gives you the ability to see that duty as you are charged by the constitution. Thank you for your courtesy. I look forward to hearing more for a mere hearing. Toator grassley i want thank you for your service in the senate and more importantly for taking on this responsibility. You have been nominated for an thank you for your Opening Statement. Im glad you were able to mention the name of a lot of your family. I would ask the staff to put in the names of the people who are accompanying you today if they are willing to give us that name it is a proud day for you, your wifes son and daughter and their families. I welcome all of you very much. Now to the questioning. 10 minutes and senator feinstein, we will go back and forth as we usually do. The attorney general of the United States is the nations chief Law Enforcement officer. He or she is not the president s he the nor is president s wing man as attorney general holder described himself. Or she has an independent obligation to the constitution and to the American People. I know you care deeply about this foundational principle, sans going to ask you a question. Ive heard you ask