When President-elect Donald Trump nominated USSen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama to be the next attorney general the institutional outcry came nearly immediately. The New York Times editorial board called the pick an insult to justice. The NAACP declared him unfit to be the nations chief law enforcement officer.And it wasnt just civil rights leaderscivil libertarians expressed a few fears of their own. There were immediate fears also raised by those who advocate for cannabis legalization as well asthose who count themselves among the 122814 Americans who work in the legal cannabis industry. The Obama administration allowed the adult-use laws in Colorado and Washington state to proceed based on the 2013 Cole memo. But that memo was just a memo. It interpreted the law and established policy. It did not establish federal legality. Jeff Sessions is no friend of cannabis legal or otherwise. He famously declared during a Senate hearing in April 2016 that good people dont smoke marijuana.He added: We need grownups in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized it ought not to be minimized that it is in fact a very real danger. Supporting Sessions is of course President-elect Trump along with nearly all of his Republican colleagues. A large number of law enforcement organizations have also endorsed Sessions. That according to Politico makes him a lock for confirmation. And unless some bombshell evidence emerges over the next two days of Senate confirmation hearings Sessions is indeed very likely to be confirmed. If youre reading Leafly youre probably interested in the Sessions hearings for their cannabis-related content. But you cant sit through two days of testimony to get it. Allow us to be your eyes and ears. Deputy Editor Bruce Barcott and editor Ben Adlin will be monitoring the hearings posting regular updates and highlighting whatever cannabis content may emerge. Honestly were not expecting much. The Senate Judiciary Committees ranking member Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) has a strong track record of supporting reasonable cannabis legal reform. But Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has long opposed what he sees as all this nonsense about marijuana. For years Grassley has blocked any move to reform banking laws that keep the legal cannabis industry largely a cash-only business. And Sen. Dianne Feinstein the committees high-ranking California Democrat has for years opposed the will of her states citizens and stood against both medical and adult-use legalization. Check back with us over the coming two days.Well keep rolling updates newest first. 2:39 With the hearing over letstake a minute to look into one of the more interesting claims Sessions made yesterday. Is the national crime rate in fact rising? As with all data context is everything. These graphs (below) posted in October 2016 by Politifact make it clear that violent crime and reported murders have declined dramatically since the early 1990s and have remained in a fairly stable and slight decline since 2000. There clearly wasan uptick in murders and violent crime during 2015 however. Whether that trend continues or proves to be a blip in an overall decline remains to be seen. But its a point fairly given to Sessions: Murders jumped from 14000 in 2014 to 16000 in 2015. Source: Politifact.com (Click image to enlarge)Source: Politifact.com (Click on image to enlarge) 2:02 Sounds like thats a wrap people. Thanks for joining us! 1:54 Attorney William Smith who has worked under Sessions dismisses those whove criticized Sessions on racial or other civil rights grounds. I doubt any of them have spent 30 minutesor 10 minutestalking to him Smith said. Hesclearly trying to humanize Sessions recalling how the AG nominee wouldgo to Dairy Queen and order a Heath-bar Blizzard heavy on the Heath. The lawyer concludes by promising that anyone who comes before Jeff Sessions will get equal justice. After 20 years of knowing Sen. Sessions he says I have not seen any racism [in him] because it does not exist. 1:52 Theres something to be said for Richmonds criticism of lumping black witnesses together and putting them last. This witness panel consists ofsix black men three of whom heartily support Sessionss confirmation and three of whom vehemently oppose it. Theyve been called in alternating order. 1:44 Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) calls out the hearings organizers for callingblack witnesses last likens it to being told to go to the back of the bus.The record should reflect my consternation at the unprecedented process that brought us here Richmond says. He then dives into harsh criticism of Sessionss record on racial justice. If he were in fact a champion for civil rights he asked wouldnt the civil rights community endorse his nomination instead of almost unanimously opposing it? Characterizations and revisionists histories are not the same things as facts Richmond says arguing that anysenator who votes to confirm him will be permanently marked as a co-conspirator in eroding hard-won civil rights protections. 1:42 Protesters cause a brief pause in the testimony. What the protestors are shoutingis mostly unintelligible over the livestream audio but members of the Congressional Black Caucus can be seenin the background nodding in apparent agreement. 1:34 US Rep. John Lewis a Georgia Democrat who risked his life in the name of racial equality during the civil rights era urges the confirmation of an attorney general who recognizes the need to fight ongoing discrimination. Weve made progress but were not there yet. Lewis says.It doesnt matter if Sessions smiles or sweet talks senators during these hearings he addsWe need someones whos going to stand up and speak out for the people who need help who are being discriminated against. 1:26 Willie Huntley an Alabama lawyer who was hired by Sessions as a federal prosecutor saysSessions will protect the rights of all Americans. When Sessions hired Huntley he said We ended up meeting for about three hours discussing football religion and family. During that meeting with him I got the feeling more and more that the allegations [of racism] being spread through the press werent true. At no time over the years theyve worked together has Sessionsdemonstrated racial insensitivity said Huntley who is black. 1:17 I know its exceptional for a senator to testify against another senator Sen. Booker a New Jersey Democrat begins. But he feels it appropriate because I will always choose conscience and country over tradition. So far Bookers testimony is centering on racial protections and efforts to tamp down discrimination. America was founded heralding not law and order but justice for all he says and critical to that is equal justice under the law. Sessions has not demonstrated a commitment to that. If confirmed Sessionswill be expected to defend the rights of women racial minorities voting rights and other interestsof equity Booker says. His record indicates that he wont. 1:12 Cory Booker is in the house. 1:06 And were back but only kind of. People are milling about. It seems whoevers in charge of livestreaming this thing decided to go on break and leave the camera rolling at about crotch level. Lots of butts. Much decorum. 12:55 While on break lets quickly tip our hats to US Sen. Rand Paul. In an interview Monday with the Washington Post the Republican from Kentuckysaid he tried to explain to Sessions thatdefending states rights would mean allowing cannabis legalization to proceed. Did it stick? Many conservatives believe in leaving states to themselves for the most part Paul said. Decisions like legalizing marijuana should be left up to states. Ive had that discussion with Sessions. I cant characterize what he said but I hope he wont interfere with legalization. He needs to answer that himself. This is not reassuring. 12:38 Were on recess until 1 p.m. EST everybody. Get yourselves a snack. 12:35 Asked about the importance of a politically independent attorney general former US Attorney General Michael Mukasey who held office from 2007 to 2009 notes that whileUS attorneys are political appointees their role upon taking office is to enforce federal law. This justifies public faith in law enforcement Mukaseysays. Taking actions that appearpolitically motivated on the other handundermines that faith. They have to recognize that as soon as they take the oath thats theyre charge. 12:17 Asked aboutSessionss handling ofvoting rights matters while attorney general of Alabama NAACP President Cornell Brooks replies that Based upon the record we have no reason to believe it would be a high priority for Sessions if he were confirmed as US attorney general. Brooks stresses that the NAACP acts in many ways as a partner with the Department of Justice on civil rights. But that he said presupposes the department is willing to see oppression. Swadhin: Sexual assault victims need to be able to trust the state. 11:24 Vermont Sen. Leahy asksAmita Swadhinto address the effect of an incoming President boasting about his ability and inclination to commit sexual assault. The majority of victims of sexual assault are assailed by people they know Swadhin says. Its already so hardfor survivorsto come forward because it means we have to testify against the people we put our trust in. So to be able to trust the state more than we fear our intimately known perpetrators we have to see people in control of the state take a hard line against sexual assault. With Trump we have an incoming President who may have actually engaged in sexual assault himself; its incredibly concerning. 11:15 Texas Sen. Cornyn raises an issue that probably everyone in the room can agree on. At least somewhat. He asks Canterbury of the Fraternal Order of Police about the rising problem of police being forced to deal with Americas refusal to address the issue of mental illness. Canterbury agrees. Theres very little assistance at the street level to deal with mental illness he says. Assessing and treating mentally ill individuals in the heat of a 911 call should not be the responsibility of the first responder. Its a huge issue for local and state officers. I dont know what were going to do to fix that. The community-based mental health facilities just are not there anymore. Mukasey: Attorney General could stop an FBI investigation into Russian election tampering. 11:03 Russia Putin and kompromatenter the morning. Sen. Orrin Hatch puts the question to Mike Mukasey attorney general under George W. Bush. Whats the proper response of the attorney general to an ongoing investigation that may involve the President? Mukasey says to pursue the investigation to its logical conclusion. Which is to say where the facts and the law lead. Hatch asks: Does the attorney general have the power to stop an investigation underway by the FBI? Mukasey: Yes. 10:44 Question is put to Civil Rights Commission member Kirsanow regarding the Marion Three case. Kirsanow defends Sessionss work on that case. Had a prosecutor not taken this [case] and pursued this there would have been some serious questions about his integrity. 10:06 Larry Thompson former US Attorney in Georgia has known Sessions for more than 30 years. Hes in favor of the guy. 10:00 David Cole chief counsel for the ACLU says he wouldnt hire Jeff Sessions if Sessionswere applying for a job as an intern. Fraternal Order of Police: Fully behind Sessions. 9:52 To see Canterbury the head of the nations largest police organization testifying in his South Carolina accent next to Cornell Brooks head of the NAACP is to witness one instance of the two Americas that exist today sitting side by side. Canterbury sees police under unfair metaphorical fire in the post-Ferguson age. Brooks sees peopleof color under literal fire from police officers in Ferguson and other communities across the nation. 9:51 Chuck Canterbury national president of the Fraternal Order of Police says he and his group the nations largest organization of police officers enthusiastically endorse Sessions who has been a true partner to law enforcement. 9:50 Cornell Brooks head of the NAACP testifies that his organization believes Sen. Sessionsis unfit to serve as attorney general. 9:49 Jayann Sepich the mother of a rape and murder victim speaks in favor of Sessions who assisted her effort to pass laws that allow the collection of DNA from people arrested for serious crimes. 9:48 Amita Swadhin a childhood sexual abuse survivor and leader in the fight against sexual abuse appears on behalf of rape and sexual assault survivors to ask you not to confirm Sen. Sessions as attorney general. Kirsanow: Civil Rights Commissioner. 9:47 Peter Kirsanow the longest-serving member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights defends Sessions against attacks that have Kirsanow says mischaracterized and distorted the nominees record. For those unfamiliar with Kirsanow a black conservative attorney from Cleveland the Washington Times has a pretty good profile here. It explains the mustache and the death stare. 9:46 Oscar Vasquez who arrived in the United States as as a child and an undocumented immigrant worked his way through Arizona State University joined the military served in Afghanistan and is now a U.S. citizen. He is against the Sessions nomination. 9:45 First up: Mike Mukasey who served as George W. Bushs final attorney general (2007-2009). Hes in favor of Sessions. Likes him. Qualified. 9:44 Looks like weve got a long lineup of witnesses ready to go. Theyre lined up pro-con pro-con pro-con. Well try to move through their opening statements quickly. 9:42 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse makes a statement declaiming the effort to push nominees into hearings before their background ethics checks have been completed. The ramming of unvetted nominees and the strategy of stacking hearings (todays marquee hearing is actually happening in another room where the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is considering Rex Tillerson for secretary of state) Whitehouse says creates an unfortunate new precedent in the Senate. 9:41am EST Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley Senate Judiciary Committee Chair opens the second day of hearings by announcing that the testimony of Sessions yesterday convinced me that he should be confirmed. We know Sen. Sessions is up front with you Grassley says. When he says he will do something he will do it. 9:31am EST Good morning! Now that America has increased its word powerkompromat cant wait to use it in conversationwere looking forward to a full day of fresh witnesses who will speak in favor of and against the nomination of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions for U.S. Attorney General. Yesterday Sessions deflected the few difficult questions put to him and he looks to be an easy lock for confirmation by the full Senate. We still have a day of witnesses ahead of us though including New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker whose appearance is highly anticipated. DAY TWO 6:14 Chuck Grassley mercifully calls the first days proceedings to a close. Thats it were done see you back here at 9:30am tomorrow morning. Remember to pack a lunch. Sen. Hirono: DOJ consent decrees matter. 5:51 Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono is emerging as one of the real ass kickers of this committee. After the award B.S. Hirono brings the hearing straight back to one of the most pressing serious issues in America today: Police actions and accountability. She asks Sessions about the DOJs ongoing consent decrees with 20 police departments around the United States. Consent decrees are agreements reached between DOJ and a police department that require the department to enact serious reforms following a pattern of abuse or other unconstitutional behavior. They are one of the few mechanisms available to cities and their citizens to force police reform. Sessions has spoken out in the past against consent decrees and his opposition to them gives you a hint about why so many police organizations and unions have lined up to support Sessions. Hirono asks Sessions: Will you uphold these decrees? Sessions says yes he will but then goes on about his worries that consent decrees create theimpression that the entire police departmentis not doing their work consistent with fidelitytofairness and the law. Which is an amazing statement to make. Because the purpose of consent decrees is to force police departments to improve after theyve been shown to in fact fail to do their work consistent with fidelity to fairness and the law. Sessionss main concern isnt for the citizens abused by their police officers. Its for the emotional well beingof the police officers who might feel a tiny bit ashamed about the consistent pattern of illegal actions taken bytheir department. For more on consent decrees see The Marshall Projects report here. 5:38 Chuck Grassley ends the silliness over the Horowitz award by grabbing the mic and saying in so many words: Look. Were senators. We all get dozens of bullshit awards every year we toss em in a storage locker somewhere outside of Sioux City and forget we even won them. Okay? Okay. 5:27 Wait what? How did David Horowitz enter the conversation?! Sen. Blumenthal accuses Sessions of accepting a 2014 award from the David Horowitz Freedom Center which is seen in some circles as being an anti-Muslim organization. Fun fact: Horowitz a famous leader of the New Left in the 1960s converted to the neoconservative cause in the 1980s. Funner fact: During the late 1980s Horowitz appeared alongside essayist Christopher Hitchens on Lewis Laphams PBS books show. The argument grew heated and continued in the hall after the show. The two men nearly came to blows. Hitchens ended it by spitting on Horowitz and storming out of the building. It was not The Hitchs finest moment. 5:17 Delaware Sen. Coons asks Sessions if he would be in favor of a national registry of Muslims. Sessions: No. I would not favor that. Not enjoying the Al Franken show. 4:57 Franken on fire! Okay heres the thing he says. Franken proceeds to school Sessions on the Voting Rights Act why it was necessary why its still necessary today and how Texas North Carolina and other states have and continue to actively work to suppress the African-American vote. Point Franken. 4:52 Franken rescues himselfby connecting his earlier statement to the problem of voter suppression which is often justified by claims of voter fraud without any evidence. A federal court recently ruled that this sort of operation in North Carolina specifically targeted African Americans with the goal of keeping them from voting. Sessions: You cannot create laws designed to prevent any class of citizens from exercising their right to vote. He says hes not familiar with the details of the ruling and the North Carolina law. Which if true is actually one of the most damning pieces of evidence against Jeff Sessions weve heard today. 4:49Oh save us Baby Jesus. Sen. Franken is back with his fact-checking seminar. Now hes asking Jeff Sessions to defend one of Donald Trumps factless statements. Which one? It doesnt really matter. There are so many. Basically it sounds like Franken is intent on proving that Donald Trump says untrue things. Which sadly at this point in American history is like observing that Donald Trump has funny hair. 4:45Sen. John Cornyn of Texas raises privacy and national security issues. Wants Sessions verbal commitment to put the safety and security of the American people first. This seems like a backhanded way of countering Patrick Leahys effort to exact a pledge from Sessions to follow the law when it comes to wiretapping phone records and data collection. Then confusingly Cornyn follows up with a question defending the Freedom of Information Act and the publics right to know. We understand nothing about John Cornyn. 4:32Sen. Klobuchar noting that Backpage.com shut down its adult advertising section yesterday asks Sessions about the problem of sex trafficking. Sessions says the fight against sex trafficking will be an importantpart of the Department of Justicespriorities and he looks forward to making a real impact on this abominable practice. 4:26Cruz snarkily challenges our friends in the media to cover the story of Sessions overseeing the prosecution of two KKK members in an Alabama murder case. Dude please. Google Jeff Sessions KKK murder case. Youll find page after page of links to coverage: Time WeeklyStandard DailyBeast CNN Fortune Washington Monthly The Atlantic The Hill Salon USA Today ABC News. How much more coverage can Cruzs friends in the media give this story? Ted Cruzs tie is more patriotic than yours. 4:23Ted Cruz reappears to commend the committees Democratic members for refraining fromasking Sessions difficult questions. Even Cruzs tie is offensive. Seriously. 4:18That sound you just heard were hundreds of millions of eyes popping upon hearing Jeff Sessions utter a defense of facts and truth: Truth is not sufficiently respected. Whether you voted for Trump or Clinton at this point it is ridiculous to argue that Trump did not gain votes and thus power from the dissemination of fake news on social media. And fake facts from the mouth of President-elect Trump himself. Senator please. 4:15Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse raises concerns about the targeting of Obama-era staff members of the Department of Justice. Sessions: To target people and demean them if they were fine public servants and carrying outthe law that would be wrong. 4:11Whether youre for him or against him one thingis emerging today: Jeff Sessions is a lock for confirmation. The only thing that could sink him now is an Anita Hill-size surprise witness. There are plenty of witnesses lined up for tomorrows hearing but none of that stature with that kind of bombshell. That we know of. 3:57Sen. Grassley gives everybody a 15-minute break. See you back here at 4:15. Were gonnarun out to Jiffy Lube andchange the awl in our car. 3:49Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana the newbie makes a joke about his name which is probably the bazillionth time hes made that joke. And its not a very good joke. Al Franken could punch it up in about ten seconds. Kennedy thinks hes going to be remembered as The Other John Kennedy but after today hes going to be remembered as that senator who takes the wordMuslim and tanglesit into Moose-limb. 3:44Sen. Feinstein asksabout a report in todays Washington Postabout some mineral rights Sessions owns in Alabama This gives Sessions the opportunity to pronounce the word oil as awl a number of times which is mildly pleasing. Otherwise nobody cares about the oil rights under a duck refuge in some backwater county in Alabama. 3:14Hatchs performance here sent a shock of memory through the old noggin. Yes as a matter of fact itwasOrrin Hatch who defended Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas against the testimony of Anita Hill way back in 1991. Let me see if I can find the video 3:13Sen. Orrin Hatch offers Sessions metaphorically a personal service that is best enjoyedin private among consenting adults. Good lord. Too bad Hatch is unable to muster the vigor to put difficult questions to a nominee appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. 3:13 MORE CANNABIS.Sen. Mike Lee follows up with a question about federalism. Weve seen new attention paid to it he says but in the limited area associated with marijuana. Did the way the Obama administration handled marijuana legalization sit well with you in terms of both federalism and the separation of powers. Did the DOJs decision to not prosecute cannabis sellers and consumers in legalized states contravene the understanding that Congress is the lawmaking body? Sessions responds: One obvious concern is that Congress has made the possession of marijuana in every state an illegal act. If that is not desired any longer Congress should pass a law to change it. Its not the attorney generals job to decide which laws to enforce. We should enforce the laws as effectively as we are able. This is correct in theory but in practice the Department of Justice has limited resources and its leaders decide which areas of law to emphasize and which cases to prosecute and which to ignore. That applies to federal cannabis laws just as much as it does to insider trading laws banking laws antitrust laws and other areas where large room for prosecutorial discretion exists. 3:08CANNABIS ALERT!Leahy gets to it: Regarding states rights. states have also voted on the issue of marijuana. Your own state of Alabama permits a derivative of marijuana known as CBD oil. Which is legal in Alabama but illegal under federal law.If you are confirmed as the nations chief law enforcement official you know we have very limited federal resources. Would you use our federal resources to investigate and prosecute sick people who are using marijuana in accordance with their state laws? Sessions answers: I wont commit to never enforcing federal law. But absolutely its a problem of resources for the federal government. The Department of Justice under Lynch and Holder set forth some policies they thought were appropriate regarding statesthat have legalized in some fashion. He added that there has been criticism of those policies some of them are truly valuable but fundamentally the criticism that I find legitimate is that they [the Cole memo guidelines] may not have been followed. Using judgment in how to handle these cases will be mine and I will do it in a fair and just way. Leahy: In the past you have called for the death penalty for second-time marijuana offenders. Sessions: That doesnt sound like something Id normally say. Leahy: Would you say thats not your view today? Sessions: That is not my view today. 3:01Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy appearing today in the role ofGrand Old Man of the Senate takes over. Sen. Leahy brought his sharp knives. He proceeds to show his junior colleagues how its done. (Al Franken take note.) 2:53Utah Sen. Mike Lee asks Sessions about the use of guidance documents. Will the Department of Justice use guidance documents as a matter of course? This is an important issue w/r/t cannabis legalization as the DOJs Cole memo issued by then-Attorney General Eric Holder allowed adult-use legalization to proceed in Colorado and Washington state. Aguidance document can be beneficial Sessions says. But aguidance document cannot amend the law. Bureaucrats do no have the ability to rewrite the law to make it say whattheyd like it to say. Congress makes the laws not the executive branch. 2:48Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono asks about immigration and abortion. The problem as I see it with Roe v. Wade is it denies people the right to enact the laws that they feel appropriate says Sessions. 2:06Oh Lordy. Ted Cruz is in the house. Sen. Cruz upon taking control of the microphone proceeds to show the nation exactly why he is famously the most hated member of the Senateamong his fellow senators. Cruz alone among the committee members uses the platform to grandstand and foment slamming all of his Democratic colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee for going along silently with the Obama administration when the White House disregarded the rule of law. Its a real stemwinder. The look on Jeff Sessions face is priceless. Its as if hes watching a full grown man burst into church and launch into a drunken rant against the pastor the choir director and every usher in attendance. For the record: Sen. Cruz does not appear to be drunk. 1:59 Were back! Invigorated by a hearty lunch Delaware Sen. Christopher Coons addresses Alabamas abysmal record of prisoner mistreatment including the use of chain gangs and the hitching post which is not used to tether horses up until the far too recent past. Sessions punts on the gruesome hitching post detail but says I think goodemployment of a prisoner is a healthy thing. He adds I do not favorthis kindof work referring to chain gangs. Coons also addresses Sessions opposition to sentencing reform despite clear evidence of the racial disparities inherent in things like mandatory minimums and three strikes laws. The nominee then alarmingly connects his claimed rise in crime with the idea that sentences are down 19 percent already. LUNCH BREAK 1:11Surprise move by Chairman Grassley who calls a quick 30-minute recess for lunch. Back here at 1:39 sharp people. Your tardy slips wont save you. 1:03Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona who will be played in the movie by Jeff Daniels softly asks about border security and puts in a plug for his states program on same. Nothing to see here. Moving on. 12:59 ParsonGrassley tells everyone that Sunday school will continue for another hour. (!!!) Well roll straight through to 2:09 then break for lunch then reconvene at 2:39. Apparently everyone on the committee will be dining at Jimmy Johns today. Freaky fast people. 12:50Sen. Franken (D-SNL) goes with the proven losing strategy known as Fact Check The Nominee To Death. Memo to Al: Itnever works. Franken tries to pin Sessions on his claim that he brought 20 to 30 civil rights cases as a US attorney. But there werent that many were there? Sessions laughs: It was extraordinarily difficult to get a record by checkingthe docket sheet by checkingexactly how many cases were involved.Water off a ducks back. Franken presses Sessions on his claim to have personally handled on voting rights cases and desegregation cases. Franken is technically correct here but politically its not a huge winner. It was 30 years ago and my memory was my support for those cases says the nominee. Point Sessions. The 99 percent of Americans who are neither lawyers nor fact checkers for The New Yorker will side with the Alabama gentleman on this one. 12:47Al Franken! Finally! The senator from Minnesota takes the mic. Ben Sasse pride of the corn state. 12:43Sen. Ben Sasse who gets our vote for the handsomest man in Nebraska asks Sessions whether there are instances in which it is appropriateto not enforce a certain law. If we had a CANNABIS ALERT alarm we could ring we would ring it now. But Sessions avoids that part of it preferring instead to apply the question to the issue of immigration. His answer was so vague and inconclusive that it failed to stick in any portion of anybodysbrain. We will have to move on. 12:41Just a reminder folks: Ted Cruz and Al Franken are both members of this committee and their turns on the mic should be coming up soon. So there may be greater entertainment ahead. 12:37Klobuchar is trying hard to pin Sessions on issues of concern re civil rights and voting rights but it seems like her ingrained Minnesota urge to politeness and civility prevents her from going full Ted Kennedy on her former colleague. To see how its done properly when required take a couple minutes and check out Kennedys successful effort to defeat Robert Borks Supreme Court nomination back in 1987. Sen. Klobuchar: Concerns over voter ID laws. 12:32Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar tries to put Sessions feet to the fire on the Voting Rights Act and voter ID laws that aimed at depressing the vote by people of color. Sessions punts to the usual theres going to be debate about that and says Congress and the courts must settle those issues. Of course the Department of Justice decides which cases to prosecute when there are Voting Rights Act violations. So it does fall under his responsibilities. I think voter ID laws properly drafted are OK Sessions says. 12:27Coming up on hour three of these hearings. Sessions like a great starting pitcher seems to only grow stronger in the later innings. Hes actually enjoying himself. Which isnt that surprising given the relatively soft nature of the questions. They havent been completely uncritical but nobodys grilled him with tough followups. Remember: Everyone on this Senate committee served with Sessions as their colleague on this very committee up until oh about seven hours ago. 11:38 Sen. DickDurbin (D-Ill.) addresses the nations drug laws for the first time today. Seven years ago he and Sessions co-sponsored the Fair Sentencing Act which reduced the outrageous disparity between sentencing guidelines for crack and powder cocaine. Durbin criticizes Sessions for not going further and pressing to have the act applied to people currently serving those outrageous sentences for crack. You said that so-called low level nonviolent offenders simply do not exist in the federal prison system says Durbin. They do exist Durbin insists. And they are continuing to suffer under those draconian drug laws. Sessions defends himself by saying that he doesnt want to upset finality in the justice system. 11:27 Sessions is asked about Guantanamo Bay. He answers: Its a safe place to keep prisoners. Weve invested a lot of money in that and it should be utilized in that fashion. Not sure that sunk economic cost is the best way to defend Gitmo but at least now we know his position. Meanwhile the mention of Gitmosparks a gallery shouter. Sessions revisits his water glass. 11:25 USSen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) takes the microphone to praise college football. Well played senator. Courage. 11:10 Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah makes it clear what really matters in his home state: Porn! He wants pornography treated as a public health issue. He tells Sessions he wants the Department of Justice to re-constitute a specific unit to prosecute obscenity laws. Sessions seems taken a little by surprise. He was unaware that DOJ had disbanded its obscenity flying squad. Presumably because nobody but Orrin Hatch pays attention to the pressing national crisis surrounding the lack of obscenity law prosecutions. 10:54 Sessions pledges to recuse himself from any potential investigation of Hillary Clinton her emails and the Clinton Foundation. 10:52 Sen.Grassley takes a shot at the Obama administration for failing to perform fundamental functions of law. Not sure if this is partly in reference to cannabis laws and the Cole memo. But it sure sounds like it. Sessions: Once passed I will do my dead level best to assure a law is fairly and properly enforced. 10:47 Sen. Grassley asks Sessions if hes going to be Trumps wingman. Well? Are ya? Sessions: No. Grassley:Will you be able to stand up and say no to the President of the United Statesif the law and your duty demands it? Sessions says he will. 10:41 Sessions directly addressed the Marion Three controversy. These are false charges he says. The voter fraud case was in response to please from African Americans. As to the KKK Sessions says he abhors the group and its hateful ideology and points to his work on a KKK murder case which ended in a life sentence for one Klan member and a death sentence for another. 10:30 The nominee hits a number of notes that lay out his priorities. Illegal drugs flood across our southern border bringing violence addiction and mayhem. Police officers across the nation find themselves unfairly maligned and blamed for the unacceptable actions of a few bad actors. Morale has suffered. Last year the number of police officers killed in the line of duty increased by 10percent over 2015. Local law enforcement officers must know theyre supported by the federal government. Strengthening federal-local police ties and relationships will be one of my priority objectives. Pledges to protect Americans from the scourge of radical Islamic terrorism thereby formally using the contentious phrase. 10:29 Sessions raises something that sounds like it will be a theme of his this week: a rise in the national crime rate. A four percent increase in all crime he says. Murders increasing 11 percent with outrageous numbers of shooting victims in Chicago and Baltimore. The country is also in the throes of a heroin epidemic he says. 10:27 Another gallery shouter. Another pause and sip. Could be a lot of hydration going on this morning. 10:26 Sessions is interrupted by a gallery shouter. No Trump no KKK! Security takes care of it. Sessions calmly pauses takes a sip of water. 10:22 Microphone backon. Sessions introduces rest of his family. He has children and grandchildren. They look like fine people. Sessions declares that he is proud of his grandchildren. Sounds like they all had a great time at the beach this summer. Moves on to politics. Notes that every major law enforcement group has endorsed him. 10:21 Sessions begins by introducing his family. His microphone is not working. A senate staff audio-visual technician is about to get fired. 10:20 Jeff Sessions arrives for his opening statement. Youve seen him. The man looks like a delightful elvin grandfather. Hes rocking a beautiful gray suit a red tie and snowy white hair. 10:15 Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) takes the baton from Shelby. She likes Sessions as a trusted collegue and personally as a good friend. Vouches for him as a person of integrity a principled leader and a dedicated public servant. 10:01 Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby formally introduces Sessions. Tells his hometown story. Its heartwarming. 9:55 Feinstein makes first mention of the Marion Three case. Much more of that to come later in the day. Good backgrounder on the casein The Nation. 9:50 Sen. Dianne Feinstein expresses many reservations. The attorney general must put aside loyalty to the President;. He must assure that the law and the Constitution comes first and foremost period. 9:31am EST Sen. Chuck Grassley rocking his inimitable 1920s parson style gets the party started. The committee chairman assures everyone that there is no set closing time.Im prepared to stay here as long as members have questions theyd like to ask he says. Not sure if this is reassuring or ominous. Grassley makes it clear that hes a friend of Jeff Sessions and intends to move him through the confirmation hearing quickly and cleanly. Were here today to review the character and the qualifications of a colleague who has served alongside us in the Senate for twenty years. We know him well. Sessions says Grassley is wonderful to work with. We know him to be a man of his word. Grassley makes a point of mentioning Sessions role in prosecuting a KKK member for murder. The Atlantic has a good backgrounder on that here. Ben Adlin Ben Adlin is an editor at Leafly who specializes in politics and the law. The post Were Watching the Jeff Sessions Confirmation Hearings So You Dont Have To appeared first on Leafly. by Ben Adlin at Leafly