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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Jeff Sessions

Jeff Sessions stories: 20 news summaries

 Holder on 9/11 Trial: 
 'We Need Not Cower' 

AG defends decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York

Nov 18, 09 10:22 AM CST
(Newser) - Republicans grilled Eric Holder on Capitol Hill today, criticizing his decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in civilian court. But Holder offered a forceful rebuttal, saying, “We need not cower in the face of this enemy. Our institutions are strong and our people are ready.” He added that... More »

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Senate Judiciary Committee • Jeff Sessions • Khalid Sheikh Mohammed • civilian law • Eric Holder • Khalid Sheikh Mohammed trial

 Sotomayor Oath to Be Televised 

Republicans feel they have dealt a blow to judicial empathy

Aug 7, 09 5:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor will be sworn in to the Supreme Court on national television tomorrow morning, marking the first time the judicial oath administration has been broadcast, the Washington Post reports. The ceremony will take place at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, following the practice of Samuel Alito, who broke... More »

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Jeff Sessions • empathy • US Supreme Court • judicial nominations • Obama administration • President Obama • Sonia Sotomayor

(Newser) - Senate Republicans locked arms against Sonia Sotomayor yesterday … or would have, if they’d bothered to stay for the Judiciary Committee’s vote. Instead, half ducked out, leaving Jeff Sessions to repeat “No by proxy,” over and over, writes Dana Milbank in the Washington Post. It was... More »

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Samuel Alito • John Roberts • Senate Judiciary Committee • Jeff Sessions • partisanship • Orrin Hatch • Charles Grassley • Senate confirmation hearings • Lindsey Graham • confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • Dana Milbank • Sonia Sotomayor

(AP) - The Senate Judiciary Committee today put off its vote on Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination for one week, to July 28, after Republicans asked for a delay. Chairman Patrick Leahy says he is disappointed the Republicans held up the committee's action, but predicts Sotomayor will join the Supreme Court in... More »

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Jeff Sessions • Patrick Leahy • Senate confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor

analysis

Blame Everyone Involved for Shallow Sotomayor Hearings

Dems go lightly; GOP eyes history outside of court

Jul 20, 09 8:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - With Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation a virtual certainty and her appointment unlikely to change the direction of the Supreme Court, last week's toothless hearings held few surprises. Except, that is, for observers who were hoping the Senate Judiciary Committee would press for substantive Q-and-A, Joan Biskupic writes for USA Today.... More »

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Senate Democrats • Senate Judiciary Committee • Jeff Sessions • Senate Republicans • Patrick Leahy • justice • confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor

(AP) - Republicans cleared the way today for a Senate vote next month to confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, placing her firmly in line to become the first Hispanic justice. "I look forward to you getting that vote before we recess in August," said Jeff Sessions, the senior Republican... More »

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Senate Judiciary Committee • GOP • Jeff Sessions • Senate Republicans • vote • nominee • confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor

analysis

These Hearings Are All About the Next Nominee


Jul 15, 09 9:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - Three days, no bombshells: Sonia Sotomayor is a done deal for the Supreme Court. The humdrum proceedings still have value, however, write Peter Baker and Charlie Savage in the New York Times. It's all about the next nominee, and that could be a much bigger fight. If nothing else, Republicans... More »

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Jeff Sessions • Senate confirmation hearings • nominee • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor

Confirmation hearings

 Sotomayor: 
 Roe v. Wade 
 Is 'Settled Law' 


Jul 14, 09 12:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Questioning is under way on Day 2 of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings, and there has already been much talk of New Haven firefighters and wise Latina women. Asked about that infamous quote early on, Sotomayor replied, “I want to state upfront, unequivocally… I do not believe that any racial... More »

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Jeff Sessions • Patrick Leahy • Senate confirmation hearings • confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor • Ricci v. DeStefano

(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation is in the bag, but this week's hearings have a real value, writes Eugene Robinson: They are exposing the Republican Party's "refusal to accept the basic principle of diversity." For the Washington Post columnist, the anger surrounding the judge's "wise Latina" remark rests... More »

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Senate Judiciary Committee • Jeff Sessions • Senate confirmation hearings • confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • white men • Sonia Sotomayor • Latina

(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor has wrapped up the first session of what promises to be a successful but contentious confirmation process. Patrick Leahy opened today's hearing by expressing hope Sotomayor would be spared racial attacks. “She has been a judge for all Americans,” the Senate Judiciary Committee chair said. “... More »

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Jeff Sessions • Patrick Leahy • Senate confirmation hearings • empathy • confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor

(Newser) - The White House is working hard to ensure an easy confirmation for Sonia Sotomayor, with John Roberts' perfect-10 testimony as a model. Will she sail through? Politico lists six things to watch.
  1. That 'wise Latina' remark. Republicans are obsessed with it, and she needs to explain it without
... More »

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Senate Judiciary Committee • Arlen Specter • Jeff Sessions • George HW Bush • Senate confirmation hearings • confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor • Herb Kohl

GOP to Target Sotomayor With Gun Questions

Ruling in favor of gun control laws could rankle red state Dems

Jun 25, 09 10:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - Republicans, who've failed to get traction in opposing Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court, finally think they have an issue that might stick: gun control. When the high court struck down Washington’s tough gun control laws as unconstitutional, many wondered if the ruling applied to state laws as... More »

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gun control • Senate Judiciary Committee • Jeff Sessions • Senate confirmation hearings • confirmation hearings • Second Amendment • Sonia Sotomayor

(Newser) - Newt Gingrich today backed off his remark that Sonia Sotomayor is a “Latina woman racist,” the Boston Globe reports. When he heard the Supreme Court nominee’s now-infamous “wise Latina” soundbite, “my initial reaction was strong and direct,” he wrote in his blog today on... More »

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Newt Gingrich • Republican • Jeff Sessions • racist • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor • Latina

(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor made her first trip to Capitol Hill today, and had heart-to-hearts with Harry Reid and assorted members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, explaining the “wise Latina” remark that has drawn so much attention to chairman Patrick Leahy, Politico reports. Though everyone has a different background, the Supreme... More »

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Senate • Harry Reid • Senate Judiciary Committee • Mitch McConnell • Jeff Sessions • Patrick Leahy • nominee • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor

Analysis

Sotomayor Vote Carries Risks for These Senators

Judiciary committee members share spotlight with nominee

May 28, 09 9:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation looks likely, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some drama between here and there. Politico runs down which senators have the most to win—and the most to lose:  
  • Patrick Leahy: Facing his first nominee as judiciary chairman, Leahy’s
... More »

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Senate • Senate Democrats • Senate Judiciary Committee • Arlen Specter • Jeff Sessions • Senate Republicans • Patrick Leahy • Charles Grassley • Senate confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • US Senate • Sonia Sotomayor

Sotomayor
Aced 2 Previous Senate Hearings

Tough questioning from GOP didn't faze court nominee

May 28, 09 8:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are still debating how tough they'll be at Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, but as the Washington Post reports, the Supreme Court nominee doesn't buckle under pressure. In the long-delayed 1997 hearing that elevated her to the Second Circuit, Sotomayor survived a GOP grilling on... More »

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Jeff Sessions • Senate confirmation hearings • US Circuit Court of Appeals • nominee • confirmation hearings • US Supreme Court • Sonia Sotomayor

For Sessions, Confirmation Hearings May Feel Familiar

Specter's far right replacement once rejected by same committee

May 6, 09 10:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Even if Al Franken is seated, President Obama's Supreme Court nominee isn't guaranteed an easy confirmation process. The reason is Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican who inherited Arlen Specter's seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The fiery Sessions knows the committee well: It blocked his bid to become a federal... More »

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Senate Judiciary Committee • Arlen Specter • Jeff Sessions • racism • Senate confirmation hearings • nominee • US Supreme Court • US District Court • President Obama

Dems Stoked Over GOP's Judiciary Pick

Accusations of racial insensitivity continue
to dog Sessions

May 6, 09 8:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - Democrats are hoping Arlen Specter’s replacement on the Senate Judiciary Committee, a white Southerner with a history of racial provocation, will help paint the Republican image into a corner, Politico reports. As the GOP’s chief questioner of President Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee, Jeff Sessions will “... More »

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race • Senate Judiciary Committee • Jeff Sessions • US Supreme Court • justices

Immigration Bill Fans, Foes Take to Airwaves

Senators launch
PR offensive in run-up to crucial vote

Jun 24, 07 1:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - This week's debate over the immigration bill, which is headed for a nail-bitingly close Senate vote, started on the Sunday talk shows. The improbable coalition behind the legislation—which President Bush supports—faces a tough job, Jeff Sessions made clear. The Alabama Republican vowed to "use every effort to... More »

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immigration reform • Trent Lott • Ted Kennedy • Jeff Sessions • George W. Bush

Bush Lobbies for Immigration Bill

President pushes fellow Republicans to push legislation

Jun 12, 07 3:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Bush took the unusual step of climbing Capitol Hill today to pressure members of his own party on the stalled immigration bill. After a lunch meeting with GOP senators, CNN reports, the president warned that passing the signature legislation of his second term will take "a lot of... More »

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immigration • Republican • immigration reform • Senate • Harry Reid • Mitch McConnell • Jeff Sessions • George W. Bush

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