Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) may have succeeded a Heflin for Alabama’s spot in the U.S. Senate, but he isn’t from a town called Heflin.
In a segment that aired last month on CNN multiple times shortly after President-elect Donald Trump announced Sessions would be his pick to fill the attorney general post in his cabinet, network correspondent Gary Tuchman visited Heflin, AL and it was identified as Sessions’ “hometown.”
According to his U.S. Senate website, Sessions was born in Selma, AL and grew up in Hybart, AL. When back in Alabama, he spends a lot of his time in Mobile, AL.
None of those places, however, are within 150 miles of Heflin, AL.
Heflin is situated near Alabama-Georgia state line and is the first town people traveling from Atlanta, GA, home of CNN’s world headquarters, to Birmingham, AL and points beyond on Interstate 20.
Breitbart News reached out to CNN for comment, but has not received a response.
In the segment, Tuchman pressed Heflin residents on Sessions’ past and how they viewed Trump’s other picks at the time, retired Gen. Michael Flynn for National Security Adviser and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) to lead the CIA.
Transcript as follows:
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In tiny Heflin, Alabama, the cabinet nomination of Alabama’s own Jeff Sessions is the talk of the town.
JEFF SESSIONS, FORMER UNITED STATES SENATOR: I was surprised but glorified. I’m just overjoyed with it. I think he’s going to do us a great job.
TUCHMAN: Heflin, the county seat of Cleburne County, is where we came to talk about Sessions and other Trump cabinet nominees.
As of now it’s been all white men named to be cabinet, is that OK with you?NANCY BINION, ALABAMA VOTER: It is, yes.
TUCHMAN: But would you like to see a woman if she’s qualified?
BINION: I would. Yes, I would.
TUCHMAN: But not necessarily if everyone’s qualified they are all white men, that’s OK with you?
BINION: It is.
WANDA SMITH, ALABAMA VOTER: I’m not a feminist. So it doesn’t matter with me one way or the other as long as they know how to do their job.
TUCHMAN: 88 percent of Cleburne County voters cast their ballots for Donald Trump. So they are loyal to him as well as Sessions. But we had questions. Jeff sessions in 1986 wanted to be a federal judge.
PATRICK GRIZZARD, ALABAMA VOTER: Yes.
TUCHMAN: He was rejected by a Republican committee because of racially charged comments he made. He called the NAACP, the ACLU communist inspired, un-American. Do you think that should disqualify him?
GRIZZARD: No. Because 30 years ago that was something common for somebody to say.
TUCHMAN: If he said something hike that more recently, few years ago or last year, would you think that would be enough to disqualify him?
GRIZZARD: Yes.
BINION: 30 years ago, I went to an all-white school or maybe longer than 30 years. But when I was in high school I went to an all-white school (INAUDIBLE) all black school. I was all for that because I didn’t know any better.
TUCHMAN: So if you did know any better back then?
BINION: Well, there’s a chance he didn’t.
TUCHMAN: If he made those comments today or a few years ago —
BINION: (INAUDIBLE) that would bother me. Yes, it would.
TUCHMAN: And what about the nominee for national security adviser, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn?
MICHAEL FLYNN, RETIRED ARMY LIEUTENANT GENERAL: Lock her up. That’s right.
TUCHMAN: Who was a fiery in controversial advocate for Trump on the campaign trail. He in the past has talked about Islam and he said Islam definitely hides behind being a religion. It’s a political ideology did that trouble you?
AMANDA JOHNSON, ALABAMA VOTER: I don’t think that’s true. That might be his opinion, but I don’t think it’s true.
TUCHMAN: So does it bother you, should that disqualify him from being the national security adviser?
TUCHMAN: He’s acknowledged making those comments.
JOHNSON: Well, maybe he knows a heck of a lot more about it than I do.
TUCHMAN: And then there’s the other nominee of the day Congressman Mike Pompeo for CIA chief. A few talk to know much about him but this woman feels the congressman may not have the proper experience to run the CIA. Does that trouble you?
CAROLYN LIMON, ALABAMA VOTER: A little yes, sir. If they don’t have the experience, yes.
TUCHMAN: I mean, but Donald Trump picked him.
LIMON: Yes. Well, I might — we can’t agree with everything he does.
TUCHMAN: But in this small town there seems to be a general agreement that the presidential transition is going just fine. Do you think there are some people in this country, the political establishment, the news media who just don’t get?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They never had it. I’m serious.
TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Heflin, Alabama.
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