Former Democrat U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman (CT) urged members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote to confirm Sen. Jeff Sessions as the next Attorney General of the United States in a letter stating that his former colleague would be “a principled, fair, and capable Attorney General.”
Lieberman remarked that he and Sessions have often disagreed on issues but successfully worked together in the sixteen years they served in the U.S. Senate.
The former Connecticut senator cited the Heroes Act (Public Law No. 109-13), which expanded death benefits for the families of fallen combat personnel from $12,000 to $100,000 and increased the Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance (SGLI) from $250,000 to $400,000.
Lieberman called Sessions honorable, trustworthy, smart, a good lawyer and “…a thoughtful and open minded listener.”
In the letter Lieberman encouraged members of the committee to judge Sessions on the totality of his life’s work while giving greater weight to more recent behavior.
Lieberman pointed to Sessions’ 2009 vote to confirm President Barack Obama’s Attorney General nominee Eric Holder and offered Judiciary Committee members the measure he used for voting to confirm a Presidential nomination during his 24 years in the Senate. “…When I had to decide whether to advise and consent to a controversial Presidential nomination, I tried to remember that the question was not whether I would nominate that person, because that is the President’s singular right and responsibility. The question is whether I could conclude that the nominee would carry out the responsibilities of the particular office for which he was nominated at that particular time.”
The Judiciary Committee is holding hearings on the confirmation of Sessions over Tuesday and Wednesday. President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Sessions very shortly after winning the presidential election, on November 18
Lieberman’s letter in full is included here:
Senator Lieberman Support Letter by Breitbart News on Scribd
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