Senate confirmation hearings begin for Obama AG nominee

Senate confirmation hearings begin for Obama AG nominee

Lynch faces first day of confirmation hearing

Loretta Lynch, President Obama’s nominee to replace Attorney General Eric Holder, faced her first day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Currently, Lynch is serving as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. She was nominated by the president in November 2014 and, upon recommendation to the full Senate, will need to be approved by a simple majority of 51 votes in accordance with the “Advise and Consent” provisions in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution.

The 64-year-old native of North Carolina earned both her bachelor’s and law degrees from Harvard University and has served as a prosecutor for most of her career. She also volunteered for two years advising prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the genocide in Rwanda. If confirmed, she will be the first African-American woman to hold the top law enforcement job in the country.

Lynch was nominated while the Democrats were still in control of the Senate and committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has denied that her confirmation was delayed to after the January swearing-in of the newly elected Republican majority. “She’ll receive a fair but thorough hearing. And I expect that she’ll be forthright in return.”

The Judiciary Committee is comprised of twenty members and many of the Obama administration’s toughest critics are members, including Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), David Vitter (R-LA) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL). Lynch has received support from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) who called her, “… tough, hard-working and independent,” going on to call her qualifications “beyond reproach.”

A recent Department of Justice review of Lynch gave her high marks for management skills while identifying responsiveness to public records requests made under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as an area for improvement.

The Committee’s focus during the confirmation hearing will no doubt include Lynch’s stance on immigration, IRS targeting of citizens, her ability to act independently as the head of the Department of Justice with regard to the contempt citation of outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder, state legalization of marijuana in violation of federal law, the use of drone strikes on U.S. citizens, and perhaps most critically what has been called “presidential over-reach” by Obama’s use of executive actions, particularly with respect to immigration.

One area of Lynch’s record that may be a source of contention is her support of the use of civil forfeitures, the method by which federal agencies are allowed to seize bank accounts and assets of individuals or entities absent a conviction by the court. The practice is legal, but has been criticized as an abuse of due process. The U.S. Justice Department reported that Lynch’s office collected more than $113 million in civil forfeiture seizures from 2011-2013 and in November, following her nomination, the Wall Street Journal called her “an enthusiastic grabber of private assets.”

On Wednesday, some of the most heated questioning came from Sen. Cruz who asked Lynch to answer “yes or no” whether it is constitutional for the government kill a U.S. citizen by drone strike absent imminent threat. Lynch did not provide a one-word reply, as asked, and Cruz pointed out that Eric Holder had also failed to answer the same question.

Under questioning from Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), a vocal critic of President Obama’s immigration policies, Lynch said she found compelling legal support for the president to unilaterally issue work permits for those who had entered the country illegally.

Lynch received praise from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Orin Hatch (R-UT) told her, “I’m impressed with your qualifications, and I hope I can support your nomination. If you remain independent of the White House, I think you’ll be a great attorney general.”

Giving voice to concerns that the president had nominated someone in the same mold as Eric Holder, whose notable disdain of Congress led to him being the first Attorney General to be held in contempt of Congress, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) asked Lynch, “How do we know you are not going to perform your duties as attorney general the way Eric Holder performed his duties?” Lynch answered, “I will be myself. I will be Loretta Lynch.”

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