Department of Justice

The Sessions Confirmation Hearing: The Best Tweets So Far

Yes, that happened.

By Kathryn Rubino on January 10, 2017 3:13 pm

Too busy at work to tune into the Jeff Sessions confirmation hearing? Or maybe your rising blood pressure just makes tuning in ill-advised. No fear! We’ve got you covered with a round-up of the moments — and Tweets — you don’t want to miss.

The voting rights act, the KKK, and racism were recurring themes in the confirmation hearing of Senator Jeff Sessions. And that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise — after all, that’s the issue that kept him from the federal judiciary in 1986. Right from the start there were chanting protestors, dressed for the occasion:

But they were media savvy:

Jeff Sessions confronted the allegations head-on, condemning the “caricature” of him from 1986 as “damnably false”:

And during Lindsey Graham’s questioning, Sessions got an opportunity to talk about his feelings on being called a racist. Yes, that happened.

The Voting Rights Act was also discussed, not substantively, mind you, but it was enough for folks to mine Sessions’s history on the law:

But not everyone is convinced by the Sessions dance moves on the subject:

This transitions neatly into voter ID laws, an area ripe for burns:

A notable moment — especially for those still hopeful a Trump administration will “lock her [Hillary Clinton] up — was when Sessions said he’d recuse himself from any Clinton investigation:

After all, the US should try to avoid the appearance of a banana republic:

Al Franken’s questioning of Sessions was the most contentious of the hearing.

Specifically, Sessions’s taking credit for cases in which he signed filings, but may not have been involved in the daily work, was questioned.

Senator Franken repeatedly noted he wasn’t a lawyer, but he knows resume padding when he sees it.

A fun moment was when Senator Sasse went off on how “confusing” executive orders have become:

Nuance can be a challenge for children and Senators alike.

The letter 1,400 law professors signed objecting to Sessions nomination also got a shout out:

The answer, inevitably, will be yes.

Sessions was also questioned about Roe v. Wade, marriage equality, and the Violence Against Women Act. The theme of his comments seems to be something along the lines of “I don’t like the law, but I’ll follow it” — and not everyone is convinced:

Not that too much comfort can be drawn from that stance:

https://twitter.com/jbarro/status/818844022009712640

The best law school moment happened curtesy of Senator Lee, a nice RAP reference:

But in all this chatter, let’s not ignore the wisdom of the one, the only, Axl Rose:

headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).