U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley announced on December 21 that he will continue to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee in the new Congress. In doing that job, his priorities will be “the hearings and confirmation process on executive branch nominations to the Department of Justice, starting with United States Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions. The committee will also receive and process the nomination of a new Supreme Court justice. Grassley plans to focus on reforming the federal criminal justice system, conducting rigorous oversight of the FBI and Justice Department, ensuring the immigration laws are enforced, working to keep competition in the prescription drug market, reining in excessive government regulations, and protecting whistleblowers and the tools used to root out fraud against the federal government.”
Sessions can expect a less than “rigorous” vetting when Grassley’s committee takes up his nomination next month.
Within hours of President-elect Donald Trump announcing his choice for the country’s chief law enforcement officer, Grassley praised Sessions as “a respected member and former Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee who has worked across the aisle on major legislation. He knows the Justice Department as a former U.S. attorney, which would serve him very well in this position. With this background, I’m confident he would be reported favorably out of the committee.”
Not only does Grassley expect his committee to support their longtime colleague, he promised last month not to allow this confirmation process to resemble the Senate’s consideration of John Ashcroft for attorney general in 2001. Grassley characterized those hearings as a “reckless campaign that snowballed into an avalanche of innuendo, rumor and spin.” He wants to begin hearings on Sessions on January 10 and wrap them up the following day, having called only a small number of outside witnesses.
The incoming ranking Democrat on Judiciary, Senator Dianne Feinstein, has been sparring with Grassley over that timetable. Asking the chairman for more time so committee staff can “do the due diligence,” Feinstein noted that Sessions has submitted “in excess of 150,000 pages of material,” which is “more than 100 times what Attorney General [Loretta] Lynch produced (1500 pages) and more than 29 times what Attorney General [Eric] Holder produced (5100 pages).”
Grassley has countered that “only a small percentage of the material [on Sessions] was not already publicly available.” He suspects Senate Democrats are seeking “delay for delay’s sake, rather than a thorough review of a colleague’s character and qualifications.” I enclose below the relevant news releases and correspondence between Grassley and Feinstein.
Senators have rarely rejected one of their own for a cabinet position, so Trump should get the attorney general he wants. Only a couple of his nominees are likely to run into any real trouble in the GOP-controlled Senate: Rex Tillerson for secretary of state because of his close ties to the Russian president and Russian business entities, and James Mattis for defense secretary because he does not meet legal requirements for the job.
In an ideal world, senators would save the country from the “disruptive” Michael Flynn, prone to “dubious assertions” and conspiracy theories and a belief that he is always right. But alas, the position of national security adviser is not subject to Senate confirmation, so Americans face the frightening prospect of Trump relying on someone as volatile as he is for advice on some of the most dangerous challenges he will face as president.
Senator Chuck Grassley press release, December 21:
Grassley Retains Seats on Judiciary, Finance, Agriculture and Budget Committees
WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today said he will keep his seats on the Senate Judiciary, Finance, Agriculture and Budget Committees in the 115th Congress. It is expected he will also retain his position as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Republican leadership alerted senators of committee assignments.
“The start of a new Congress and new administration means big changes for the country. These committees have broad jurisdiction that will continue to be helpful in serving the best interests of Iowans. I hope to continue my good working relationship with Senator Feinstein, who will become Ranking Member on the Judiciary Committee,” Grassley said. “As the Senate processes nominees in a new administration, opens up work on a new farm bill, and begins work on health care and tax overhauls, I will continue to focus on issues important to Iowans.”
As expected Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Grassley will lead the hearings and confirmation process on executive branch nominations to the Department of Justice, starting with United States Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions. The committee will also receive and process the nomination of a new Supreme Court justice. Grassley plans to focus on reforming the federal criminal justice system, conducting rigorous oversight of the FBI and Justice Department, ensuring the immigration laws are enforced, working to keep competition in the prescription drug market, reining in excessive government regulations, and protecting whistleblowers and the tools used to root out fraud against the federal government.
As a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, depending on what the committee takes up, Grassley could be an influential voice in replacing the Affordable Care Act to make health care coverage more affordable and in overhauling the federal tax code to make taxes fair and easier to administer for individuals, families, companies and small businesses. Tax reform should increase job creation and economic growth. It should treat renewable energy tax provisions on the same footing with tax provisions that benefit other forms of energy, such as oil, gas and nuclear. Grassley also plans to continue his oversight of high prescription drug prices, including proper adherence with drug pricing under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program.
On the Senate Agriculture and Budget Committees, Grassley, a family farmer, brings real-world experience to making agriculture policy. Grassley will play a major role in the development of a new farm bill in the next Congress. The Budget Committee will draft the budget plans for Congress.
Senator Dianne Feinsten press release, December 9:
Feinstein to Grassley: Sessions Nomination Materials Incomplete, Allow Sufficient Time for Review
Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) noting that the required nomination materials for Senator Jeff Sessions are incomplete and calling for more time to review his “voluminous” record.
Feinstein also noted that past nominations have required extensive materials from third parties and called on Chairman Grassley to allow enough time to acquire and review those documents.
Full text of the letter follows:
December 9, 2016
Dear Chairman Grassley,
Thank you for your call this evening regarding the nomination of Senator Sessions for Attorney General and timing of his hearings next Congress.
During our conversation you indicated a desire to begin the hearings on January 10th. Prior to this call, I have repeatedly stressed the need to obtain a full record as well as time to review the documents.
While I recognize the history of timing between receiving documents and holding a hearing, unfortunately, the records we had received as of 8:10 p.m. Friday night were not complete. For example, documents responsive to the question 12(d) requiring the production of all speeches or talks that he has delivered were not delivered. We anticipate these documents will be voluminous.
In addition, there may be relevant material in the possession of third parties. As you know, during the consideration of Attorney General Holder’s nomination, materials were sought from other sources – including the Clinton Presidential Library and Department of Justice – to assess Attorney General Holder’s record.
I am more than happy to abide by the precedent of having the time run on when to have a hearing as soon as the production of materials is complete. In order to have a full and fair process, we must have all the documents responsive to the Committee questionnaire. I intend to engage in that process fully, along with the current Ranking Member, and urge that we are able to have the time needed to perform our due diligence.
Sincerely,
Dianne Feinstein
Feinstein press release of December 13 (emphasis in original):
Feinstein: More Time Needed to Review Sessions Nomination Documents
Asks Chairman Grassley to join request for missing information
Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today renewed her call on Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to allow enough time for committee staff to review the more than 150,000 pages of records relevant to the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general.
Feinstein also called on Grassley to join her in calling on Sessions to provide the committee with information and documents missing from the questionnaire he submitted Friday evening.
“First, Senator Sessions’ production is, as I understand it, in excess of 150,000 pages of material. This is more than 100 times what Attorney General Lynch produced (1500 pages) and more than 29 times what Attorney General Holder produced (5100 pages). I am sure you would agree that staff must have sufficient time to do the due diligence on any nominee for this vital position—and this due diligence will likely take longer than the review for recent, prior nominees who had less materials to analyze,” Feinstein wrote.
The letter continued: “Second, despite being voluminous, Senator Sessions’ production appears to have been put together in haste and is, on its face, incomplete.”
Full text of the letter follows:
December 13, 2016
Dear Chairman Grassley:
I write to follow up on my letter about the scheduling of the confirmation hearing for Senator Sessions. Over the weekend, my staff took a first look at the questionnaire and materials that Senator Sessions produced Friday evening after business hours.
Upon initial review, two things have become clear. First, Senator Sessions’ production is, as I understand it, in excess of 150,000 pages of material. This is more than 100 times what Attorney General Lynch produced (1500 pages) and more than 29 times what Attorney General Holder produced (5100 pages). I am sure you would agree that staff must have sufficient time to do the due diligence on any nominee for this vital position—and this due diligence will likely take longer than the review for recent, prior nominees who had less materials to analyze.
Second, despite being voluminous, Senator Sessions’ production appears to have been put together in haste and is, on its face, incomplete. For example:
Questionnaire Page 10: In response to a question calling for his role in any political campaign and requiring him to state “the particulars of the campaign, including the candidate, dates of the campaign, your title and responsibilities,” Senator Sessions notes he has been “active in the Republican Party” but only specifically identifies Richard Nixon, Perry Hooper, Sr., Donald J. Trump, and himself. He then gives a shorthand response that is not responsive to the question. 1
Numerous speeches: While producing many of his speeches, it appears Senator Sessions has failed to provide the Committee with numerous speeches, including many given on behalf of then-candidate Donald Trump. These events, which happened only very recently, obviously are highly relevant to Senator Sessions’ ability and intent to serve as an independent Attorney General. It also appears there are other missing speeches, such as a speech at an event called “Restoration Weekend” from 2003 and a speech at a Federation for American Immigration Reform event in 2007.
Given the lengthy public life that Senator Sessions has led, it is not surprising that he and his staff have had great difficulty in providing a complete submission to the committee on the accelerated timetable that has been set forth. But that does not in any way lessen this committee’s obligation to obtain a full record and completed response to its questionnaire for a nomination to the highest law enforcement position in our government. The integrity of this committee’s process is a vital component of checks and balances in our government.
I would request that you join me in asking Senator Sessions in the coming days to submit the completed questions with all the required attachments.
Sincerely,
Dianne Feinstein
1 Specifically, Senator Sessions stated: “I have generally endorsed Alabama Republicans running for the House of Representatives and Senate in the general elections. I have endorsed many Republicans running for election and re-election to the United States Senate, House, and other offices.”
Grassley press release, December 13:
Grassley Statement on Sessions Nomination to be Attorney General
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley released the following statement regarding the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General.
“The materials provided to the committee by Senator Sessions are in large part public documents that anyone can find on his official Senate website. It’s information that’s been publicly available, in some instances, for twenty years. In fact, only a small percentage of the material was not already publicly available. As the committee members know, Attorney General Holder supplemented his questionnaire multiple times with, literally, hundreds of additions and clarifications, including one update more than a year after he was confirmed. And, most importantly, his hearing remained on schedule. So, any suggestion that a nominee’s good faith efforts to locate and produce responsive material is cause for delay begins to look like a call for delay for delay’s sake, rather than a thorough review of a colleague’s character and qualifications. I look forward to hearing from Senator Sessions on Jan. 10.”
Grassley press release, December 14:
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley today said that the hearing for Attorney General nominee Senator Jeff Sessions is on track after returning the committee questionnaire last week.
Grassley noted that Attorney General Eric Holder supplemented his questionnaire with hundreds of additional items in 2008, 2009 and even in 2010, and his hearing remained on schedule on the timeline the committee will follow for Sessions. Grassley added that Sessions’ more than 20 years in public service, along with the fact that members of the committee have worked next to him on issues such as sentencing reform, civil rights, and victims of crime make the committee more than equipped to hold the hearing consistent with the timeline set for Attorney General Holder.
Here is Grassley’s letter to Feinstein. His comment yesterday regarding the hearing is here.
Dear Senator Feinstein:
I write in response to your December 13, 2016 letter concerning Senator Sessions’ nomination to serve as Attorney General of the United States.
As an initial matter, thank you for your letter of Friday, December 9. I appreciate your agreement to follow the precedent that the timeline for holding a hearing begins to run when the nominee returns his or her Questionnaire materials. Senator Sessions produced the remainder of his materials in response to the Questionnaire within minutes of your staff delivering your letter to mine on Friday.
As you know, the Questionnaire calls for nominees to produce a wide range of published writings and public statements. Senator Sessions expeditiously collected the records of his decades in public life to provide the Committee with fulsome responses to the Questionnaire on a timeline similar to past nominees. It is no surprise that Senator Sessions’ twenty years of service as our colleague—not to mention his service in the Department of Justice and to the State of Alabama—yielded an extensive record.
Nor is it any surprise that Senator Sessions’ production consists almost entirely of writings and speeches that were previously publicly available, including speeches he has delivered on the Senate floor and statements he has made at Committee meetings you and I have both attended. In fact, initial staff review indicates that only a fraction of Senator Sessions’ production was not previously available to the public. Unlike previous nominees whose records were largely unknown to the Committee, Senator Sessions is well known to all of us. Far from delaying our review, Senator Sessions’ extensive public record—including service known personally to members of this Committee—should aid the determination of his character and qualifications for this high office on a timeline consistent with prior nominations, if not earlier.
Senator Sessions produced comprehensive responses to the Committee Questionnaire—documenting the life of public service we have all witnessed—to aid us in that task. The purpose of our review is to assess the qualifications and character of a man you and I have known and served beside for two decades.
In light of his record and his production to the Committee, your letter claims deficiencies in two categories of Senator Sessions’ Questionnaire responses—first, his response concerning his role in various political campaigns, and second, his response supposedly omitting two specific speeches he delivered.
With respect to the first, the question regarding previous political activity is of course designed to ascertain whether and how a nominee has been politically active. There can be no surprise that a sitting United States Senator is politically active. And as you know, for a United States Senator, these activities simply do not necessarily take the form the Questionnaire contemplates.
Regarding the claim that several speeches were not included, of course you also know that we and our colleagues are frequently called upon to speak at a variety of constituent and other events. Senator Sessions explained that he made his best effort to identify and locate copies of such remarks where available. Like prior nominees for the office of Attorney General, he also indicated that there may be other such materials he is unable to identify, locate, or remember. He also provided a list of speeches for which no notes exist—including one of the speeches identified in your letter, which he gave to the Federation for American Immigration Reform in 2007. This approach is consistent with the practice of prior nominees and with the reality you and I know well—that Senators speak regularly to a wide variety of groups, often with no prepared text or notes remaining after an event. Senator Sessions has nevertheless produced hundreds of pages of such remarks, providing plenty of material to aid us in our review of his record and character.
Moreover, as you know, it’s not unusual for a nominee to supplement his or her Questionnaire. For example, you will recall Attorney General Eric Holder supplemented his Questionnaire materials several times. In December 2008 alone, Attorney General Holder supplemented his Questionnaire responses with more than two hundred items of information. He provided further supplemental responses before his confirmation hearing in January 2009. Indeed, he even wrote to the Committee in March 2010—more than a year after his confirmation—to identify several litigation matters before the Supreme Court he had not disclosed in his Questionnaire responses. Notwithstanding those supplemental submissions, Attorney General Holder’s hearing was held on the timeline this Committee will follow for Senator Sessions.
I agree with you: leadership of the highest quality at the Department of Justice is vital indeed. Senator Sessions has provided this Committee with fulsome responses clearly resulting from a good faith effort to answer the Questionnaire. I look forward to working with you to ensure Senator Sessions receives the full and fair hearing he deserves on January 10 and 11.
Sincerely,
Chuck Grassley
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee