Sessions grilled Yates on constitutional duty during hearing

Video of Sally Yates' Deputy Attorney General confirmation hearing in 2015 shows Sen. Jeff Sessions -- Trump's pick for the country's top legal position -- grilling her about her responsibility to the then-President, Barack Obama, should he require her to execute "unlawful" views. "You have to watch out because people will be asking you to do things and you need to say no.

Trump fires Justice Dept. head over executive order defiance

The legal fight over President Donald Trump's refugee ban is likely to turn on whether th... . Rep. David Price speaks out against President Donald Trump's recent executive order on refugees during a press conference on Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, in front of Smith Warehouse in Durham, NC.

Trump fires acting attorney general opposed to travel ban

US President Donald Trump wasted little time Monday in removing the acting attorney general from office after she said she would not defend his executive order on immigration in court. Trump fired Sally Yates, a Obama administration holdover, just hours after she issued a statement saying the Justice Department would not defend the controversial executive order "for as long as I am acting director."

Jeff Sessions vote expected next Tuesday, despite the ACLU’s request for delay

A Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions for Attorney General is expected to proceed Tuesday, according to a Senate staffer, despite requests by a civil liberties group to delay it in order to question the senator about executive actions signed by President Trump this week. The American Civil Liberties Union wrote to Sen. Charles Grassley and Sen. Dianne Feinstein , respectively the chairman and ranking member of the judiciary committee , asking them to cancel Tuesday's pending committee vote on Mr. Sessions nomination and to instead hold another round of questioning.

Trump seeks investigation into unproven voter fraud claim

President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that he is ordering a "major investigation" into widespread voter fraud, raising the prospect of a federal government probe into a widely debunked claim and sparking alarm among experts and Democrats. Trump announced in a pair of tweets early Wednesday that the investigation will look at those registered to vote in more than one state, "those who are illegal and even, those registered to vote who are dead ."

Trump expected to issue executive order to block refugees from ‘dangerous’ Muslim countries

With Trump considering measures to tighten border security, he could turn his attention to the refugee issue later this week. President Donald Trump is expected to sign executive orders starting on Wednesday that include a temporary ban on most refugees and a suspension of visas for citizens of Syria and six other Middle Eastern and African countries, according to several congressional aides and immigration experts briefed on the matter.

Rev. Al Sharpton condemns Trump immigration orders at Oakwood Univ. Church

Al Sharpton, a Baptist minister and prominent civil rights activist , was the guest speaker Sunday night at Oakwood University Church. Reverend Al Sharpton's visit to Oakwood University Seventh Day Adventist Church on Sunday was part of their church's kickoff for Black History Month.

Pilloried on social media, black defender of Jeff Sessions welcomes a Uncle Toma label

As a black man from Alabama, Willie Huntley Jr. has deep reverence for civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, an organizer of the landmark marches from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. So Huntley got a little emotional earlier this month when he found himself in the same Senate hearing room as Lewis.

Schumer will oppose any ‘out of the mainstream’ Supreme Court pick

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday he opposes eight or nine of President Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees -- and could also attempt to block his eventual Supreme Court nominee. "If the nominee is out of the mainstream, we will do our best to keep the seat open," Schumer, D-New York, told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" of the Supreme Court vacancy that Trump will get a shot at filling after majority Republicans blocked former President Barack Obama's nominee for a year.

Dr. Selwyn Cudjoe: President Trump and the Black Blowback

Last Friday Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States of America. As in so many other offensive things he has tweeted since November, Trump began this year by trying to besmirch the reputation of John Lewis and his courageous actions in turning the USA away from its segregationist past and setting it on a path to achieve its founders' dreams.

Senate confirms John Kelly to lead Trump’s DHS in a 88-11 vote

The Senate on Friday confirmed President Trump 's nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, the second cabinet pick to receive Senate approval. John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general who commanded the U.S. military in South America, had one of the smoothest confirmation hearings of any Trump nominee, despite his coming role in implementing the president's immigration policies.

Trump to Nominate Sonny Perdue as Agriculture Secretary

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Sonny Perdue III, the former governor of Georgia, as his choice for the next U.S. secretary of agriculture. "From growing up on a farm to being governor of a big agriculture state, he has spent his whole life understanding and solving the challenges our farmers face, and he is going to deliver big results for all Americans who earn their living off the land," Trump said in a statement.

Obama to grant hundreds more drug commutations

Justice Department officials have completed their review of more than 16,000 clemency petitions filed by federal prisoners over the past two years and sent their last recommendations to President Barack Obama, who is set to grant hundreds more commutations to nonviolent drug offenders during his final days in office.   "Everyone has killed themselves here to get the final recommendations to the president," Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said in an interview.

Ugly American Donald Trump is about to enter the White House

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AP Interview: Lynch defends push for police accountability

In this Jan. 12, 2017 photo, Attorney General Loretta Lynch poses for a portrait during an interview with The Associated Press at the University of Baltimore School of Law in Baltimore. In this Jan. 12, 2017 photo, Attorney General Loretta Lynch poses for a portrait during an interview with The Associated Press at the University of Baltimore School of Law in Baltimore.

Matt Welch:

Code Pink may get a bad rap, disrupting as it does seemingly every significant event on Capitol Hill. But the most hysterical performances at Tuesday's serially interrupted Senate confirmation hearing for attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions came not from scrappy protesters, but from the august senators within.

Amber Phillips:

No two people are going to agree on everything, of course. But there was a noticeable trend during this past week of Senate confirmation hearings for Donald Trump's top picks to lead the federal government: Almost every single one of them directly conflicted Trump's promises on the campaign trail at least once - and some did it several times - on everything from Russia to climate change.