All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions said Sunday that he believes it is not necessary to appoint a special criminal prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's interrogation policies.

Though President Obama has spoken against such an investigation, Attorney General Eric Holder is reportedly seriously considering making the appointment.

"We've had probably in my committees, Judiciary and Armed Services, thirty or more hearings on this," Sessions told CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer on "Face the Nation". "The Intelligence Committee has had great numbers of hearings and written reports on it. The military has done a series of independent reports. And I believe that that's sufficient. I don't believe a special commission is necessary.

"We were facing some real challenges, and our people tried to do the best they could," explained Sessions. "And I don't think I see the evidence yet to justify any prosecutions."

Vermont's Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy told Schieffer that while he prefers a commission of inquiry, he is "not going to interfere with a special prosecutor."

Read full post…

Seeking to calm fears that al Qaeda terrorists could be set free on U.S. soil, Attorney General Eric Holder pledged today that prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay prison facility would not be released in the United States.

"We would not bring them into this country and release them," Holder said.

The Obama administration promises to close the detainment center in just eight months. Holder did not rule out some of detainees being brought to the United States for trial.

The possibility of terrorists coming to America has been met with "Not in My Backyard" objections from members of both major political parties.

Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) asked CBS News this question: "Do you know of any community in the United States of America that would welcome terrorists?"

Read full post…

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved Attorney General nominee Eric Holder on a 17 to 2 vote.

Two Republicans voted against Holder in the committee today – Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the panel, announced yesterday he would vote in favor of Holder.

Holder, a former No. 2 official at the Justice Department during the Clinton administration, has come under fire from some for his role in Bill Clinton's end-of-term pardons and whether intelligence agents who participated in harsh interrogations might be prosecuted.

The nomination now goes forward to the full Senate floor for a vote. It now appears likely he will be confirmed, but the timing of that vote is not yet known.

Read full post…

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding up the confirmation of Eric Holder as attorney general for a week at the request of comittee Republicans.

The committee was originally scheduled to vote on Holder's nomination today, but Republicans asked that it be held while they learn more about Holder's views on interrogation techniques and possible prosecutions of U.S. personnel.

WASHINGTON -- The afternoon session at the nomination hearing for Attorney General-designee Eric Holder, Jr. ebbed more than it flowed. The passion and intensity and drama that marked the morning session were clearly gone from the historic room.

Several of the Republican senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee tried to pin the nominee down on a number of decidedly B-List topics. For example, Sen Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) made it clear that he wants the new Justice Department to support gun rights and the recent Supreme Court decision in Heller v. DC as vigorously as the old one did.

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) made it clear that he doesn’t want any of the Guantanamo Bay detainees in his backyard at Leavenworth prison.

And Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) tried to finagle his way into getting an answer from Holder on a law-school-qua-Jack-Bauer hypothetical about water-boarding and a bomb. Holder didn’t take the bait—he’s no Jack Bauer.

None of these sideshow issues are going to materially impact Holder’s nomination. Even Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the longstanding Committee member with impeccable conservative credentials, expressed his support for Holder’s nomination.

Read full post…