Following the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) called on Congress to exercise its oversight authority over the Department of Justice (DOJ) to ensure the agency was doing everything in its power to prosecute hate and domestic terrorism crimes, and to enforce civil rights laws. After legislators received thousands of petitions from LDF, the Judiciary Committees in both the House and Senate responded by calling Attorney General Jeff Sessions to appear for oversight hearings. Sessions testified before the Senate panel for five hours last month, and will appear before the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow.
As was the case for Sessions’ Senate testimony, Members are expected to thoroughly question Sessions on his failure to disclose Russian contacts both at his confirmation hearing and on security clearance forms — particularly since recent reports and unsealed court documents show that Sessions knew about Russian contacts with the Trump campaign.
Nonetheless, it’s imperative that DOJ’s civil rights enforcement remains a focus of congressional oversight. The Sessions’ DOJ has consistently attacked and undermined key protections for the most vulnerable Americans. To note just a few examples, the Department: reversed its long-held position challenging Texas’ voter ID law — the strictest in the country — and now supports the State in its defense of the intentionally discriminatory law; filed a brief arguing that federal civil rights laws do not protect employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation; issued guidance that Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination does not apply to discrimination based on gender identity; retreated from a number of vital policing reform programs and commitments; and started investigations into affirmative action programs in higher education.
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