(ANTIMEDIA) — For those who have failed to notice the chief law enforcement officer of the United States of America until now, it is high time to look down at the Lilliputian now occupying the Attorney General’s office.
As AG Jeff Sessions appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee to the discuss the ongoing Russia scandal, do not let his diminutive stature, mousy demeanor, or “aww-shucks” Southern drawl fool you; he is a mouse that has long roared: “Law enforcement can do no wrong.”
Now a nation of too many laws, the United States has truly become a government of men and again — as is the case with Attorney General Sessions — mice, and this gives Jeff Sessions immense power to implement his vision for law enforcement to exterminate American vice.
However, no one should expect Sessions to take many, if any questions regarding his heavy-handed vision for law enforcement when he appears before the Senate on Tuesday. No, he will be asked about meeting with the Russian ambassador, as well as his conversations with James Comey and President Trump as part of the ongoing Russia-Trump melodrama consuming Washington D.C.
So, while Sessions and his former colleagues in the Senate use their time in the media spotlight to spar and speculate over scandal, I would like to ask a few questions of Mr. Sessions that actually deserve time in the spotlight.
All of my questions are based on one general inquiry: is there any limit to the freedoms you are willing to sacrifice, Mr. Sessions, for the sake of government power, security, and law enforcement?
- Mass Surveillance, Yay or Nay? — Mr. Sessions, as Attorney General of the United States, do you think it is in the spirit of the 4th Amendment for the federal government to be collecting personal information on millions of American citizens through “foreign intelligence” surveillance programs? The last time major surveillance reforms were discussed when you were a senator, you came out against any reforms that would weaken the bulk collection of Americans’ communications. On what authority do you and the Congress claim the right to usurp the liberties enshrined in the Bill of Rights? Do you, Mr. Sessions, still support the full and permanent reauthorization of the FISA 702 program despite the reported abuses of power that program has fostered?
- Robbing the Populace Blind, Yay or Nay? — Mr. Sessions, as Attorney General of the United States, do you continue to support the practice known as civil asset forfeiture? How can you claim to uphold basic American law when this law enforcement practice flips the presumption of innocence on its head, labeling Americans criminals without conviction only to then seize their hard earned property? Are you so afflicted by your own brand of “reefer madness” that you will continue to allow American law enforcement to, for example, seize a family-owned motel without convicting the owners of any crime? In light of a recent Inspector General report on the DEA’s seizure of $4 billion over the last decade — wherein the I.G. found 81% of the cases involving the stolen property had no accompanying criminal charges — how can you still believe such a practice protects Americans’ liberties and property?
- Mandatory Minimums, Yay or Nay? — Mr. Sessions, as Attorney General of the United States, why did you see it fit to reinstate harsh mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenders? Why on earth do we have so many judges and prosecutors nationwide if you will not allow them to use their own wisdom and discretion on a case-by-case basis? Why would you prod them to blindly enforce disproportionate sentences that do not fit the crimes? Why would you continue a practice that puts more non-violent people in prison and disproportionately affects minorities when it comes to mass incarceration?
I may be wrong, but I suspect your answer will have a lot to do with your antiquated few of drugs in America, and that leads us to my next question.
- The War on Cannabis and Other Drugs, Yay or Nay? — Mr. Sessions, as Attorney General of the United States, do you stand by your statement as a senator when you claimed that “Good people don’t smoke marijuana?” If you still do, and I suspect you do, I must say, Mr. Sessions, your belief here is utter nonsense — morally blind, authoritarian, and shallow nonsense dressed up as folksy, high and mighty judgment. I’m sure millions of Americans who have used cannabis would quibble with your moral shaming, if not mock it outright. Excuse me, Mr. Attorney General, but where is your respect for the 10th Amendment when it comes to states that have legalized medical and recreational cannabis? Excuse me, pardon me, but where is your respect for federalism, as well as the individual freedom and personal responsibility people have over their own bodies?
- Immigration, Yay or Nay? — Mr. Sessions, as Attorney General of the United States, do you intend to not only continue your quest to crack down on illegal immigration but also restrict legal immigration, as well? What will be the effect on the American economy if you encourage the president and Congress to pursue restrictions on legal high- and low-skilled immigration? Should we not grow the economic pie, Mr. Sessions, rather than considering the economic pie of jobs and wages as fixed? Can you promise that so-called dreamers or DACA enrollees will not be targeted and deported, or do you stick by your statement from April of 2017 that you “can’t promise people who are here unlawfully that they’re not going to be deported?”
- Furthermore, pursuant to your testimony from 2013, are you truly prepared to play the Biblical role of those who turned away the ancient Israelites? Are you really ready to assume the role of a callous authority? On this issue and the others mentioned above, where is your respect not only for the American people’s liberty but for the freedom innate in each human?
Now, these questions and more may have been asked of you in the past, Mr. Sessions, but they received short shrift in the media spotlight. Hopefully, this will change.
But in the meantime, what a shame that the media is more intrigued that you met with the Russian ambassador when you were a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee than they are with issues you have direct and indirect power to control in your capacity as Attorney General.
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