FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
December 16, 2016
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
ATTORNEY GENERAL LUTHER STRANGE JOINS STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL
URGING SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TO CONFIRM JEFF SESSIONS AS
U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL
(MONTGOMERY) – Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange joined 24 other state attorneys
general in urging the leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm the nomination of
Senator Jeff Sessions as United States Attorney General.
“Few positions are more important than our nation’s attorney general,” Attorney General
Strange wrote in a joint letter to Senators Chuck Grassley, R-IA, and Patrick Leahy, D-VT,
Thursday. “The person who fills that role is not only charged with keeping our streets safe, but
upholding the legal principles that are the bedrock of our republic. Senator Sessions has proven
over a long and distinguished career that he has the character to serve as United States Attorney
General for all Americans. We urge his confirmation.”
Attorney General Strange and his colleagues further emphasized Senator Sessions’ unique
breadth of experience as a United States Attorney, State Attorney General and more recently as
a long-serving United States Senator focusing on judicial fairness.
“He has faced the challenges of balancing justice with fairness and the rule of law with
individual freedom, qualifications that make him well suited to his new role.” They added,
“His leadership on important policy matters has been invaluable. For example, his efforts to
reduce the unfair disparity in drug sentencing is well known. He introduced the first bipartisan
drug sentencing reform act in 2001, and he worked tirelessly to bring Senators from both sides
of the aisle together to support it. That hard work paid off. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010,
which he co-authored and co-sponsored with Ranking Member Leahy and Sen. Durbin and
which President Obama signed into law, has not only saved the federal government millions of
dollars and reduced sentences for non-violent offenders, it has set a standard for fairness in
sentencing that our states have sought to emulate. We need that kind of thoughtfulness,
discretion, and leadership at the helm of the Department of Justice.”
“I have known Senator Sessions for more than 20 years and am convinced he possesses the right
combination of legal experience and judgment to lead the U.S. Justice Department,” said
Attorney General Strange. “I am proud to support his nomination.”
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Link to the AGs’ letter
501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov
