Breitbart
January 10, 2017

A Primer on Jeff Sessions’ Confirmation Hearing: 6 Facts Everybody Needs to Know

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions will appear Tuesday morning before his colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee to begin his confirmation hearing to serve as Attorney General of the United States.
The populist Senator’s partisan opponents and their allies in corporate media have done everything in their power to smear Sessions’ good name.

Here are a few facts about the man who is likely to be the nation’s next Attorney General:

(1) Jeff Sessions has spent five decades as a champion of civil rights.

From campaigning against George Wallace’s wife as a young Republican in the 1960s to demonstrating, what famed civil rights attorney Barry Kowalski described as, an “unequivocal commitment to the prosecution of criminal civil rights cases” during his time as southern Alabama’s U.S. attorney, Sessions has stood at the vanguard of the great civil rights battles throughout modern history.

Sessions has been credited as having been indispensable in obtaining the first death penalty conviction of a white man for the murder of a black citizen in Alabama since before World War I. He’s also a vocal admirer of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, and led the effort to award her the Congressional gold medal, Fox News has reported. In 2010, Sessions even introduced a resolution to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the publication of his favorite novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, which he has described as “one of America’s truly great literary works” that is valued by “all those who believe in fairness, equality and justice.”

(2) Jeff Sessions is the intellectual architect of a new civil rights agenda to help unemployed African Americans into good-paying jobs.

As a U.S. Senator, Sessions has done more than perhaps any other Republican to reach out to the black community and champion their interests. Indeed, no lawmaker has worked more tirelessly than Sessions to uphold the legacy of civil rights leader and late Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, who argued for immigration reductions to prioritize the jobs and wages of African American workers. Sessions has stood up to both parties’ establishments as they’ve pushed for corporatist trade and immigration policies that have turned black Americans into refugees in their own communities—these issues have arguably become among the great civil rights issues of our time.

“Immigrants and other minority groups are the ones that are suffering the most from excessive immigration and this flawed trade policy of ours,” Sessions told the Daily Caller last year while discussing the importance of advancing a pro-American worker trade and immigration agenda. “A nation owes its first obligation to its own citizens,” Sessions separately explained in 2014. “But our current immigration policy advantages the citizens of other countries over our own. Undeniably, one of the groups most hurt economically by unjust immigration policies are African-American citizens,” Sessions said. “[T]he long-term large-scale importation of foreign labor has substantially eroded wages in the black community.”

As U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner Peter Kirsanow has explained, Sessions “has done more to protect the jobs and enhance the wages of black workers than anyone in either house of Congress over the last 10 years… Of all the Senators and public officials that I’ve dealt with, I cannot think of anyone who has been more devoted to issues related to wages and employment levels of all Americans, but particularly black American workers.”

“Senator Sessions has been a leader in the fight for preserving American jobs and ensuring opportunities for African American workers,” civil rights attorney and founder of the Black American Leadership Alliance, Leah Durant, told Breitbart.

(3) It is largely ignored by corporate media, but Sessions has also risked more professionally than perhaps any lawmaker in Washington to advance the interests of American workers.

Unafraid to buck his own party’s donors and leaders in his effort to protect American workers, Sessions led the fight against the Paul Ryan-backed controversial expansion to the H-2 visa program, which a 2015 Buzzfeed exposé revealed is being used to disproportionately lay off and replace black American workers. According to the report, a supervisor at Hamilton Growers told workers amid mass layoffs: “All you black American people, f**k you all … just go to the office and pick up your check.” While the report went virtually ignored by most members of Congress, Sessions’ office sought to give sunlight to the discriminatory hiring practices exposed by the Buzzfeed investigation.

Sessions has also publicly called out special interest donors such as Mark Zuckerberg, Carlos Slim, Rupert Murdoch, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Sheldon Adelson for pushing for low-wage, high-immigration policies that displace American workers. Many have suspected that as recompense for his willingness to take on his own party, GOP leadership pushed Sessions out of his Budget Committee Chairmanship in favor of Republican leadership ally, Mike Enzi.

(4) Sessions’ 20-year career in the U.S. Senate may be the most spotless of any Senator in the post-World War II era.

Despite being the top target for every far-left group under the sun, Sessions’ opponents cannot identify a single action he has taken as a U.S. Senator that is unethical or self-serving. Among his colleagues, Sessions is known for being unfailingly honest, polite, kind and decent. He has forged relationships with senators on both sides of the aisle.

Indeed, his partisan opponents have but one single attack against Sessions from his decades of public service to use against him: namely, Ted Kennedy’s successful Borking of Sessions during his 1986 nomination for a federal judgeship by Ronald Reagan.

(5) All major allegations against Sessions from three decades ago have been disproven, discredited, or debunked.

CLAIM: Sessions prosecuted civil rights activists in a 1985 voter fraud case based on racial motivations.

This allegation has been disproven. Evidence shows that as southern Alabama’s U.S. Attorney, Sessions prosecuted the 1985 voter fraud case in order to ensure a fair election for black citizens of Perry County. In the 1985 case, three black defendants were accused of having altered the absentee ballots of black voters in order to thwart the election of black Democratic candidates, whom the defendants opposed, and instead to help hand the election over to candidates the defendants favored. LaVon Phillips, a 26-year-old African American legal assistant to the Perry County district attorney, testified on Sessions behalf in his 1986 confirmation hearing—explaining that Sessions was justified to bring the case forward. So too did Reese Billingsea, a black Democratic official who was afraid that the defendants were seeking to steal the election through the use of absentee ballots. In his testimony, Billingslea praised Sessions’ “professionalism” in handling the 1985 voter fraud case.

Albert Turner Jr., the current commissioner of Perry County and son of the two defendants Sessions prosecuted in the 1985 case (Albert and Evelyn Turner), has endorsed Sessions for Attorney General and has explained that Sessions was simply doing his job in prosecuting the case against his parents. “He was a prosecutor at the Federal level with a job to do. He was presented with evidence by a local District Attorney that he relied on, and his office presented the case. That’s what a prosecutor does. I believe him when he says that he was simply doing his job,” Turner said in a written letter last week endorsing Sessions… MORE HERE

From: Russ Willard
Subject: RE: open records request
Date: October 23, 2015 at 3:56:21 PM EDT
To: “‘dking*****2@'”

Mr. King,

Your Open Records Act (“ORA”) request of October 20, 2015 has been forwarded to me for response. Our office has examined both our case management records and our email records along with interviewing staff currently with the Attorney General’s office who may have been involved in reviewing or acting upon your initial correspondence. We were unable to locate any records responsive to your inquiry.

Respectfully,

Russell D. Willard

Open records request

October 20, 2015

To whom it may concern in the office of Georgia Attorney General,

Please regard this as my official request for open/public records.

Background: In mid-2010 I filed a complaint against each of the then-Georgia Board of Regents with the allegation that they were in violation of state and federal law regarding admission of illegal aliens into the University System of Georgia.

Because state law does not allow a common citizen to lodge such a complaint through the GBI, I was told to file the complaint with a local law enforcement officer, which I did in the office of Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren. News reports and dialogue with the sherrif indicate that the complaint went from Sheriff Warren’s office, to the GBI and then to the Attorney General’s office.

State law then was 50-36-1 – Federal law was and is 8 USC 1621

(c)“State or local public benefit” defined
(1)Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), for purposes of this subchapter the term “State or local public benefit” means—
(A)any grant, contract, loan, professional license, or commercial license provided by an agency of a State or local government or by appropriated funds of a State or local government; and
(B)any retirement, welfare, health, disability, public or assisted housing, postsecondary education, food assistance, unemployment benefit, or any other similar benefit for which payments or assistance are provided to an individual, household, or family eligibility unit by an agency of a State or local government or by appropriated funds of a State or local government.

It has now been more than five years since I lodged my complaint. I have never heard from the AG office on this matter and have never received any notice of hearing, review, investigation or resolution, either official or otherwise.

Please note that I am aware of the fact that your office was under a different administration at the time. Also, please note that this is an important official matter and I am confident that documents and records exist to demonstrate any action or lack there of on my 2010 complaint.

I am also aware that it was the stated position of then-candidate for Attorney General, Sam Olens (indeed, it was the stated position of all 2010 candidates for AG – and for governor), that illegal aliens were prohibited by law from any admission to USG schools, regardless of tuition rate.

Please see: “Candidates to Regents: ‘Follow law’ “ Marietta Daily Journal, June 23, 2010.
“Republican Sam Olens said Georgia law bars illegal immigrants from attending public universities. “Absent a student visa, they should not be attending such institutions,” he said.
Olens called on the Georgia Board of Regents, the body that governs Georgia’s colleges and universities, to “immediately follow the law. Illegal immigrants have no right to attend the universities.”

To aid in recall and to insure accuracy of my recollection, I also paste a 2010 news report from the Atlanta Journal Constitution on the bottom of this request, as part of the official request for open records.

REQUEST:

Please forward to me copies of any and all records, both hard copy and electronic, including emails regarding your office receiving, acting on and/or resolving my complaint that the Regents were and are in violation of state and federal law regarding state and local public benefits in allowing illegal aliens to attend any taxpayer-funded Georgia postsecondary education institution.

I am happy to pay any lawfully applied fees for copies. I would be grateful if these documents were sent to me via electronic mail.

Please contact me with any question and accept my sincere thanks for your excellent work and for your time. I would also regretful for a reply to know your office has received this request.

Respectfully,

D.A. King

Marietta, Ga.

Twitter @DAKDIS

Cc: as noted

Georgia’s immigration controversy reaches attorney general

By Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

7:27 p.m. Thursday, June 10, 2010

The battle over illegal immigration touched off by Kennesaw State University student Jessica Colotl has reached Georgia’s top legal adviser.

The office of Attorney General Thurbert Baker will review a request to determine whether Georgia’s public university system violated the law by admitting illegal immigrants such as Colotl.

The request originated with Cobb County immigration activist D.A. King. He asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter, but was told that the GBI could initiate an inquiry only if a public official or law enforcement agency asked for one.

So King talked to Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren, who agreed to make a formal request. The GBI then passed it along to the attorney general.

King said the University System of Georgia is breaking state and federal laws by admitting illegal immigrants.

“The law is very clear,” King said. “Illegal aliens are not eligible for post-secondary education, and the Board of Regents are bound by that law.”

A university system spokesman says King is wrong.

“The law does not preclude an undocumented alien from being admitted to a public institution,” spokesman John Millsaps said.

The dispute is driven by Colotl’s enrollment at KSU. She entered this country illegally when she was 10 and went on to graduate from a Georgia high school.

Immigration authorities began deportation proceedings after her immigration status came to light due to a March traffic violation on campus. She got a one-year reprieve so she could complete her degree.

Prior to her arrest, Colotl paid in-state tuition because college officials were not aware of her status. She will now be charged out-of-state tuition.

After the traffic stop, the Cobb sheriff’s office obtained a warrant for Colotl’s arrest, accusing her of lying to police about her address. Colotl turned herself in and was released on bond.

A spokesperson for Warren declined to comment Thursday, citing an ongoing investigation.

But Warren told the Marietta Daily Journal that he asked for the GBI’s involvement because “I think someone is in violation of the law and I think someone independently should look into it,” according to an article published on the newspaper’s Web site Wednesday.

GBI spokesman John Bankhead said his agency forwarded the sheriff’s request to the attorney general “and will not proceed with any investigation without a request from his office.”

A spokesman for Baker said the GBI’s letter arrived Thursday and that the issue was under review. The spokesman, Russ Willard, could not say when a determination would be made.

The legal dispute seems to turn on federal statues that dictate who is ineligible for the “public benefit” of a college education.

The Marietta newspaper said Warren’s letter cites Section 1621 of Title 8. That federal statute says “an alien who is not … a qualified alien … is not eligible for any state or local public benefit,” including “postsecondary education … for which payments or assistance are proved to an individual … .”

King interprets that to mean a prohibition on admission to any college or university funded with government money.

“There should be nobody in our educational system taking up a classroom seat who is not lawfully present,” King said. “It’s not only illegal. It’s immoral.”

But Millsaps, the university system spokesman, said the Board of Regents is following the law according to “generally accepted interpretations from the federal level on down.”

Georgia’s university system asked U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement for a legal interpretation and was given a copy of one previously generated for North Carolina’s community college system.

It said states could create laws either prohibiting or allowing attendance by illegal immigrants, Millsaps said. Georgia has done neither, so, he said, “if a student enrolls and attends, that is not a violation of federal law.”

Millsaps said that ultimately a federal court may have to decide who is right.

King said it may come to that. He said he is considering filing a civil lawsuit over the issue.

Find this article at:
http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/georgias-immigration-controversy-reaches-546475.html

From: Walker, Marlon (CMG-Atlanta) [mailto:Marlon.Walker@coxinc.com]
Sent: Friday, December 09, 2016 1:30 PM
To: Quinn Hudson (Department of Communications)
Cc: Audrey Qualls (Legal Affairs)
Subject: Request for information

Good afternoon,

I would like to request the investigative files for the two teachers removed from Cross Keys High School for making disparaging statements after the election. Also, I would like confirmation of their employment status.

Thanks so much in advance.

—

Marlon A. Walker
Reporter, The AJC and MyAJC.com
223 Perimeter Center Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30346
(404) 526-2471 (o)
marlon.walker@ajc.com

Follow me on Twitter: @marlonawalker
__
December 15, 2016 at 5:52 PM

To: “Walker, Marlon (CMG-Atlanta)” , “Quinn Hudson (Department of Communications)”
Mr. Walker,

See the attached response to your open records request. In accordance with the Act, all protected information, including but not limited to the information below, has been redacted:

– All personally identifiable student information. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. §1232g (b)
– Confidential employee information including home address, personal phone numbers and email addresses, etc. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 (a) (21)

If we can provide further assistance, please contact our office.

Thank you,
_____________________________
Audrey Qualls |Legal Records Specialist
Office of Legal Affairs | DeKalb County School District
1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd | Stone Mountain, GA 30083-1027
Tel: 678.676.0203 | Fax: 678.676.0234
audrey_k_qualls@dekalbschoolsga.org

Macon Telegraph

January 3, 2017
Opinion

( VIDEO LINK INCLUDED )

State senators hide behind rule that allows unrecorded votes on controversial issues

Finally, a commonsense bipartisan issue we can all agree on. All votes in the state capitol should be recorded so that we the people always know exactly how each one of our state legislators vote in Atlanta.

Believe it or not, that is not the case in the Georgia state Senate.

State Senate rules used for decades allow unrecorded votes on very significant amendments to legislation offered on the Senate floor long after public input and any scrutiny in the committee process has been completed.

This lack of transparency in government affairs can be easily changed. Georgians need to know that the state senators vote on Senate rules as their first order of business every other year — and 2017 is one of those years. We provide this information just in case a few state senators forget to mention it to their constituents.

High up on the front wall of the Senate chamber is a large brightly lit machine that displays each senator’s vote and electronically records it in the permanent Senate record. It’s called the “Yeas and Nays” ( or “Roll Call” )voting method.

In the full Senate chamber, if any senator wants to change a bill that has already been through the committee process, a “floor amendment” can be offered and senators can vote on whether or not to approve the amendment — with an unrecorded raise-your-hand vote. And they can decide if that vote is an unrecorded vote with another unrecorded raise-your-hand vote. Oddly enough, this is inaccurately referred to as the “voice vote,” or “rise stand and be counted” voting method. It takes five senators to very quickly demand a machine-recorded vote on floor amendments. ( see Rule 5.1-3 )

Confusing, isn’t it? Here is an example: In 2015, the Georgia Senate killed an amendment aimed at ending the current practice of issuing drivers licenses to illegal aliens by holding an unrecorded, raise-your-hand-vote on whether or not to have an unrecorded raise-your-hand-vote. Unrecorded won. Illegal aliens won.

We the people lost.

There was also an unrecorded vote involved in the final passage of the 2015 transportation tax increase. This writer watched both events. Readers should contact their state senators and demand that when the Republican-controlled state Senate comes to order on Monday morning, Jan. 9 the existing Senate rule allowing any unrecorded votes is changed. And that it be done with a machine-recorded vote.  HERE

___

VIDEO

NOTE: In anticipation of “unrecorded votes never happened in the Georgia senate” goop – I re-post the below from 2015.

* More to come. And please know, the activity described above is recorded on GPB video of the proceedings of the Georgia Senate.

• VIDEO: HERE , then ‘SENATE DAY 39 AM’ beginning at 137:00 and going to about 2:18 on the counter. SEATING CHART HERE Note: Many Senators seemed to try to be off-camera when the raise-your-hand vote was taken. Some even stood up and tried to make it hard to see how they voted by looking like they were counting other Senators votes.

Update, 10:10 PM: The University System of Georgia says it plans to appeal the judge’s decision, which it says would put the ruling on hold.

Dustin Inman Society

D.A. King – president

Public statement regarding court decision granting instate tuition to illegal aliens

Fulton County court says “yes, by all means, reward illegal immigration!”

“We have created a scenario in which a potential young ‘Dawg” from Orlando may be asking why he is charged more tuition at UGA than the illegal aliens residing in Doraville” says D.A. King.

A Fulton County Superior Court judge has apparently agreed with the illegal alien plantiffs and their lawyer, Charles Kuck, that benefitting from outgoing President Obama’s illegal DACA administrative amnesty allows them to claim “lawful presence” – and thereby instate tuition at public, taxpayer-funded Georgia universities.

We trust there will be a long appeals process.

This, while U.S. citizen and legal immigrant families who obeyed the rules and joined the American family lawfully living in other U.S. states scratch their heads wondering why they must pay the much higher tuition rate in USG schools while foreigners with illegal status pay less.

Lawyer Kuck publicly acknowledges what the Obama administration makes clear: “deferred action does not provide lawful status.”

From here, we have noted that if the Regents were truly dedicated to preserving the integrity of the USG admissions and tuition process they could easily adjust the language of their regulations to clarify the original intent that illegal aliens not be put ahead of real immigrants in admissions or tuition rates.
Insider Advantage Georgia, April 2014 :

“To easily end this ridiculous and volatile situation and to limit the state’s cost of defending the admissions policy from the illegal alien lobby’s lawsuit, the Regents can and should simply alter the existing 4.1.6 regulation to include the term “status.” That would mean Kuck’s “it depends on the meaning of lawfully present” lawsuit would go away immediately.”

We also note that while a judge in Georgia has seen fit to reward the illegal status of these victims of borders and parental abuse, various federal agencies decline to grant illegal aliens with DACA status benefits such as Obamacare and federal student aid.

We urge the Regents to adjust their regulation to match common sense public opinion. A 2010 Georgia Newspaper Partnership poll showed that two thirds of Georgians don’t want illegal aliens in public universities at any tuition rate.
## dak