Oct. 18 (UPI) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing Wednesday.
This marks the first time Sessions, who senators will question about a number of topics, will testify as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer.
Sessions will likely face intense questioning from Democrats, who noted in a letter to the attorney general on Oct. 11 their expectation that Sessions would “answer Members’ questions fully and truthfully” and would be clear on whether President Donald Trump has invoked executive privilege.
“We expect that … you will have determined whether the president will invoke executive privilege as to specific topics and will be prepared to answer completely all questions in those areas on which he has not,” the letter said.
Senators will likely question Sessions on his civil rights record, including a directive to the Justice Department curtailing the enforcement of protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans.
On Oct. 6, Sessions issued guidance instructing federal agencies and prosecutors to take the position in court that people could claim broad exemptions from nondiscrimination laws on the basis of religious objections.
Senators will likely also ask Sessions about his seemingly strained relationship with Trump, the administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and whether the attorney general is providing Robert S. Mueller III, special counsel in an investigation into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the resources and protection to continue his work without disturbance.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EDT.
