Press Releases
Democrats Call for Sessions’ Recusal
MONTGOMERY – Alabama Democratic Party Executive Director Jim Spearman today called on U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to offer a formal recusal of his activities related to Senate Judiciary Committee investigations or hearings related to controversies at the U.S. Department of Justice, and more specifically any future investigations or hearings related to the matter of former Governor Don Siegelman.
On July 24, 2007 Senator Sessions made the following comments to the Birmingham News regarding a congressional investigation into the case of Don Siegelman:
"We have to be very careful that politicians don't interfere in an ongoing criminal case," said Sessions, a member of the [Judiciary] committee and a former federal prosecutor. “I'm just dubious of us having a bunch of high-profile hearings, which are basically political, about matters that are being litigated in the courts.”
These comments were preceded by an April 14th New York Times article that reports on a White House email commenting on Sessions’ willingness to consider politics:
“WH political reached out to Sen. Sessions and requested that he ask helpful questions to make clear that Tim Griffin is qualified to serve,” said a January 2007 e-mail message from Monica Goodling, a former senior aide to Mr. Gonzales, to other department officials. “Here are the talkers on Griffin, as well as a narrative that can be used by staff, and his résumé. I think it would actually be helpful for all of the Rs to have it.”
Just last week, TIME revealed interviews by the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Middle District of Alabama that show their star witness in the Siegelman prosecution, Mr. Lanny Young, also testified to authorities that he had made contributions of cash, unreported goods, and pass through contributions attributed to other persons in violation of FEC law to aid Senator Sessions’ 1996 campaign.
No investigation was ever pursued by the U.S. Attorney or the DOJ on this allegation and Senator Sessions nor his campaign were asked to explain the nature of this matter. In addition, the Federal Elections Commission was not notified about these potentially illegal transactions.
“The Senator’s public statement discouraging Congress from looking into the Siegelman case was self-serving and could be perceived as an attempt to impede discovery of improper acts on the part of his previous campaigns. As a former United States’ Attorney and Attorney General for the State of Alabama, Senator Sessions certainly recognizes the implications of the questions raised in the TIME article. In the interest of justice, impartiality, and to remove any hint that Senator Sessions’ service at a congressional hearing could taint the outcome, I publicly call for him to make a formal recusal from participation in these matters before the Senate Judiciary Committee,” Spearman said.
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