Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Jeff Sessions accused of retaliation after claims of racism cost him a judgeship
Source: The Guardian
Jeff Sessions accused of retaliation after claims of racism cost him a judgeship
Trump’s pick for attorney general is accused of prosecuting two black
officials in Alabama who derailed his bid for top judge job with claims
of racist behavior
Jon Swaine and Oliver Laughland
Tuesday 22 November 2016 11.00 GMT
Donald Trump’s nominee for US attorney general has been accused of bringing criminal prosecutions against a pair of black officials in Alabama as retaliation for their roles in derailing his nomination to be a judge.
The officials faced federal corruption charges in the southern district of Alabama, where Jeff Sessions was the top federal prosecutor, after their allegations of racism caused the US Senate to deny Sessions the judicial appointment in 1986.
“Sessions decided to go after me because he didn’t get the federal judgeship,” said Douglas Wicks, a former Mobile County commissioner. Wicks spent more than five years in prison after being convicted on charges that were brought by Sessions a few months after he was accused of calling Wicks a “nigger”.
Thomas Figures, a black senior prosecutor who served under Sessions in the US attorney’s office, was also later indicted on federal corruption charges. He had told senators that Sessions called him “boy” and instructed him to be careful what he said to white people.
Figures and his supporters claimed that he, too, was a victim of retaliation over the failed Sessions judgeship nomination. Sessions said at the time that he had recused himself from the case. Figures was eventually cleared by a jury of all charges.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Trump’s pick for attorney general is accused of prosecuting two black
officials in Alabama who derailed his bid for top judge job with claims
of racist behavior
Jon Swaine and Oliver Laughland
Tuesday 22 November 2016 11.00 GMT
Donald Trump’s nominee for US attorney general has been accused of bringing criminal prosecutions against a pair of black officials in Alabama as retaliation for their roles in derailing his nomination to be a judge.
The officials faced federal corruption charges in the southern district of Alabama, where Jeff Sessions was the top federal prosecutor, after their allegations of racism caused the US Senate to deny Sessions the judicial appointment in 1986.
“Sessions decided to go after me because he didn’t get the federal judgeship,” said Douglas Wicks, a former Mobile County commissioner. Wicks spent more than five years in prison after being convicted on charges that were brought by Sessions a few months after he was accused of calling Wicks a “nigger”.
Thomas Figures, a black senior prosecutor who served under Sessions in the US attorney’s office, was also later indicted on federal corruption charges. He had told senators that Sessions called him “boy” and instructed him to be careful what he said to white people.
Figures and his supporters claimed that he, too, was a victim of retaliation over the failed Sessions judgeship nomination. Sessions said at the time that he had recused himself from the case. Figures was eventually cleared by a jury of all charges.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/22/jeff-sessions-racism-retaliation-donald-trump-douglas-wicks-thomas-figures
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
