ATTORNEY GENERAL/JEFF SESSIONS/NOMINATIONS: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions is urging the White House to nominate a federal judge and tough-on-crime ex-prosecutor once nicknamed ‘Hang ’Um High’ Henry Hudson to an independent, bipartisan panel that issues sentencing guidelines.
Mr. Sessions’ recommendation for one of three openings on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, confirmed by people familiar with the process, reflects the Justice Department’s broader crackdown on violent crime, including the reversal of several Obama -era policies.
The department is urging the commission to toughen sentences for certain violent criminals, drug offenders, illegal immigrant smugglers and so-called career offenders.
In its annual report to the commission, the department asked it to preserve the long, mandatory-minimum sentences that supporters say help fight crime but critics say inflate prison costs and disproportionately hurt minority communities without improving public safety.
President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise to ‘restore law and order,’ has the authority but is under no requirement to fill two Republican vacancies and one Democratic spot on the seven-seat commission.”
-Beth Reinhard, “Sessions Promotes Tough-On-Crime Judge for Sentencing Panel,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 10, 2017 01:10pm