Sessions Refuses To Deny He Colluded With Texas AG To Shut Down DACA
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to detail any communications with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton or any other Attorneys General—who had threatened to file a partisan lawsuit challenging the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, prior to Sessions’ announcement that the Trump Administration was ending the program.
“That kind of legal discussions, I believe, would be part of the work product of the Attorney General’s office, and I should not reveal it,” Sessions said.
“You’re saying that communication is privileged? That you had a communication with the Texas Attorney General about their threatened lawsuit against DACA before the Administration’s announcement?” Durbin asked.
Sessions did not answer but would not deny that he had coordinated with Texas Attorney General Paxton prior to the DACA decision, falsely claiming that any such discussions would be privileged. In his letter advising the Department of Homeland Security to rescind the DACA program, Attorney General Sessions cited ‘potentially imminent litigation’ as a justification, in reference to Attorney General Paxton’s threatened lawsuit against the U.S. government over the program. In an unprecedented move, Sessions publicly welcomed the states’ lawsuit to shut down a successful federal that served the national interest by allowing hundreds of thousands of talented young people the opportunity to work, pursue higher education, and contribute to our nation in myriad ways.
Video of Durbin’s remarks to the Judiciary Committee is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks to the Judiciary Committee is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks to the Judiciary Committee is available here for TV Stations.