Asks Chairman Grassley to join request for missing information

Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today renewed her call on Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to allow enough time for committee staff to review the more than 150,000 pages of records relevant to the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general.

Feinstein also called on Grassley to join her in calling on Sessions to provide the committee with information and documents missing from the questionnaire he submitted Friday evening.

“First, Senator Sessions’ production is, as I understand it, in excess of 150,000 pages of material. This is more than 100 times what Attorney General Lynch produced (1500 pages) and more than 29 times what Attorney General Holder produced (5100 pages). I am sure you would agree that staff must have sufficient time to do the due diligence on any nominee for this vital position—and this due diligence will likely take longer than the review for recent, prior nominees who had less materials to analyze,” Feinstein wrote.

The letter continued: “Second, despite being voluminous, Senator Sessions’ production appears to have been put together in haste and is, on its face, incomplete.”

Full text of the letter follows:

December 13, 2016

Dear Chairman Grassley:

I write to follow up on my letter about the scheduling of the confirmation hearing for Senator Sessions. Over the weekend, my staff took a first look at the questionnaire and materials that Senator Sessions produced Friday evening after business hours.

Upon initial review, two things have become clear. First, Senator Sessions’ production is, as I understand it, in excess of 150,000 pages of material. This is more than 100 times what Attorney General Lynch produced (1500 pages) and more than 29 times what Attorney General Holder produced (5100 pages). I am sure you would agree that staff must have sufficient time to do the due diligence on any nominee for this vital position—and this due diligence will likely take longer than the review for recent, prior nominees who had less materials to analyze.

Second, despite being voluminous, Senator Sessions’ production appears to have been put together in haste and is, on its face, incomplete. For example:

• Questionnaire Page 10: In response to a question calling for his role in any political campaign and requiring him to state “the particulars of the campaign, including the candidate, dates of the campaign, your title and responsibilities,” Senator Sessions notes he has been “active in the Republican Party” but only specifically identifies Richard Nixon, Perry Hooper, Sr., Donald J. Trump, and himself. He then gives a shorthand response that is not responsive to the question. ¹

• Numerous speeches: While producing many of his speeches, it appears Senator Sessions has failed to provide the Committee with numerous speeches, including many given on behalf of then-candidate Donald Trump. These events, which happened only very recently, obviously are highly relevant to Senator Sessions’ ability and intent to serve as an independent Attorney General. It also appears there are other missing speeches, such as a speech at an event called “Restoration Weekend” from 2003 and a speech at a Federation for American Immigration Reform event in 2007.

Given the lengthy public life that Senator Sessions has led, it is not surprising that he and his staff have had great difficulty in providing a complete submission to the committee on the accelerated timetable that has been set forth. But that does not in any way lessen this committee’s obligation to obtain a full record and completed response to its questionnaire for a nomination to the highest law enforcement position in our government. The integrity of this committee’s process is a vital component of checks and balances in our government.

I would request that you join me in asking Senator Sessions in the coming days to submit the completed questions with all the required attachments.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein

¹ Specifically, Senator Sessions stated: “I have generally endorsed Alabama Republicans running for the House of Representatives and Senate in the general elections. I have endorsed many Republicans running for election and re-election to the United States Senate, House, and other offices.”