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126 R o mb-36 PAGE NO.
Michael Donald case by the Mobile police department and
2 make a suggestion as to which way, if I were conducting
3 the investigation, I would conduct it. I did so. Some
4 time after that, I do not know, weeks or days later, I
5 just really do not remember, I understand that Mr. Gilanis
6 and Mr. Sessions had gone together and discussed one of
7 the recommendations that I had of using the Grand Jury
8 l' to do the investigation, whether to use state or federal ., 9 Grand Jury.
10 And evidently they decided to use the Federal Grand
11 Jury and proceed with trying to gather more evidence, or
12 trying to get the evidence.
I: 13 And it was from that point on that I was closely asso-
14 j, c ia ted with Mr. Sessions and what happened during the case.
15 He was constantly interested in the case, and each time
16 he saw me, he asked me opinions on certain things, or
17 witnesses or what I felt about certain things, and it was
18 always in a positive manner.
19 He was vigorously pursuing that case, from all
20 indications that I could see and all of the conversations
71 that I had with him. He wanted to get that case solved . ' n and to include as many defendants that we could prove had
... anything to do with that homicide .
Senator De nton. What wa s the disposition of defendant
2) Tiger Knowles? o mb-37 PAGE NO . _!~ ·~
Mr. Eddy. Tiger Knowles pled guilty on a civil rights
2 violation and received a life sentence in federal prison.
~·· 3 Senator Denton. How about Henry Hayes? \ .. 4 !I Mr. Eddy. Henry Hayes was tried in state court by 1· £'. 5 Mr. Gilanis' office, and found guilty and was sentenced
6 to die in the electric chair by Judge Tippelly [ph.].
7 I Senator Denton. In .the event that the state prosecution ' 1' I! 8 of Hayes had not been successful, do you believe that Mr. I! i 9 Sessions would have gone forward with the federal prosecution?; Ii I
10 Mr. Eddy. Very definitely. Ii 11 'l Senator Denton. Do you have any reason to believe I i 12 l that Mr. Sessions is racially biased or prejudiced?
13 Mr. Eddy. No, I do not.
14 None whatsoever. Ii 15 Senator Denton. Or racially insensitive? .I 16 n Mr. Eddy. None whatsoever. 11 n 17 ti Senator Denton. Do you think that he is temperamentally
18 qualified to be a federal j udge?
19 Mr. Eddy. Yes, I do.
70 Senator Denton. Thank you very much, both of you
/l gentlemen.
Oh, goodness gracious. I am sorry, Senator Heflin,
2 ~ I am getting tired up here.
Senator Heflin. I do not b elieve that I have any
2~ questions. o mb-38 PAGE N O . 128
Senator Denton. Senator East?
2 Senator East. No, thank you. ,, 3 It Senator Denton. You two gentlemen may be excused, 1. 4 Ii and thank you very much. I: I• 5 Mr. Eddy. Thank you. 1: ! 6 Judge Kittrell. Thank you.
7 [The two witnesses were excused.].
8 Senator Denton. Mr. George Horn is on the Mobile
9 County Executive Republican Committee, in Mobile, Alabama.
10 If you have an opening statement, you may make one, Iid 11 Mr. Horn. I do have questions.
11 12 Mr . . Horn. Senator Denton and senator Heflin and Senator l 13 ! East, my name is George Horn and I am from Pritchford, :i 11 14 Alabama. And I am a retired civil service employee and
11 15 I am also retired on Social security with my 62nd birthday, ,ii. i 16 and I still practice public accounting, and I am a constable
17 from Alabama 33rd Senatorial District and 97th representative ; !l.!
18 in number two spot, as a constable.
19 That is my opening statement.
70 Senator Denton. Where were you born?
21 Mr. Horn. I was born in Clarke County, Mobile, Alabama. t ' I," 21. I Senator Denton. And how long have you lived in the
Mobile/Pritchard area?
Mr. Horn. Approximately 40 years continuously .
Senator Denton. How long have you been a republican? mb-39 R 0 PAGE NO. 129
Mr. Horn. I became interested in the Republican Party
in 1940 during the battle of Thomas Dewey and Wendell Wilkie, 2
when I was in high school in Thomasville. 3 Senator Denton. Do you hold, or have you ever held 4 any official position in the Republican Party? 5 !!,, I! ii Mr. Horn. I have. 6 Senator Denton. What was it or what were they? 7
Mr. Horn. I am a member of the Mobile County 8
Republican Executive Committee, and two terms and I am 9
' a member of the Alabama State Republican Executive Committee. 10 ;! I Senator Denton. Are you familiar with the nominee, 11 !' II Jeff Sessions? 12 II Mr. Horn. I am. 13 11 !! Senator Denton. How many years have you known him, 14 II sir? 15 II 11 " Mr. Horn. I first met him in 1977. 16 ,I'. Senator Denton. Have you had frequent contact with 17
~I him since then? 18 Mr. Horn. Very frequently, especially when he was 19 .! a member of the Mobile County Republican Executive Committee. 20 Senator Denton. Have you been with him frequently 2\ in meetings or conversations of a political of a philosophical
nature?
( . . Mr. Horn . Three different ways I was with him on .'• the Mobil e County Republican Executive Committee quite 0 I'(lb-40 PAGE NO. 130
frequently and several club meetings too, and then I thought
2 jj enough of him to recommend him to my daughter 1 since I
3 Iii!; found out that he was lawyer, he was so friendly when 4 ll I first met him, I thought that he was an insurance agent.
I thought he was trying to sell me some insurance 5 11 1! 6 until I ran up on him in the courthouse and he asked me
7 about my troubles, and I was trying to find ~ome, and he
8 I! said, well, George, I will do it in three minutes or so, i
9 1! and he did so. So I recommended him to my daughter on
10 ..,, some friends were later going to Belize which used to be
11 old British Honduras, she gave him a vote, she told me
12 she was glad to meet a man like him with his character.
13 Senator Denton. Do you have any reason to believe
14 that Mr. Sessions is racially biased or prejudiced?
15 Ii Mr. Horn. None at all. I am very tender in that place 1! 'I l' 16 ! and if I ever suspected that, I would have stood off from
17 him.
Senator Denton. Have you ever heard Jeff make any
19 comments or suggestions that would show racial insensitivity?
20 Mr. Horn. Not in my presence.
.I.~ 'I Senator Denton . From your position as a member of
22 •· the Republican Executive Committee, could you tell us what
23 your view of the general opinion of Jeff is, particularly
in the black community? __, ' )I Mr. Horn. Those that know him are respecting him 131 R o mb-:41 P A GE N O .
highly. It is the community that is perhaps 80 to 90 percent
2 II democratic but the people that know him are at least 500 qJ, 3 people out of about 10,000 or 12,000 are republicans and
4 they respect him highly. ;! 5 :I Senator Denton. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Horn, !t ji 6 l· and we appreciate your· having stayed over. It was quite
7 a sacrifice and we appreciate it. 'j 8 Mr. Horn. Thank you. 11 1! p 9 Senator Denton. Senator Helfin?
10 .. Senator Heflin. Oh, I do not have any questions other i II t• I 11 Ii than the fact that Pritchford, I believe, has got a Republican! I! I 12 ll Mayor too, have they not? I 13 I Mr. Horn. Yes, sir. I 14 I Senator Heflin. You are a Wendell Wilkie Republican? II 15 q Mr. Horn. Well, I was a young man when Wendell Wilkie
16 I! and Thomas Dewey tied up in 1940 and I got interested !• 17 p in the party. 1' 18 Senator Heflin. Well, Mayor Smith is a johnny come
19 " lately?
20 Mr. Horn. Yes, to me.
') l "- I Senator Heflin. All right, I do not have any questions.
senator Denton. Senator East?
Senator East. Thank you, no·.
Senator Denton. You can be excused if you wish, Mr.
?J Horn, but you may remain if you desire. R o _.mb-4 2 PAGE" NO_ 132
" :l I I · Reverand Ben Sawada? "· . "' 2 If you care to make an opening statement, sir, you ii'! d 3 !• can.
4 Rev. Sawada. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Heflin,
5 Senator East.
6 I do have a short statement that I would like to make
7 but first I would like to express appreciation for staying
8 here and listening and allowing me to testify before your
9 Committee on behalf of Jeff Sesssions.
10 H I do not come as an attorney, an official of any court, I· 11 nor as a politician. I come merely as a preacher wanting Ii i! 12 I to testify to the integrity and good character of Mr. Session ! 13 I as I know him. I would also like to witness to the reputation i' 14 that Mr. Sessions enjoys in our community. I am Reverand I! ' 15 " Ben Sawada, Senior Minister at Ashland Place United Methodist ",,~ ! 16 jj Church in Mobile, Alabama. This is the church where Mr. li 17 ;! Sessions and his family are members and they have been
18 active members for over ten years. Mr. Sessions, himself,
19 •: has been a participant or a member of the Methodist Church I' 20 a 11 o_f this 1 if e'·.
I have met Mr. Sessions for the first time back in
( - 1962 or 1963, when he was participating as a youth in a
week-long church sponsored youth program in Montgomery,
.., , ··' Alabama . I was there as a minister serving on the staff.
:~ Later I knew of Mr. Sessions graduation from high school fi 0 -~b-4 3 PAGE NO. _133_
and then enrollment in Huntington College, a methodist ( ..
2 '! related school. And some time later, it was around 1980, i.:~ .. 3 Mr. Sessions did invite me to participate in a program '' · 4 for the alumni day program at the Huntington College. ,, ll Then the next time our paths crossed was when I was 5 !1 ji 6 appointed Minister of the Ashland Place Church, where Mr
7 Sessions was a member. And I give all of that information
8 11 just to let you know that I have known Mr. Sessions over I'ii 9 r a period of years, but have been most closely associated
10 with him these past two years as his minister.
11 Several months ago, I was interviewed by Federal Bureau
12 Investigator, Edward Kilday and the report that I gave ,, 13 to him there, was, as far as I knew, that there was nothing
14 in Mr. Sessions' character, his activities, his behavior, I j 15 his habits which would not allow him to serve as an effective,· I ,I . 16 and, fair United States Federal Judge. I
·1 17 \. I also told the agent that as far as I knew, Mr. Sessions·
18 enjoyed a good reputation throughout our community and
19 of course, I am of the same opinion now, as I was back
20 then when interviewed.
Mr. Sessions and his wife have been members of the
22 Ashland Place Church, as I said, for over ten years, and
I ,• during that time, Mr. Sessions has been very regular and
very active in his participation and attendance at the
25 church a nd its program. o mb-44 PAGE NO. l3_4_
He has served in various elected positions, been on t' ll various boards and committees, and at present, Mr. Sessions 2 ~ :
3 is holding the office of lay leader. Of course, that is
4 Ii the highest elected position in a local church and it is
5 Ii the one that holds the most respect of the congregational II 6 I members. This reflects the respect and the trust of the
I 7 !· congregation.
11 8 So, l would like to say, that l feel that Mr. Sessions
Ii I 9 is a very honorable man, a man with high standards of moralit~
10 and a man of veracity and one who deals fairly with people. iiti II 11 ii l have never heard Mr. Sessions make any comments which I 12 l think would disqualify him as United States District
13 Judge. ll I 14 Ii Thank you.
11 Senator Denton. Thank you very much, sir. 15 ;I JI 1! 16 l! How long have you--1 wished that l had introduced 17 li you properly as a senior minister. "' Rev. Sawada. That is all right.
19 'i Senator Denton. How long have you known Mr. Sessions? '· 70 Rev. Sawada. I first met him in 1962, and since then,
'l 1 but I have· been his minister only for the past two years, i 22 though.
..!.• " Senator Denton . How regularly do you see him in that
'; ~ relationship and talk with him?
...' Rev. Sawada. Well, his being on various committees, o __mb:-:.4 5 PAGE" NO. l:}_?_
(. and boards, because of his lay leadership now, I see him ,_ . I 2 jj quite often, officially and unofficially. " 3 'l Senator Denton. To your knowledge and to y~ur hearing;
4 II has Mr. Sessions ever said anything derogatory of any race ii i. or religion? 5 I;I I! 6 :' Rev. Sawada. l have never heard it, sir.
7 Senator Denton. Would you find it easy to believe
8 that he made derogatory statements regarding civil rights
9 groups such as the SCLC or NAACP?
10 Rev. Sawada. I was surprised when l heard it.
11 Senator Denton. Senator Heflin?
12 Senator Heflin. l have no questions. ( 13 Senator Denton. Senator East?
14 Senator East. I have no questions.
15 senator Denton. Thank you very much, gentlemen, I
16 appreciate your waiting so long. And I have just been
17 informed that Senator Clarence Mitchell is here.
18 And he can come forward.
19 [The· witnesses were excused.].
20 Senator Denton. lf you will remain standing Senator
21 Mitchell, I will ask you to raise your right hand. ( 22 Do you swear that the testimony that you will give
n this Subcommit t ee today will be the truth, t he whole truch, ( •. and nothing but the truth, s o h e lp you God?
-,c L•" Mr. Mi t c h e l l . Ye s, I do. 136 I ~ o mb-46 PAGE NO.
Senator Denton. Will you please be seated? I• " 2 II Sir, . if you have an opening st~tement, you are free I. 3 !,, to make it at this time.
Mr. Mitchell. Senators and Mr. Chairman, I had submitted
5 a written statement which after having served 24 years
6 in the Maryland legislature, I recognize to be sufficient
7 for any kind of formal testimony and would be available "I 8 I to answer questions you might have. Say, briefly in terms
9 of the written statement that I have issued did not include
10 a little background of who I am and what I have been about
11 most of my life.
12 I am the son of ' Clarence Mitchell, Jr., who for 35
13 years was the Director of the Washington Bureau of the
14 NAACP, and played a major role in shaping the language
15 and the direction of most of th~ civil rights legislation
16 that has been passed by this honorable body, since 1957.
17 In my own right, I was active in the youth movement
18 of the NAACP and was one of the founders of the Student
19 Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, worked in the south,
20 in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, as well as Maryland,
21 and Maryland can be included in the south, we are below
(. ') ' l the Mason-Dixon line by geography and we are also at that ~ --
time and still to some extent below the Mason-Dixon line
..f , in philosophy and social practices, as well, which is
i 5 i: what has led me to stay in the Maryland legislature the
it I "'I :. 137 I~ 0 !fib- 4 7 PAGE NO.
: ~ I 24 years that I have stayed there.
2 I also come as president of the National Black Caucus
3 of State Legislators, an organization of 392 black state
4 I! legislators in 42 states. I have served as their national
5 president for the last six years and was unanimously reelect~ d I 6 at our conference by some 200 of our members all over the I
7 country in December to continue to serve as their president.
8 It is in that capacity that I have come to be involved
9 in the situation in Alabama, and it is in that capacity
10 that I come before this Committee to hopefully persuade i. '· I 11 the members of this panel that they would do serious injustice
,. 12 to the cause of progress and human rights, if they approve ;A 13 the nomination of Mr. Sessions.
14 Having said that, Mr. Chairman, I would welcome any
15 questions that you or any member of the panel have of me.
i. 16 :: Senator Denton. Thank you, Senator Mitchell. ! 17 ., Mr. Mitchell. Yes, sir.
18 Senator Denton. In your testimony written,. you refer
19 to having had a May 24th meeting last year with Alabama's
20 Governor George C. Wallace, at which your NBCSL Executive
21 Committee contended that the FBI was the civil
( rights of its state citizens by using intimidation and
~~ harrassment to investigate the accusations against Albert
( and Evelyn Turner and Spencer Hogue.
You go on an~ say, "We secured the Governor's promi s e o mb-48 PAGE ~O. __ _1-_J_ ~ --
I· I to mobilize the state's investigative forces, should evidence
2 supporting our contention surface at the trial of these ' d 3 Perry County Defendants."
4 I respect Governor Wallace. I like Governor Wallace,
5 !; and happen to believe that he has sincerely turned around I II " 6 on the civil rights issue. He respects me and he likes
7 me and we are in frequent telephone and personal communicat~o , .
8 ll I never got a call from him about the Perry County ! I II :• i 9 case. I wonder what mobilization he undertook or did no ,, 10 1 evidence surface that you were correct regarding your
11 !i contention that the FBI was trampling the civil rights jl I! 12 !I etc. ?
13 Mr. Mitchell. Having reviewed the conduct of the
14 hearings that were held relative to Evelyn Turner, Albert
15 Turner and Spencer Hogue, it was obvious that there were
l 16 Il many instances of the Federal Department of Justice having
17 trampled on the rights of black citizens in the State of
18 Alabama.
19 We have not had a response from the Governor as to , 20 whether or not the state intends to move forward on the
71 commitment that he made, not just to me, but to members ( of the, black members of the Alabama State Legislature,
? ~ both Senate and House, as well as members of black members
~· of state legislatures from other states, who ~ere meeting
7~ there in that state. o mb-49 PAGE NO 139 R . --·-~-
' My argument to the Governor, in requesting that he 2 make such . an investigation, should the evidence warrant
3 it, was based on the fact that the Governor of any state,
4 has a responsibility to protect the citizens of their state,
5 his or her state from any unwarranted intrusion or violation ., i: 6 " of their rights--be it from the Federal Government or be
7 it from outside forces, private forces within the community.
8 Having been to Alabama on many occasions during the
9 period from March through til now, having talked with many
10 of the citizens who felt abused by the conduct of the
11 Department of Justice, in this case, there is no other
12 conclusion that a reasonable person could come to. ' ' 'I 11 13 ~I Senator Denton. My question was not in reference I• 14 Ii to your view, it was to th'e view of Governor Wallace. You q 15 · have made your views clear, indeed, you have made your !i 16 li views as quoted by the Birmingham News, Tuesday, June ' 17 25, 1985, opening paragraph of an article headlined, "Vote
18 Fraud Case is Political Ploy Black Leader Says", "Probe
19 used as tool to get Denton reelected, Clarence Mitchell
20 says." It is by John Brinkley, Post Herald Washington Bureau,
71 Washington.
,, "The Justice Department is pursuing the black· belt
. ·· vote fraud case as a part of the Reagan Administration
' \ ploy to help Senator Jeremiah Denton get reelected Pres i dent
:·'.· of the Nat ion a 1 Black Caucus of State Legislators charged mb-50 140 0 PAGE NO. I yesterday. I The Administration is conducting this investigation J 2 ll
as a political ~ tool for Senator Jeremiah Denton, said Clarenc 3 !
Mitchell, who ~s also a Maryland State Senator. 4 '., He said, the FBI, in investigating the case, used 5 intimidation tactics designed to discourage blacks from 6 voting in future elections. 7 Denton, a Republican, is up for reelection next year." 8 Mr. Mitchell, I categorically deny now, as I have 9 on past occasions, the allegation that the President, Mr. 10
' Meese, or myself, had anything to do with using that inves- 1l il;1 1 tigation as a political tool. I was not aware of that 12 itji investigation until I read about it in the paper. Your 13 I! allegations, I consider, serious in a personal, legal and 14 ii I' professional sense. 15 :I
il:; Wh~t did you base your charge on, that I or the 16 d ~ Administration is conducting the investigation .as a political 17 .: tool for me? 18 Mr. Mitchell. First, Senator, I assume that you have 19 had, in your period of public service, contact with r , "I ... {. newspapers as well. There was one word left out and that :· I was appear. And certainly the appearance based on the ( ')' 4•·. ' circumstantial evidence led me to believe, having had ....
~- experience with the conduct of some forces in the present
administration of the Justice Department, given the quotes ... R o . mb- 51 PAGt NO. 141
of the Attorney General of the United States as to not
2 L'j believing in the presumption of innocence, a tenet that
3 is the foundation of our system of justice in this country,
4 11 given the fact that only black activists and black absentee
5 Ii voters were the victims of the harrassment of the U.S. II I 6 I Attorney's Office and then, further, given the fact that
7 the reward for the U.S. Attorney who has conducted himself Ii 8 ,." in this fashion is, that his United States Senator recommends ,." 9 I! him for appointment to the Federal Judiciary, certainly
10 presents circumstances that lead one to question as to
11 whether the activity that has been going on in Alabama, ii 12 is politically motivated. ll!I 13 11 Senator Denton. Well, 1 certainly do not agree with ,I :i that relation of the circumstances. First, the investigation 14 11 ·' 1·,I 15 :i" into· the Perry County Case appears to have been late. There d ,: 16 ii are reasons to believe that it probably should have begun
'! 17 back in 1982. There have been a string of Justice Department
18 civil rights people here apparently with whom we disagree,
l9 but many who were with the Justice Department long before
~ O President Reagan was the Chief Executive, who share that,
)1 in fact, instilled that view in me, by their expert testimony
.., ' as to why it was justified.
A young black man, a legal assistant to the District ( ':' Attorney in Marion, Lavon Phillips, gave testimony yesterday
. -· in which he characterized the situation there as one indeed, mb-5 2 R 0 P AGE NO. ___142 ___
involving intimidation of black voters. One which those t: ' ' I. black voters complained about and it was a Democratic primary 2 difficult to see, in your mind how the circumstances in 3 the ·Democratic primary would be used by me to thrust myself 4 Ii in it, to intimidate black voters but at any rate, the 5 I: ll case was realized, was justified, and it was undertaken 6 and the situation characterizing the political situation 7 ii there, by Mr. Phillips was one, which I believed. 8 !; I• And I do not want to be elected by intimidated votes, 9 but for your information, all the polls I am aware of in 10 ,. the state, show me with 40 percent of the black vote support, 11 1''· ti1. which is higher than that of my Democratic opponent. , .. 12 { So it would be insane, I think you would realize as 13 II II a politician, for me to want to intimidate voters away 14 h Ii from voting for me. 15 I! :•" Would you answer that question? 16 Mr. Mitchell. I am happy to hear that, Senator and 17 I am happy to hear, Honorable sir, that you have categorically'. 18 deny that you would participate in the initimidation of 19 :c black voters in your state. That certainly is refreshing and would give indication of the fact that these persons :.> l whom I have talked to who have fears really do not have 22 reason to be fearful at all, because you apparently are ) ...
indicating that you are going to be in the f ore front of ...' ..
...,, protecting their r i ght to participate i n the p r ocess <..; R o rnb-53 PAGE NO. 143
by FBI agents flashing badges in their faces, odd hours
2 jj of carrying them on buses to Mobile, Alabama, many of the
3 folks who had never been outside of their county, that
4 i' certainly is refreshing and l am happy to hear that. rI 5 1' Senator Denton. The allegations that you just made 11 6 I" about conditions on the bus ride and so on have been refuted
I 7 I by the testimony of man people here and by affidavit. l
8 I would charge you with sensationalizing and distorting but
9 this ia not the time or place for that.
10 Mr. Mitchell. lf l might say, Mr. Chairman, there
11 .. is one aspect of my public service that l intended to mention I? 11 12 and that l have not mentioned, and that is, for the last 11 "· 13 four years, I have chaired the Executive Nominations ii.I I: 14 ..II Committee of the Maryland Senate. This is the Committee " '!! 15 :! that is charged with the responsibility of confirming judicial: "
16 appointments of the Governor, from the district court
17 !i leveJ 1all the way to the court of appeals level, which
18 is our highest court in Maryland. So, I have had some
19 experience in weighing the factors that ought to be present
20 ·1 in confirming persons who seek service in the judiciary 'i
')._ 'I in our state. and having had the opportunity to have
( that experience, and then having looked at the record of
.. ' the present proposed appointee, r would certainly again,
very strongly suggest that this is not the kind of person
that ought to be serving the people of this country at mb-54 R 0 PAG l NO. 144
the level of the federal judiciary.
Senator Denton. Let me respond to that, sir. 2 · We have the testimony of black attorneys, we have 3 the testimony of Larry Thompson, King & Spauling Atlanta, 4 Georgia, who is former United States Attorney who has had 5 ,, I! l 1 a good bit more experience, perhaps than you, in civi 6 I rights cases. We have people who have lived in Perry County 7 who are not characterizing the situation in the manner 8 II ll you are and they have had plenty of experience with it 9 too. And if there is voter fraud going on, I suggest you 10 look at the possibility that it might have been on the 11 ii ': other side of the fence, because all of these people have 12 I asserted that if there was any, that is where it was coming l 13 II 11 I from and the prosecution failed, probably because Mr. SessionJ 14 I I 1! was a little overloaded and was not able to attend the i' 15 1: t! . I case, personally. 16 I',I so, I hope that you will take a more lenient view 17 of what is going on in Alabama. We have more elected 18 officials, black in Alabama, than any other state in the 19
Union minus one ~ We have more black mayors in Alabama 20 than any other state in the Union bar none. That is not
per capita, that is total.
I happen to know everyone of the black mayors in Alabama,
I am on friendly terms with them all. I think that although
they might not vote for me, they certainly trust me and 145 o mb-55 PAGE NO.
they like me and they have had me speak to them on a number
2 i"1 of occasions and I like them. I know that there will be 1. 3 1' Democratic and Republican all the time and I hope that ('. '.. ~. 4 Ii we get a two-party system in the south, and the black mayors
5 of Alabama gave me their state award two years ago.
6 So,· I am not exactly on bad terms with them and I
7 resent your taking umbrage and making your construction r,I 8 ii of circumstantial evidence in the manner which you did. !j L Ji 9 Have you ever brought to the attention of the Justice
10 i· Department or to any U.S. Attorney, any evidence or allega-
!i 11 I• tions of voter fraud in Alabama, and if so, what was the rII 12 !! disposition thereof?
13 11 Mr. Mitchell. I supported the Alabama Legislative 1! 14 lj Black Caucus as well as Senator Sanders and the other civil t. II !I 15 !r rights activists, voter rights activists and leadership ii 16 I! in Alabama in their efforts to get redress, of the conduct,
17 particularly in, as I remember, three counties where the
18 population which was a majority black and there are no
19 black elected officials.
Again, circumstances that certainly ought to be worthy ..... L f of inquiry on the part of any U.S. Attorney who is committed
'?.. ,") to assuring equal access to political participation by
2 ~ all the citizens of his area.
,,.. I Senator Denton. You did not personally bring any
2~ official complaint to a U.S. Attorney or to the Justice h ' o mb-56 P A G L NO. 146
I : Department or the FBI on any of these instances?
2 Mr. Mitchell. No, sir, I did not. In fact, when
3 I became involved--you know one of the strategies of those
4 who. -. would oppose the forward progress of black Americans,
5 ,, and I say, one of the strategies, because I have been in 6 situations when I was working with the SNCC organization
7 where I was facing the shotgun of a racist white sheriff H 1: 8 ll" who was determined to prevent us from registering blacks
Iil! 9 who sought to participate in the process during that period.
10 But for the fact, that that particular sheriff had
l 1 control of the trigger finger, I might not be sitting here
12 '., before you today. There are probably some people who are
13 wishing that had occurred as well.
14 So, I have seen that kind of attempt to prevent the I:,•
15 progress of the black community. And now I am seeing a
16 different kind of strategy. I am seeing a strategy that
17 is being utilized by those who would defeat right thinking
18 people of all hues and colors, and that is, the utilization
of the very laws that were passed to protect them to try
20 to defeat them.
:. i I suggest to you that we will be as vigilent as the
founders of th~s country were in presering the progress
that we have made and continuing to build on it. I come
from the state of Maryland, where I have consistently
2~ supported for U.S. Senate, a member of this Committee, mb-5 7 0 PAGE NO 147
!~ Senator Charles Mathias, because he represents the finest 1. ll ,j qualities that can be found for one who would serve in 2 ii a body such as this. And I paid no attention to the fact 3 that he happens to be of the Republican party. In spite 4 ,' . of the fact, that one of my colleagues in the Senate, a 5 I':I ii great liberal Democrat, was running against him on one 6 occasion, and I supported Senator Mathias because of what 7
ii he stood for and not what his party is. 8 I "1: I mention:.. that, to say to you, that whatever perceptions 9 •; I come up with, are not related particularly to a person's 10 •I'· party but to their conduct. 11 11 !1 Senator Denton . Well, I do not think that my conduct 12 Ji' qualifies your inferences. 13 i: ' Mr. Mitchell. I was not referring to yours. 14 ll 'I !i Senator Denton. Or circumstantial evidence. I do 15 not think that it existed there. You have quoted a statement 16 ;j and I do not know if this was misquoted or not, you said 17 you were misquoted by Mr. John Brinkley, and it should 18 have· been appeared. 19 This is another one that I would like to ask you about. 20 "There is blatant voter fraud going on in white-controlled 21 counties." You did not name the counties, but said, "There
is substantial documentation of that and we are developing
that." i .•
I have no~ heard anything about that and to my knowledqe o mb-58 PAGE NO. 148
.. !. and the Governor has not either, but I will let you know i I 2 II that I am interested in voter fraud.
3 ii Mr. Mitchell. We are still working on that and we
4 will be happy to bring that to your attention as well as
5 I' the attention·· of Sena tor Hef 1 in. 1! 6 r Senator Denton. In case, and this will be my last !. 7 remark before I pass it on to Senator Helfin, there have
8 been a number of voter fraud investigations and trials
9 in Alabama during the term of President Reagan. The 1981
10 case in Randolph County involved the indictment of 11 people, :Ifi 11 one of whom was black, and the other 10 being white. Three 11 12 people, all white, were convicted from the indictment,
14 were white.
15 ii was indicted and pled guilty to a voting rights violation.
In Marshall County, in 1984, one person, white, was indicted 16 !.!', I! 17 ii and convicted of charges similar to the Perry County Case.
18 senator Heflin?
19 "ii Senator Heflin. I have no questions. H .." 20 I ' Senator Denton. Senator East? :\'
". : 1I Senator East. I have none.
,.:. i: \..::.'· ·: Senator Denton. Thank you very much, for your testimony 22 ,·
' ...:•. Mr. Mitchell. Thank you, Senator .
I would just like to say to the Committee that the R o mb-_59 P AGF: N O . 149
chilling effect of criminal indictments in this situation
2 II and whether you are aware of it or not, it was intended
3 that there would be more than those that were ultimately
4 indicted, is the thing that ought to be of concern who
5 are charged with the responsibility, be we in federal public
6 office and that day may come for me at some point, or be
7 we in state office. And I would hope that all of us would I' i I 8 t! continue to be in the vanguard of assuring that the tools i! 9 of the federal government are not utilized to frustrate
10 the participation of any persons in the political process.
I l! 11 And that is the reason that I am here. ii l· 12 1; Senator Denton. The federal government there were i' 13 I! to investigate a case, in which blacks complained about
14 II votes being stolen or changed, and intimidation, I believe I 15 ii that the case should have been brought and so does the f l Ii !1 16 !',j Justice Department, so if there is intimidation against :i 17 !, voter fraud, I guess that is okay. But I do not think
18 that anybody wants to intimidate on voting. ,. 19 Senator Heflin, do you have anything else?
:>O Senator Heflin. No.
21 Senator Denton. If you wish to remain, Mr. Lavon
22 Phillips would like to come back to the table.
2~ He has a different perspective on the Perry cop nty
; .: situation, that might help for you to hear.
..., f . •..J Mr. Phillips, you have been sworn in so that you may mb-60 150 0 PAGC NO.
r.I be seated. You have just heard--did you hear most of the
!I testimony from State Senator Clarence Mitchell of Maryland? 2 'I Mr. Phillips. Yes, sir, most of it. 3 I! ' Senator Denton. And did you hear most of that from 4 ii 11 Mr. Sanders, Reverand Dobynes, as well? 5 I i Mr. Phillips. Yes, sir. 6 . I i Senator Denton. I will bring your attention to some 7 I 11 of the points that were made by them, starting with Senator 8 II Ii Mitchell, the trampling on the rights of black citizens 9 lli. ,. by FBI and the Justice Department. 10 I Since you were there, could you comment on that charge l l and the charge that the indictments were intended to 12 intimidate blacks from voting? 13 I I Mr. Phillips. Sir, basically the initial leg work 14 I in the investigation, the ballots that were changed, we 15 iiI !! went to visit each and every--I did not personally, but 16 q I went to visit some of them along with an FBI agent, and 17 I:
l: knocked on the person's door and through a procedure, if 18 " " F you are on law enforcement, the first thing that you do 19 is one, identify yourself. And once that agent and myself
have identified ourselves, then you proceed to get to the 21 basis of the questions that you want to ask. And those 22 who wanted to answer questions, we listened. The FBI uses
a form, 1 believe, called 302, and we did not use any undue ,.. influence or use any tactic that would constitute trickery o mb-61 P AGE NO. 151
.., to get someone to cooperate with us.
2 !I I instructed the FBI agents that if an elderly black ,, 3 person, whoever, it may be, white or black, if they did
4 1· not want to testify, do not push the issue, leave it alone. I t. There were times that I was with one or two FBI agents, 5 11 11 6 " one I can recall, I just cannot remember his name, you
7 l know, that was rather aggressive, I would say, but I told Ii,. 8 l' the agent, I said, the person did not want to cooperate,
9 •'· just let it be because it is very important and as you
10 know, on the rules of evidence, the fourth amendment,
11 1· a seizure, any time you use undue influence . on anybody i! I 12 :. to ob ta in any means of evidence, you cannot use it. !i ' Ii 13 !! So the best way to go about it is the right way. They I I. 14 Ii either cooperate, or if they do not want to cooperate, I I' · ! 15 fine.
16 And let it be. And that was my whole principle behind
17 the situation. But no, there was no intimidation whatsoever.
18 Now, in your rural communities, where you have elderly
19 black citizens, normally, as you well know, the only person
20 that they--if someone comes up to their front yard in a , : ! suit, and tie, they either are a bill collector or an ::2 insurance agent. And of course, a lot of people would be
·~·.·· ~· uncomfortable but we did the best that we coul d to remedy
~ this situati on and make those people feel that we were
.,. not there to inti mi date them . Being black i n the 152 0 ~b-~2 PAGE NO.
'I' District Attorney's office, I have an interest to see thta "'I 2 I! that my reputation is in 1 ine, that my moral·s are in line,
i: 3 that my veracity, my character does not be ruined. And
J the only way that you can do that is to be nice to people ll 5 ii and we were very nice to people. We did not intimidate 1' 6 H anybody. j. ' 7 Senator Denton. Were you aware of Senator, State Ii 8 I; Senator Mitchell's involvement at all?
9 Mr. Phillips. I was out of town at the time, I believe
10 Mr. Mitchell came to Marion with--! think it was in April
I I 11 !' or May of last year. He was in Marion and Selma, I think
12 ll he was on the steps of the Perry County Courthouse. 1! 13 II Senator Denton. Well, you gave an eloquent and I I' 14 !I believe extremely credible version of your perspective I! 15 i: on the voting situation in Perry County 1 the political '1 I' i6 1: si tua ti om. in Perry County. w~ have heard witnesses refer '!
17 to the black side and the Hayden side? How did you
18 characterize it?
! ' 19 The ones who were already incumbents were concerned
20 about something, would you express your definition of those
21 two sides, and then identify where you see Senator Mitchell,
! - ' which side was he on? Mr. Phillips. Well, getting to the basis of the
~· situation, the political atmosphere in Perry County, as
75 I stated prior, is not only a white and black power struggle, :· o mb-6_3 PAGE NO. 153
t' as far as political ideas are concerned. There is a black
2 ii on a black power struggle. As I stated yesterday that
II 3 as the black population in your rural counties become more
4 and more educated in their ideas, and diversified in their ij ~: 1! 5 I' ideas, basically, you know, obviously, it is hard to control 11 6 r independent people. So, with some politics or diversity
7 in thinking when it comes to politics, if you are educated, Ii 8 1: you can think for yourself, in my opinion. If you are i'. I• 9 not educated you are subject to be condemned and only be
10 told what should be told, in my opinion.
f. 11 jl Perry County still has a high illiteracy rate among ;I 12 its black citizens. There was a firm that was in Perry
13 11.! County in 1980 that took a survey and only in 1980, this L 14 II survey stipulated that only 34.6 percent of all Perry County "'! 15 black residents completed the 12th grade. Less than 6 percent
16 went on to college. And only 3 percent ·of those blacks
17 that went on to college, actually graduated. Those figures
18 are startling. But that is increasing year by year.
19 As far as Mr. Mitchell, I do not know him personally,
20 I have been born and reared in Cleveland, Ohio and I have
2 1 been reading about him in high school and college, but
( obviously to me, it was that he was with the Albert Turner
Spencer Hogue and Evelyn Turner. He is not trying to hide
'),_ .'. that obviously, but that is just the way it is. I am quite
25 sure that he ha~ some interest, you know, and I am not R 0 mb-64 154
going to knock what he believes in. I,, 2 !1 Senator Denton. You said there were some blacks though,
3 who were worried about the former civil rights leaders?
4 Mr. Phillips. Oh, yes, sir.
11 ; 5 1 Sena tor Denton. Would you go into that for just a ,I I• I: 6 :· moment?
7 i. Mr. Phillips. My office received some complaints, I' .1 a !: from Col. Warren P. Connor, retired, United States Army
9 who is the incumbent elected tax assessor. And Mr. Reese
10 Billingsley, who is the incumbent elected county commissioner
11 Ii,, in Place I, in Perry County, taken my--and this is what i: 12 my whole rationale is about--Reese Billingsley is serving ij I. his third term as county commissioner in Perry County. 13 1·,I !l t: Ii His first term, Albert Turner supported him. In the second 14 i! ii 15 term, when it came around, Albert thought that his ideas ·! 16 ii and his political practices did not dictate that of his
17 organization. And so from there, all hell broke loose.
18 You know, you are not doing what I am telling you to do
19 and you do not believe in what I believe in, so therefore,
20 it creates problems. And you know, this is what you have.
~l Andrew Hayton in Union Town, there has been a big conflict ( between Albert and Andrew Hayton. Andrew Hayton is the
~) black mayor of union Town who was also a candidate against
Hank Sanders for the State Senate this year. And that
~~ in and . of itself, is creating problems as of now. mb-65 il (J PAGE N O . _ _!?~
Ii You have two different political idealists who believe ! ij n in two different, who have two different political--! will 2 !' not say, backgrounds, but you know there is a difference 3 in their constituency in my opinion. 4
Senator Denton. Well, you also stated that I was 5
correct generally and I assume that Mr. Mitchell can hear 6 this because you are not from Alabama, he has been down 7 there for some years now that the civil rights movement 8 including NAACP had a very difficult and just road which 9 they traveled, during the 60's. My best friend in Virginia 10 is V. Dabney who wsa in the civil rights movement in the 11 1.,· 30's. My other best friend in Virginia, just deceased, 1 12 " 11 was also in. the civil riqhts movement at that time. 1 happene ~ 13 II,. ·1 I· to get those friends in the Navy but I have · been known 14 11 I in my schoolyard in Mobile, Alabama, to get in a fight 15 when I was in the 7th grade because some of the boys were 16 throwing rocks at the black maids walking home in their 17 white uniforms. 18 And it was a tough fight, I mean one which involved 19 picking up a board and challenging a bigger guy because 20 the board had a nail in i t and it involved more than one 2 I guy on each side.
So, I am with all of that . . What that man has told
f me, what I b e l i eve to be true, before he spoke and that
is, i t i s time to r e cognize the fact that many black s down , } ~· "··' h o mb-66
there, although aware that more progress needs to be made,
2 q are aware that progress has been made and they want to
3 shift from the political rabbit activist activity to some
4 kind of economic improvement getting rid of the illiteracy
5 and going on with the rise of the south which is corning
6 about because of the rate at which blacks have come into
7 the opportunity for the production of goods and services,
8 through education and equal opportunity for jobs.
9 Maybe not equal. So I just wish you guys could cool
10 it a little bit, frankly and give it a little room. Give
11 the south a little room to show from its whites some of
12 the hospitality which they really have, having been kicked
13 properly in the 60's. I say that not because it has anything
14 !·i to do with this hearing, but because it has to do with
15 a more important thing.
16 Mr•. Mitchel 1. Senator, my commitment comes from
17 experiences and experiences that were told to me. My grand-
1? father comes frorn--rny maternal grandfather came from Carrolton
10 Mississippi, where as a 10 year old boy he watched his
aunt Ginney and two cousins lynched. She was the postmistress
in Carollton, Mississippi.
Senator Denton. I agree, that is why I said--
Mr. Mitchell. My grandfather shared that story with
'• . us and left Mississippi and I can say to you today , that
I am proud to go back to Mississippi and to Alabama to o mb- 6 7 PAGE NO. 157
i·
see the progress that has been made and I spent, I went
il ! 2 L·1 county by county, I spent time in Alabama during this period,
l 3 i' not just on one occasion, but on a number of occasions
4 not with any intention of trying to do damage to any progress,;
1:i· s but hopefully with the intention of trying to give support ~ ! Ii 6 to the progress that has been made. And I will continue
7 to be about that. 1: 8 Ii Senator Denton. Articles like this and the kind of !I I· 9 . thing going on in Perry County where the power structure " 10 is trying to perpetuate itself, I do not think contribute
11 to an acceleration of progress. And the progress has
12 accelerated. I do not want to see it arrested.
13 Can you say anything Mr. Phillips about the law
14 enforcement people across the street, that Reverand Dobynes
15 referred to? The numbers of them and so on? I·
16 Mr. Phillips. Well, first of all, speaking about
17 Reverand Dobynes concerning the streets were blocked off
18 and there were law enforcement on every corner, blah, blah,
19 blah.
20 You know, that is absurd. I have stated my feelings
21 about Reverand Dobynes yesterday and I would be glad to
22 state them again.
Senator Denton. How about with respect to Mr. Sanders'
~ ~ testimony about the people being forced to go to Mobile,
2 ~ the selective prosecution of blacks, do you have any remarks f./ __ o _ ~b-68 PAG! NO. 158
'!
i' t .. other than the ones that you made yesterday about that? 2 II Mr. Phillips. No, sir, I do not agree with that either. ,, Senator Denton. You do not agree with what Mr. Sanders 3 '
4 Ii said about those things? 5 r.I Mr. Phillips. No~ 11 6 I· You see, let me say one thing, when you are working 1:
7 11 in a prosecutorial capacity, and people make legitimate l I ! I . I I complaints, that the prosecutor, such as my boss. Roy Johnson, ' 8 i t! ji 9 such as Jeff Sessions, those complaints are legitimate.
10 I: Now, if the evidence that you should move forward, you
11 do that. And like I stated yesterday, you just do not Iii! 12 compromise your position on politics. Sometimes things ·' 11 ' ·1 13 I,I. have to be done for the good and safety of the community. j:
14 11 People may not see the results now, but in the long run, I 15 I they will put a deterrent to absentee ballot fraud, not I I 16 Ii only keep the blacks from doing it but to keep the whites .: 17 ·: from doing it.
18 I want to say one thing, I admit that in the 60's,
19 you know, in 1965, I was six years old. Not old enough
2r to remember. I cannot compare myself to Senator Mitchell's
' experience on that, but from what my parents have told 2: ·· me, yes, there was fraud in the white community. But two
....') "".' wrongs do not make a right. So you have to do the best .,1: you can and the whites are out there frauding the absentee
.) ~- ballot process , they ought to be prosecute d, and if the mb-69 159 0 PAGE NO.
blacks are doing it, they should be treated no different ( .. than anybody else. 2 ,. Senator Denton. I am sure Senator Heflin and I agree 3 with you and Mr . . Spiegelman who is my opponent and now
!· trying to run a voter fraud reform program, we have his 5 'I I:'-· parallel on the Republican side, Senator Cabanis trying 6 to do the same thing. The more we can make it a free vote, 7 I 1: Ji available to everyone without fear with as much as information\ 8 l' I!" about the candidates, the better. That is how you are going 9 to get the best people in office, here and down there. 10 Senator Heflin? l l 1; Senator Heflin. I have no questions. 12 : 1.'i Senator Denton. Senator East? 13 ,: Senator East. I have none. 14 Senator Denton. Thank you very much, gentlemen. 15 This hearing stands adjourned. 16 [Whereupon, the hearing was adjourned at 6:22 p.m.). 17
18
19
2C
21
22 .....
75 ..... ,. , .,; , \I' \.. ' . j) ' ' ·- ; '\ ~L -~ \ pl.:1ce like this. My .ls s i st .l n t , former a HJ 1 :; L .111 L , rho m .1 s '\ ' \
'. \ 5 Figures, who is black--his office was right acro:.s the hall
,_j 6 from mine for four years.
7 We ~ent over and I chatted in his off ice and
8 philophized, I called it, a number of times, and I was over
9 there regaling about the National Council of Churches. I am
10 a United Methodist and we fund them and my money qoes to them, - ·-· 11 but I have complained about them.
12 And I was making this point, as I recall this conversa-
13 tion, and I said, you know, when an organization like the 1: 14 :: National Council of Churches gets involved in political
activities and international relations that people consider
to be un-American, they lose their moral authoritv and
1: ability to function, or to speak with authority in the public
.... because people see them as political.
19 And I also barreled on and said that that is true; the
20 NAACP and other civil rights organizations, when they leave
21 the basic discriminatory questions and start getting into
22 matters such as foreign policy and things of that nature and
23 other political issues--and that is probably something I
24 should not have said, but I really did not mean any harm by
25 it.
------·· I I certainly do not think the_~~~ional_~oun~il of_Churchesl ------·-- 2 and certainly not the NAACP, as being an un-American
organization. The National Association for the Advancement 3 ------·-·· 4 of Colored People--that organization has, without question,
5 done more than probably any other organization to promote
6 racial progress in the South.
7 I have seen it; I have seen how far we have gone in a
little over 20 years, and it has been remarkable. 8 11 I! 9 I The Chairman. And you attribute thac largely to the I I 10 NAACP, the progress made?
11 Mr. Sessions. Well, they were obviously one of the major \
' 1 • I c, r ·J .n 1 i ~ ~ 1 L i o n :.; i 11 i L , .:i n \1 I r l: s p e c t th .1 l o r •J . 1 11 i ..: .. 1 t. i u n
I, . /' , .., . ·"' /) ~ /1 ~x, t:9 STATE OF ALABAMA ) ) AFFIDAVIT PERRY COUNTY )
Before me, Sabrah H. Agee, the undersigned. Authority, came the Affiant, John Anderson, Chief of Police, City of Marion, Perry County, Alabama,
and deposes and says as follows:
My name is John Anderson. I am thirty-nine years of age, and a life-
time resident of Marion, Perry County, Alabama. I have served the City of
Marion as its Police Chief for the past fifteen years, and was serving in this
capacity during the Vote Fraud Investigation in 1984.
On October 21, 1984, Special Agent Leslie Sue of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation contacted my office and informed me that he had received
information that there was going to be an attempt to prevent the Federal Grand
Jury witnesses from going to Mobile to testify before the Grand Jury concerning
the Perry County Vote Fraud Investigation. When I received this in formation,
it was decided that the police department would provide whatever security necessary
to protect these witnesses from harrassment.
On October 22, 1984, my department supplied two officers, Lt. Don Caver,
and Patrolman Gabriel Jones, as security while the witnesses were boarding the
bus bound for Mobile. Also on the scene was Conservation Officer Mike Nichols,
who was assigned to Perry County at that time, and who worked out of the
Marion Police Department. Three F. B. I •. Agents were also present at the lo;iding
site. One was the aforementioned Special Agent Leslie Sue, and two were agt!nts
from Montgomery. do not know the names of the Montgomery Agents. C.Jpt.
George Jones, of the Alabama State Troopers Office, came to Marion, but waited
inside the Marion Police Department, along with three other Troopers. The bus
loading zone was in a public parking lot, next to the U. S. Post Office, and it
was directly across the street from the Perry County Courthouse. After all / .... '.: :cCi vit of .J ohn 1\ndcr$on \ l.! rCh 17, 19S G .....
tne Grand Jury witnesses were loaded onto the bus, the Alabama State Troopers
drove over t.o the loading site and waited for the bus to leave for Mobile. To
the best of my knowledge, there were no other Law Enforcement Officers assigned
to the aforementioned detail, and there were no other Law Enforcement Officers
present at the loading site. The only uniformed Law Enforcement personnel in
the immediate vicinity of the bus were Lt. Caver, and Officer Jones, of the
Marion Police Department. There were no streets blocked, and at no time were
any weapons displayed other than the pistols belonging to the uniformed officers
at the site, and these pistols were in the officer's holsters at all times.
The above statement is true and correct to the best of my knowlege
and belief. V . ~ Anderson, Chief of Police arion, Alabama
Sworn and subscribed before me on this the 17th day of March, 1986.
)~.
·. ,,
•.
The Bad Hum or·of Mr... Sessions ' ,. "I'm often loose with my' tongue," Jefferson on the .American Civil Liberties Union, the Na ·onal B~uregard Sessions 3d told the Senate Judiciary Council of Churches, the Southern Christian Le r .Committee. "I may have said something aoout the ship Conference and other groups with which he is N.X.A.C.P. being un-American or Communist, but I agrees. When told that a judge considered a wime- meant no harm by it." - Iiiwyer ... a-disgrace .to his race" for litigating a big . . .· _ Neither do most people who like to pop off now · voting rights case in.Mobile, Mr. Sessions replied, f and then. ~ut Mr. Sessions is not most people. He is · "Well, maybe he is." When the subject was the Ku the United States Attorney for the Southern District Klux Klan.murder of a black man, Mr. Session5 of Alabama and President Reagan's nominee for quipped to a black lawyer that he thought Klansmen the Federal District Court in Mobile. His racial were "0.K." until he learned that some of them 7 ticisms, as reported to Congress by ::b:::I==~~~~ smoked pot. are unfunny,~ resented and disqu mg. These indecencies may not shock Attorney Gen- Mr. SesSloiis and his supporters say his re . eral Edwin Meese, who has himself slandered the marks are made "amiably" and meant to be aP A.C.L. U. But the Senate ought· to have no trouble preciated' by black listeners. He defends himself finding Mr. Sessions unqualified on the basis of his further by denying some of the remarks and saying immature utterances. The Federal court in which that still others have been misinterpreted. To reject he would sit must render equal justice in a district {him for the F=nch, the Senate need only con nearly half of whose citizens are black. There is· no ~- what he di'ni to having said. · place on the bench for his racist brand of bad Mr ..Sessio · as pinned the un-American label qumor. Sei°Vf.;ewMead Data Central PAGE 15 24TH STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format. The Associated Press The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press. March 13, 1986, Thursday, AM cycle SECTION: Washington Dateline LENGTH: 555 words HEADLINE: Judicial Nominee Admits Remarks About NAACP and Church Group BYLINE: By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: WASHINGTON KEYWORD: Judicial Candidate-Racism BODY: President Reagan's nominee for an Alabama federal judgeship acknowledged Thursday he accused prominent civil rights and church groups of engaging in un-American activities. Jefferson B. Sessions III told the Senate Judiciary Committee he made the remark while referring to political activities by the National Council of Churches and the National Assdciat1on For the Advancement of Colored People. At a confirmation hearing, Democrats assailed the civil rights record of Sessions, the U.S. attorney in Mobile who was nominated as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Alabama. Sessions, admitting he sometimes was "loose with my tongue," defended his civil rights record and testified remarks attributed to him were taken out of context. -A number of allegati the nominee were made in a sworn statement signed Wednesday by • Gerald Hebert, Justice Department civil rights attorney who worked with Sess · hts cases. According to Hebert's statement, "It was in the context of my talking to Jeff about the NAACP that he made some comments about the NAACP and the ACLU
PAGE 16 The Associated Press, March 13, 1986 "I don•t think of the National Council of Churches and the NAACP as being un-American organi1ations. The NAACP has done more than any organi1ation to promote racial progress in the South." Sessions also was asked about other statements. According to Hebert, the nominee said he agreed with a comment that a white civil rights attorney was a "disgrace to his race" for representing blacks. And according to an allegation made ta the committee by someone else, Sessions said he thought Ku Klux Klan members were "OK until I found out t~ey smoke pot. 11 In regard to the remark on the civil rights lawyer, Sessions said, "I may have said, 'Maybe he is ' (a disgrace). I don't know why I may have said tt1at. 11 Sessions described the Klan remark as a joke, and called the organi1ation "a force for hatred and bigotry." He said at the time he made the remark, he was involved in prosecution of two Klan members for the murder of a black man. The nominee also was critici1ed for prosecuting black civil rights activist& who were accused of changing absentee ballots in a Perry County, Ala., election. The defendants were acquitted. Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., produced a number of the ballots that showed original votes were crossed out and changed to other candidates. He said the U. S. attorney was doing his duty by prosecuting the case. However, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., told Sessions his nomination was a "throwback to a shameful era" in civil rights and suggested he withdraw and quit as U.S. attorney. Sessions called the comments "the most painful thing ever said to me." Sen. Jeremiah Denton, R-Ala., and Thurmond said they believed the nominee was qualified.
LE'%!1S NE'%!1S LE'%!1S NE'%!1S ------
PAGE 13 22ND STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Proprietary to the United Press International 1986 March 14, 1986, Friday, PM cycle SECTION: Washington News LENGTH: 534 words HEADLINE: Judicial nominee accused of racism BYLINE: By ROBERT DOHERTY DATELINE: WASHINGTON KEYWORD: Sessions BODY: A Reagan nominee to a federal judgeship in Alabama has been accused of making racist remarks and calling such civil rights groups as the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union 1 'un-American. 1 1 During six hours of confirmation hearings Thursday for Jefferson Sessions III as U.S. Attorney in Mobile, Ala., Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., charged Sessions was a ''disgrace to the Justice Department'' and urged the nomination be wi tt1d rawn. ''Mr. Sessions is a throwback to a shameful era,'' Kennedy told the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was considering Sessions's nomination to be a federal district judge in southern Alabama. ''He is, I believe, a disgrace to the Justice Department. He should withdraw 1 his nomination and resign his position, ' Kennedy said. White House spokesman Larry Speakes said today Reagan stands behind the selection ''because he's the president's nominee and he's the best person for the job. 1 1 Speakes said he did not know whether Reagan knows of Sessions' remarks. 1 'The president still supports the nominee, 11 Speakes said. Sessions, 38, was controversial because of his unsuccessful prosecution of three civil rights leaders in a voter-fraud case, and several civil rights organirations have accused him of making racist remarks. Sessions defended his handling of the voter-fraud case and tried to explain the context of his alleged racist statements. He said Kennedy's charges were 1 'the most painful thing I have ever t1ad said to me.' 1 In one case a Justice Department attorney interviewed by the committee, J. Gerald Hebert, said Sessions had referred to the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union as ''un-American' 1 organirations. Sessions denied actually using the term, and said he 1 1 respects' 1 the NAACP. LEJ:{IS NEJ:{IS LEX PAGE 14 Proprietary to the United Press International, March 14, 1986 Sen. Jeremiah Denton, R-Ala., the man who recommended Sessions, said the allegations against Sessions were actually 1 •part of a whole network of activity to discredit me and turn me out of office. 1 1 Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C. and the panel chairman, said he expected to support Sessions. Sessions• nomination was before the committee late last November but Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., ranking Democrat on the panel, used a parliamentary manuever to delay consideration. The committee staff has been investigatirfg .sessions since then. Several senators also asked Sessions about Hebert's accusation that when Hebert asked Sessions about a claim that white civil rights attorney James 1 1 Blacks hi re was a ' •disgrace to his race, ' Se.s.s ions replied, 'Maybe he is. ' • •'I don't know why I would have said that. I don't believe that,•• he added during nearly six hours of questioning. •'He's one of the best lawyers in the country.' ' Hebert, who testified under oath Wednesday, said he believed some of Sessions's statements showed 1 'racial insensitivity,' 1 but he did not believe Sessions was a racist. He said Sessions had cooperated well with him on cases. ,- ''He is a man of his word. When he says something, I believe him,' 1 said Hebert, who described himself as a friend of Sessions. •'If he says he's going 1 to enforce the law ••. I believe him. ' The panel was scheduled to hear from witnesses on Session's nomination next week. l LE>XIS NE>XIS LE>XIS NE>XIS PAGE 11 20TH STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format. The Associated Press The materials in the AP file were caMpiled by The Associated Press. These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press. March 14, 1986, Friday, PM cycle SECTION: Washington Dateline LENGTH: 599 words HEADLINE: Judicial Nominee Admits Labeling NAACP Activities Un-American BYLINE: By DAVID PACE, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: WASHINGTON KEYWORD: Prosecutor-Civil Rights BODY: A federal prosecutor, nominated by President Reagan ta be a federal judge in Alabama, has acknowledged describing the political activities of prominent civil rights and church organizations as un-American. U.S. Attorney Jefferson B. Sessions III of Mobile, Ala., told the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday that he meant no harm when he made such comments about the National Council of Churches, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and other civil rights groups. During the stormy six-hour confirmation hearing, Sessions denied that he once told a black attorney he should "be careful about t10w he talked to wt1i te folks" and denied using a derogatory term ta refer ta blacks. But he conceded that he once had agreed with a statement made in the presence of a Justice Department lawyer that a prominent white attorney was a "disgrace to his race 11 because tie represented blacks. "I guess I said that," Sessions replied when asked whether he had agreed with the statement about tt1e lawyer. "But I can't imagine why I would have said it." Sessions also acknowledged that he once made a statement about the Ku Klux Klan to the effect tt1at, "I used to think they were aka~· . But they 1 re pat smokers." Sessions said that statement was made in jest ta other attorneys in his office wt1ile tt1ey were reviewing a rep:o:rt about Klan involvement in t1'1e murder of a young black man in Mobile. He told the committee he views the Klan as "a farce for hatred and bigotry." A long list of civil rights and voting rights activists, led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, had been scheduled ta testify against Sessions' nomination because of his prosecution last year of three black activists in Perry County, Ala., on vote fraud charges. All three were acquitted. LE>XIS NE>X PAGE 12 The Associated Press, March 14, 1986 But the testimony from those witnesses was postponed until next week after the new accusations against Sessions kept the 38-year-old prosecutor an the witness stand throughout the hearing. A number of the allegations were made in a sworn statement signed Wednesday by J. Gerald Hebert, a Justice Department civil rights attorney who worked with Sessions on voting rights cases. According to Hebert's statement, "It was in the context of my talking ta Jeff about the NAACP that he made same comments about the NAACP and the ACLU CAmerican Civil Liberties Union>. He said he thought they were un-American. "He said that he thought they did mare harm than good when they were trying to force civil rights dawn the throats of people who were trying ta put problems behind them. 11 Sessions denied making such an accusation, but he acknowledged using the ward un-American in a conversation about the NAACP, the National Council of Churches and other civil rights groups _ but not the ACLU. "I said when they take positions that people think are un-American they hurt themselves," Sessions said. "I don't think of the National Council of Churches and the NAACP as being un-American organizations. The NAACP has done mare than any organization to promote racial progress in the South." After Sessions was questioned about Hebert's statement, Hebert showed up at the hearing and volunteered to testify, saying he was "troubled" that his statement was being used ta create the impression that Sessions is a racist. "I don't know whether he is ca racist> or not," Hebert said, adding later, "I think that some of the comments he has made •.• showed a lack of racial sensitivity." Hebert said Sessions was one of the most.cooperative federal prosecutors in the Soutt1 when tt1e Justice Department needed help prosecuhng cases. ------I LE}f{IS NE}f{IS LE}f{IS NE}f{IS PAGE 9 15TH STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format. The Associated Press The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press. March 19, 1986, Wednesday, AM cycle SECTION: Washington Dateline LENGTH: 521 words HEADLINE: Alabama Federal Judge Nominee Still Under Fire BYLINE: By DAVID PACE, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: WASHINGTON KEYWORD: Sessions-Judgeship BODY: President Reagan's nominee for a federal judgeship in Alabama came under continuing fire Wednesday over racial remarks and his role in the prosecution of several civil rights activists. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., charged Wednesday his position on the nomination of U.S. Attorney Jefferson B. Sessions III of Mobile, Ala., had been misrepresented by Sen. Jeremiah Denton. Kennedy made the accusation after Denton, R-Ala., told a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on that Kennedy no longer objected to Sessions' role in the prosecution of three Alabama civil rights activists on vote fraud charges. Kennedy, who had called last week for Sessions to resign and withdraw as a nominee for the judgeship, was not at the hearing when Denton made the statements. But he arrived soon afterwards and quickly took issue with Denton. He said he found prosecutions of the civil rigt1ts activists "very, very troublesome" and added that ~ie is 11 most concerned about the racist remarks that Mr. Sessions has acknowledged he made," tie said. CBS reported Wednesday night that Reagan was embarassed by the comments attributed to Sessions and said the White House may quietly open the door for Sessions to withdraw. Asked about the report, White House spokesman Albert R. Brashear said, "He's still the president's nominee. He remains the president's nominee and that 's the extent of our comment. 11 Denton told Kennedy he "certainly didn't mean to misquote you." But tie insisted that Kennedy had told him he no longer had any reservations about Sessions' decision to prosecute the case. LE>X LE}f{IS NE}f{IS LE}f{IS NE}f{IS · res atMead Data Central PAGE 7 9TH STORY Of Level 1 printed in FULL format. The Associated Press The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press. March 20, 1986, Thursday, PM cycle SECTION: Washington Dateline LENGTH: 629 words HEADLINE: Judge Nominee Accused Of Hindering Probe of Klan Murder BYLINE: By DAVID PACE, Associated Press Writer I DATELINE: WASHINGTON KEYWORD: Sessions BODY: A black lawyer who resigned last year as an assistant federal prosecutor says President Reagan's nominee for an Alabama federal judgeship tried to induce him to drop his investigation into the murder of a black man whose body was hung in a tree after he was fatally beaten. But Thomas Figures, in testimony prepared for today's confirmation hearing of U.S. Attorney Jefferson B. Sessions III, said Sessions never ordered him drop the investigation and became supportive of his efforts once it became apparent "we were going to break the case." 2gures was scheduled to testify this afternoon when the Senate Judicary Committee resumed its confirmation hearing an Sessions' nomination to be a U.S. district judge. Copies of his testimony were released Wednesday, but Figures refused to discuss it with reporters. Sessions' nomination has become embroiled in controversy because of his role in the unsuccessful prosecution last year of three Alabama civil rights activists on vote fraud charges and because of a series of statements attributed to him by lawyers with whom he has worked. Part of Figures• written testimony centered on Sessions' role in the federal and state investigation into the 1981 slaying of Michael Donald. A Ku ~lux Klanman, Henry Francis Hays, was convicted in 1983 of state capital murder charges after another Klansman, James Knowles, pleaded guilty to a federal charge and agreed to testify against Hays. Figures said ln his testimony that Sessions attempted "to persuade me to discontinue pursuit of the case." He said sessions told him that the case was "a waste of time, that it wasn't going anywhere, that I should spend more time on other things." "All of these statements were well calculated to induce me to drop the case," Figures said. "On the other hand, none of them amounted to a direct order that PAGE 8 The Associated Press, March 20, 1986 I do so." Figures• testimony was in sharp contrast to the comments Wednesday of Barry Kowalski, the deputy chief of the Justice Department's civil rights division. He said he worked with Sessions on the Donald investigation and found him to be "very supportive." Lawyers said last week that Sessions had labeled civil rights and church groups "un-American" and had agreed with the statement that a prominent white lawyer was a "disgrace to his race" because he represented blacks. CBS reported Wednesday night that Reagan was embarrassed by the comments attributed to Sessions and that the White House was quietly opening the door for Sessions to withdraw. Asked about the report, White House spokesman Albert R. Brashear said: "He ' s still the president's nominee. He remains the president's nominee and that's the extent of our comment." Sen. Jeremiah Denton, R-Ala., who recommended Sessions to Reagan, was accused Wednesday by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., of misrepresenting Kennedy's position on the Sessions' nomination. Denton said twice during the confirmation hearing Wednesday that Kennedy no longer objected to Sessions' role in the prosecution of three Perry County, Ala., civil rights activists on vote fraud charges. Kennedy, who had called last week for Sessions to resign and withdraw as a nominee for the judgeship, was not at the hearing when Denton made the statements. But he arrived soon afterwards and quickly took issue with Denton. "I find the Perry County prosecutions very, very troublesome," Kennedy said. Also at Wednesday's session, Kowalski and two other career lawyers in the Justice Department's civil rights division said they had never heard Sessions make any comment they would consider racially insensitive. Former U.S. Attorney Larry Thompson of Atlanta, who is black, also testifed in support of Sessions, describing him as "a good man and an honest man, untainted by prejudice." LE}f{IS NE}f{IS LE}f{IS NE}f{IS PAGE 5 7TH STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format. Proprietary to the United Press International 1986 March 21, 1986, Friday, PM cycle SECTION: Washington News LENGTH: 534 words HEADLINE: Sessions: Charges he called former assistant 'boy' untrue BYLINE: By ROBERT DOHERTY DATELINE: WASHINGTON KEYWORD: Sessions BODY: Jefferson Sessions III, President Reagan's nominee to the federal bench in Alabama, denied assertions he called a black assistant prosecutor ''boy, 1 1 saying they are ' 1 absolutely untrue. 1 1 Thomas Figures, until last July an assistant U.S. attorney, told the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday that Sessions, the U.S. attorney in Mobile, Ala., also made other racist statements that should prevent his confirmation. 1 1 I am convinced tt1e committee should disapprove his nomination, 1 1 Figures said during the panel's third day of hearings on the controversial nomination. 1 'The statements he has made fall far short of the high standards that should be required of a federal judge. 1 1 Sessions, however, said the charge he called Figures ''boy'' was ''absolutely untrue.' 1 He said he had never made the remark, even in jest. Another assistant U.S. attorney Figures claimed also had called him ''boy' 1 also denied the ct1arge. Sen. Jeremiah Denton, R-Ala., who nominated Sessions, said he found the charge ''so incredible that it makes me wonder that others can find it credible.'' Civil rights groups object to Sessions's nomination because they say he selectively prosecuted three civil rights leaders for voter fraud in Alabama's Perry County. The three were acquitted. Justice Department officials have defended Sessions's action. Justice Department attorney J. Gerald Hebert earlier told the committee that Sessions had referred to the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union as 11 un-Amer1can 11 groups. Sessions replied the '•un-American' 1 remark was taken out of context. On Thursday, Figures also said Sessions had made similar comments to him. 1 'Mr. Sessions ... stated that he believed the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Operation PUSH and the National Council of Churches were all un-American organizations teaching anti-American values, 1 1 Figures testified. ''The statement clearly was not intended as a joke. 1 1 LE>X ''I certainly took it as a serious statement,' 1 Figures said. Asked by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., whether Sessions had made any other similar remarks, Figures replied, 1 'I was regularly called 'bay. 1 Asked by Kennedy who had made the remark, Figures said, ''Mr. Sessions did, one or two of tt'e other ass is tan ts.' 1 Later, under questioning by Denton, Figures detailed only one alleged 1 1 instance when Sessions had called him ' boy. ' Figures refused ta detail his charges to reporters after he testified. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Vulev1ch, whom Figures also said had called 1 1 him 'boy, ' categorically denied the charge, and praised Sessions as ''a man of utmost integrity.'' Justice Department officials produced a document signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ginny Granade, whom Figures said may have overheard Sessions call him I I boy. I I 11 I have never heard Mr. Sessions refer ta Mr. Figures as 1 boy 1 or ta call him by anything other than his given name,'' said her statement, issued in Mobile about an hour after Figures made the charge. I 5er0ces-~t Mead Data Central PAGE 2 3RD STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format. The Associated Press The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press. March 24, 1986, Monday, PM cycle SECTION: Washington Dateline LENGTH: 788 words HEADLINE: Two Distinct Portraits Of Judicial Nominee Emerge From Hearings BYLINE: By DAVID PACE, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: WASHINGTON KEYWORD: Alabama Judge BODY: After listening to more than 20 witnesses during a three-day confirmation hearing, ttle Senate Judiciary Committee must choose betwee.u two strikingly different portraits of the man President Reagan has nominated for a federal ...... -judgeship in south Alabama. I On the one hand, there is the Jefferson B. Sessions III portrayed by witnesess as an able and hard-working U.S. attorney respected throughout the Mobile, Ala., community for his honesty, compassion and even - handed application of the law. On the other, there is the Sessions portr yed by witnesses as a petty racist who refers to his black assistant as 'boy ' describes church and civil rights groups as "un-American" and refuses se his office to protect the rights of blacks. ~ The sharp contrasts between those two portraits of Sessions can be traced in part to two factors: Sessions• decision last year to inject the U.S. attorney's office into the racial and political struggle that began in west Alabama's predominantly black counties in the mid-1960s. And the decision last year by Democrats on the Judiciary Committee to "fully and fairly" investigate all judicial nominees submitted by Reagan. Sessions' decision to prosecute three Perry County, Ala., civil rights activists on vote fraud charges struck a raw nerve in the nation's civil rights community. One of the targets of that prosecution was Albert Turner, a former aide to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Turner earned his stripes in the civil rights movement in 1965, when he led marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma for their "Bloody Sunday" encounter with Alabama state troopers. LE>XIS NE>XIS LE>XIS NE>XIS ------ PAGE 3 The Associated Press, March 24, 1986 A week after that encounter, King led the historic Selma-to-Montgomery march that produced the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the one piece of legislation most responsible for enfranchasing Southern blacks. The idea that two decades later the same Albert Turner could be charged by a Republican prosecutor with stealing the votes of elderly blacks simply was incomprehensible to civil rights veterans. And when Turner and his two co-defendants were acquitted of all charges. by a federal court jury, the trial became for civil rights groups the proof they needed that the prosecution was a politically motivated attempt by the Reagan administration to turn back the clock on the gains of the civil rights movement. Against that background, Reagan last October submitted Sessions' name to the Senate for a U.S. District Court judgeship in Mobile. Within days, civil rights groups were charging that the nomination was a payoff for Sessions' participation in the vote fraud prosecution. Sessions' nomination, and the charges that accompanied it, arrived at the Judiciary Committee just as the panel's Democrats were beginning to flex their muscle out of fear that Reagan's judicial nominees would leave a conservative mark an the federal judiciary for decades. The result was a prolonged and detailed investigation by committee Democrats into Sessions' personal background, his public and private statements and his record as an attorney and federal prosecutor. The fruits of that investigation were laid out for the committee during the past two weeks in a series of hearings that included testimony from 21 witnesses and written statements from another half-dozen. Ten more witnesses who wanted ta testify against Sessions, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, never made it because of scheduling conflicts. Many of the witnesses who did testify were summoned to Washington from Mobile as part of a counterattack led by Sen. Jeremiah Denton, the Alabama Republican who recommended Sessions to Reagan and who has insisted that opponents of the nomination are waging a "smear campaign." "It t1as been the most amazing t~1ing that 1 s ever happened to me, 11 Sessions said in a telephone interview Friday. 11 n1e ct1arges and statements ... were so horrible and terrible that you almost didn 1 t know how to respond to them. 11 While insisting that he is not a racist and would never support anyone for a federal judgeship who is, Sessions said he is concerned that because of the hearings, blacks will perceive him as a racist and believe they cannot obtain justice from him should he win confirmation. 11 1 am very concerned about that, 11 he said. 11 That troubles me and I really don't know how to handle it, how to react to it. It seems to me that you can 1 t allow yourself to be skewered and ta run and hide because someone unfairly charges you . 11 Despite reports that the White House is opening the door for Sessions to withdraw his nomination, Sessions said he has received no pressure from anyone to pull out and intends to see the battle through to the end. LE%llS NEX PAGE 4 The Associated Press, March 24, 1986 The committee has not scheduled a date for a vote. LE}J{IS NE}J{IS LE}J{IS NEXIS