Tell Congress: Pass the HELP for Separated Children Act

Donald Trump's cruel administration has reached a new low. Immigration enforcement agents have been ripping children away from their parents at the border and locking them up in literal cages.1 Now, reports of rampant child abuse in detention facilities are rising and one immigrant parent even committed suicide. 2,3 We need to put a stop to this barbaric practice now.

Sen. Tina Smith and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard have introduced legislation that would protect the rights of children and families in detention. Add your name now to demand that Congress advance this bill.

Tell Congress: Pass the HELP for Separated Children Act.

Progressive champion Rep. Pramila Jayapal just met with more than 100 immigrant women from countries like Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Eritrea who were recently apprehended by immigration agents at the U.S./Mexico border. More than half of the women she met had their children – as young as 12 months – ripped from their arms by federal agents.4 Rep. Jayapal reported:

"Some of them heard their children screaming for them in the next room. Not a single one of them had been allowed to say goodbye or explain to them what was happening.”5

Sen. Jeff Merkley, another progressive champion, visited a border processing facility in Texas where he saw children locked up in cages.6 These conditions are inhumane and completely unacceptable but the racist bigots in the White House and Department of Justice disagree.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has not only publicly defended the Trump regime's cruel family separation policy, but also supercharged this crisis with his unprecedented decision to criminally charge all undocumented immigrants at the border. We cannot sit by while Sessions and Trump throw more immigrants behind bars and try to normalize state sanctioned abuse of vulnerable children and families on American soil.

Congress needs to fight back by passing policies like the HELP for Separated Children Act now. This bill would:7,8

• Give parents the ability to make arrangements for their children to be cared for by another family member or caregiver while they are in detention.
• Permit detained parents to participate in the family court system.
• Allow parents and children to visit and contact each other in detention.
• Ensure that children are not present during immigration interrogations.

This is a pivotal moment in our nation's history. Whether Congress stands up to Trump's fascist regime and passes measures to protect the human rights of immigrant children and families or allows it to terrorize and abuse them is up to us. Speak out now to demand that Democrats and Republicans of good conscience do the right thing.

Tell Congress: Pass the HELP for Separated Children Act.

The petition to Congress reads:

"No child should be ripped from their parents arms. Pass the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protection for Separated Children Act now to protect the human rights of immigrant children and families in detention."

Thanks for speaking out to protect immigrant children and families.

References:

1. Kate Riga, "Merkley: Migrant Kids Are Kept In Cages On Concrete Floor At TX Border Station," 
Talking Points Memo, June 4, 2018.
2. Jeffery C. Mays and Matt Stevens, "Honduran Man Kills Himself After Being Separated
From Family at U.S. Border, Reports Say," The New York Times, June 10, 2018.
3. Ryan Devereaux, "1,358 Children and Counting – Trump's 'Zero-Tolerance' Border Policy
is Separating Families at Staggering Rates," The Intercept, June 8, 2018.
4. Amy B. Wang, "'Mothers could not stop crying’: Lawmaker blasts Trump policy
after visiting detained immigrants," The Washington Post, June 10, 2018.
5. Ibid.
6. Joan Walsh, "What Senator Jeff Merkley Saw at an Immigrant Detention Center for Children,"
The Nation, June 6, 2018.
7. Ella Nilsen, "Democrats are trying to stop Trump from separating families at the border,"
Vox, June 8, 2018.
8. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, "Press Release: Rep. Roybal-Allard and Sen. Smith
Reintroduce Bill to Protect Safety of Minor Children Left Alone When Parents Are Arrested
or Detained by U.S. Immigration Officials," May 23, 2018

SIGN THE PETITION TO ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS TO PROTECT OUR FREE PRESS

In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Justice Department has seized the records of a New York Times journalist concerning alleged misdeeds by the president’s campaign. This raises questions about whether the content of the reporting is what drew this unusual level of scrutiny.

What justified such a broad seizure of records?

Donald Trump’s daily attacks on the news media are having a chilling effect on our democracy. It’s up to us to defend the freedom of the press: the Fourth Estate of our democracy.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN the following petition to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the U.S. Department of Justice demanding an explanation of its extreme measures.

To: U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions

In 2015, the Justice Department introduced guidelines to “ensure the highest level of oversight when members of the Department seek to obtain information from, or records of, a member of the news media.” The DOJ says it followed these guidelines, but the breadth of the recent seizure of journalist Ali Watkins’s email and phone records raises serious questions about what justified such an extreme measure.

- Pen America

Information: 

Report: Journalist's phone, email records seized by U.S. government

In Targeting Times Reporter, Justice Dept. Backs Trump’s Anti-Press Rhetoric

Ex-Senate Aide Charged in Leak Case Where Times Reporter’s Records Were Seized

Stop Trump from using the census to discriminate

Tell Congress: "Prohibit the Census Bureau from asking about citizenship or immigration status in the 2020 census. " Add your name:

Donald Trump is trying to make the census into a racist voter suppression tool. Trump’s Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recently caved to pressure from Trump and Trump's racist Attorney General Jeff Sessions and announced that the 2020 census would have a question about citizenship.1 Asking about citizenship weaponizes the census to perpetuate Trump’s war on immigrant communities. Because the inclusion of the question is likely to result in a significant undercounting of those communities, it also gives Trump and Sessions another way to rig elections for Republicans, from the state to the federal level, until 2030. Congress can block this racist, right-wing plan, but they have to act now. We need to make our voices heard loud and clear and demand a census where everyone counts. Tell Congress: Stop Trump from using the census to discriminate. Click here to sign the petition. Sessions asked Ross to include a citizenship question because he said it would help the Department of Justice enforce the Voting Rights Act. Coming from Sessions, a notorious xenophobe with a long history of trying to suppress the vote, such a claim is as laughable as it is appalling. Sessions has repositioned the DOJ so it turns its back on voter suppression and helps promote the myth of voter fraud. Handing him data about citizenship will give him more power to use his office to intimidate voters and attack voting rights in states across the country. During his campaign, Trump called on his racist supporters to monitor polling places and intimidate Black voters.2 When he took office, he brought together many of the country’s worst voting rights offenders to form a voter suppression commission designed to legitimize the voter fraud myth and expand suppression efforts at the national level.3 Now, he is using the census to supercharge his dangerous attempt to undermine our democracy. Congress has to stop him. Tell Congress: Stop Trump from using the census to discriminate. Click here to sign the petition. Trump and his cronies have been trying to sabotage the census for months. The Government Accountability Office has already identified the census as a “high risk area” because of underfunding, canceled field tests and the late introduction of new systems and processes.4 The census also lacks competent leadership. Trump nominated Thomas Brunell, who has supported Republican gerrymandering, opposes early voting and has no relevant experience, for the top operational role at the U.S. Census Bureau. Under pressure, he withdrew the nomination, and there is still not a permanent leader for the work.5 The citizenship question is the latest assault. It is likely to suppress participation, resulting in the undercounting of immigrant communities and communities of color. This undercount will mean less federal funding for services in those communities. Just as importantly, states with large immigrant populations are also then at risk of losing seats in state legislatures, Congress and the Electoral College. In the past few months, 61 members of Congress, civil rights groups and over 160 mayors urged Ross not to include the citizenship question.6 Now that he has taken this dangerous step, the New York and California attorneys general are saying the question is unconstitutional and suing to block it.7 Sens. Hirono, Booker and Menendez recently introduced the Every Person Counts Act. This bill would prohibit the U.S. Census Bureau from asking a question on citizenship or immigration status.8 House Democrats will introduce a companion bill soon.9 We need to fight this extremist attack on our democracy on every front, including in Congress. The more of us who sign, the greater the pressure on Congress. Click the link below to add your name to demand that Congress stop Trump from using the census to discriminate and suppress the vote: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Trump_Census?t=8&akid=28168%2E3130208%2E2-uLUF Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: Tara Culp-Ressler, "Trump tells his supporters to watch polling places in urban areas," ThinkProgress, Oct. 1, 2016.  Ari Berman, "The Trump Administration Is Planning an Unprecedented Attack on Voting Rights," The Nation, June 30, 2017. U.S. Government Accountability Office, "2020 Decennial Census," accessed March 27, 2018. Danny Vinik and Andrew Restuccia, "Leading Trump Census pick causes alarm," POLITICO, Nov. 21, 2017. The United States Conference of Mayors, "Letter to Secretary Wilbur Ross," Feb. 6, 2018. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, "Jayapal, Chu, Grijalva, Richmond Call on Sec. Ross to Reject Citizenship Questions on 2020 Census," Jan. 17, 2018. Samantha Schmidt, "California, NY sue Trump administration over addition of citizenship question to census," The Washington Post, March 27, 2018. Sen. Robert Menendez, "Menendez, Booker, Hirono Introduce Bill to Prevent Trump Administration from Politicizing Census with Citizenship Question," March 22, 2018. Rebecca Savransky, "Dem lawmaker says she will introduce bill to block 2020 census from asking about citizenship," The Hill, March 27, 2018.

Tell Congress: Stop the unjust War on Drugs - Pass the Marijuana Justice Act

Female prison population is nearly eight times higher than in 1980 due to non-violent drug convictions

Big news for drug policy reform: After California legalized recreational marijuana use, San Francisco followed suit by clearing thousands of marijuana convictions dating back 40 years. This is a step in the right direction – now people won’t be held for crimes that are no longer crimes. 

The outdated policies of the War on Drugs have done little but waste federal resources and harm lives forever. But while some of us are fighting back, others – like Attorney General Jeff Sessions – are doggedly pursuing the same failed policies. His vendetta against marijuana and people who use it goes against public opinion and completely disregards the human consequences of these unjust laws. 

But we can stop him. There’s a new bill in Congress to legalize marijuana under federal law – and remedy some of the injustices of the War on Drugs. We need your help to make sure it becomes law.

Tell your members of Congress to support the Marijuana Justice Act and reform our broken criminal justice system.

How do we know that reform is needed? The data says it all. In 2013 we found that Black people are almost four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession even though Black and white people use marijuana at comparable rates.

What’s more, 64 percent of Americans approve of legalizing marijuana. But Jeff Sessions' policies go against the will of the people.

Let's tell Congress to pass the Marijuana Justice Act NOW to promote equitable and proportional justice. Antiquated and out-of-touch drug laws – like Sessions’ marijuana policies – have got to go.

-Jesselyn McCurdy
ACLU Deputy Legislative Director, fighting for criminal justice reform

*Note from Desktop Activist:  In addition to the injustices towards black people, there has been a profound change in the involvement of women within the criminal justice system over the past quarter century. This is the result of more expansive law enforcement efforts, stiffer drug sentencing laws, and post-conviction barriers to reentry that uniquely affect women. Women now comprise a larger proportion of the prison population than ever before; the female prison population stands nearly eight times higher than its population count in 1980. More than 60% of women in state prisons have a child under the age of 18. - the Sentencing Project

Deadline to protect medical marijuana from Sessions

In less than a month, Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department could have free reign to wreak havoc in medical marijuana states – unless we take a stand.

Tell your U.S. Representative to renew the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment and protect medical marijuana from federal attacks.

Every year since 2014, advocates like you helped pass a spending amendment blocking the Justice Department from interfering in medical marijuana states. We passed it in the Senate Appropriations Committee again this year – but unless the amendment is included in the final appropriations bill it will expire on December 8th.

Sessions recently sent a letter to Congress demanding that members not renew it.

The Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment bans the Department of Justice from using money to interfere in the 46 states that have passed some form of medical marijuana law. It means patients and their caregivers will not have to live in fear of arrest and prosecution for simply using a medicine that is legal in their state.

But with Sessions escalating the war on drugs and the December 8 expiration approaching, it’s absolutely critical to ensure Congress continues to protect medical marijuana in states that have legalized it.

Your Representative will decide the fate of this crucial amendment. Contact your Member of Congress to help protect medical marijuana from the threat of federal harassment and prosecution.

Time is running out to convince Congress to preserve these protections.

Please stand with us to safeguard our victories and protect patients who are simply using a medicine that relieves their suffering.

- Grant Smith, Drug Policy Alliance

Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied about his ties to Russia during his confirmation hearing. He is not qualified to be attorney general. Demand that congress impeach him

Tell Congress: Impeach Jeff Sessions

The petition to Congress reads: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied about his ties to Russia during his confirmation hearing. He is not qualified to be attorney general. Congress must impeach him." Add your name:

This week’s Trump-Russia bombshells are shining a harsh new light on Sessions. They make clear that he was chairing the meeting where George Papadopoulos suggested that he could arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin.1 Most recently, media reports suggest that Trump adviser Carter Page – in sworn testimony – told the House Intelligence Committee that he had in fact told Sessions he was traveling to Russia during the campaign.2 Attorney General Jeff Sessions is a liar. His perjury before the Senate helped obscure the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. He is not fit to be the country’s chief law enforcement officer and it is time for Congress to remove him. Senators have now asked Sessions three times what he knew about connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.3 He has never mentioned Papadopoulos, Page or the fact that Trump advisorswere trying to forge ties with a foreign government. Congress must hold Sessions accountable for his failure to tell the full truth, but Trump’s Republican lapdogs will never act unless they are under massive pressure. Can you add your name today? Tell Congress: Jeff Sessions is not qualified to be attorney general. Impeach him. Click here to sign the petition. Congress has the authority not only to impeach the president but all “civil officers of the United States.” The drafters of the Constitution did not envision impeachment as a legal punishment but as an essential tool for Congress to protect our democracy from “lawless and dangerous individuals who have claimed positions of power.”4 Sessions’ record from before he became attorney general is enough to prove he is a dangerous individual. He has a history of anti-Black racism.5 He is also a climate change denier with a history of anti-immigrant extremism.6,7 His legislative record in the Senate was appalling as well: Sessions has voted against immigration reform, voting rights and LGBTQ equality and has worked to ban abortion, defund Planned Parenthood, and advocated for big banks and big corporations.8,9,10 But it is how he responded – both in real time and when questioned after the fact – to contacts between the Trump campaign and transition team and the Russian government that proves beyond a doubt that Congress should remove him from office. In addition to this week’s revelations, Sessions has: Lied under oath about meeting three times with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak while serving as an advisor and surrogate for Trump’s campaign11 Recused himself from overseeing the Justice Department’s Russia investigation and then violated his own recusal by helping Trump fire FBI Director James Comey in a move designed to take pressure off the Russia investigation12 Sen. Al Franken, who has been relentless in his attempts to hold Sessions accountable, sent Sessions a letter today highlighting that the news of yet another lie is (emphasis ours): ...another example in an alarming pattern in which [he], the nation's top law enforcement officer, apparently failed to tell the truth, under oath, about the Trump team's contacts with agents of Russia – a hostile foreign power that interfered in the 2016 election…. This newest revelation strongly suggests that the Senate – and the American public – cannot trust [Sessions’] word.13 Tell Congress: Jeff Sessions is not qualified to be attorney general. Impeach him. Click here to sign the petition. Sessions should have stepped down when media reports revealed that he had lied under oath, or when he excused his lies by implying he could not remember the potentially treasonous behavior of himself or his colleagues. When he did not, Republicans should have taken action. They did not because they care more about partisan politics and advancing their hateful agenda than about the integrity and stability of our democracy. As more and more information emerges, we have to continue to pressure them to do the right thing now, and highlight their craven hypocrisy if they fail to act. Click the link below to demand that Congress impeach Sessions now. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Impeach_Sessions?t=8&akid=25838%2E3130208%2EBCrFsr - Heidi Hess CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Marcy Wheeler, “George Papadopoulos’s plea deal is very, very bad news for Attorney General Jeff Sessions,” The Intercept, Oct 30, 2017. Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb, “Exclusive: Carter Page testifies he told Sessions about Russia trip,” CNN, Nov. 3, 2017. Al Franken, “Sen. Franken Demands Attorney General Jeff Sessions Explain Himself Amid New Trump-Russia Revelations,” Senate.Gov, Nov. 2, 2017. John Nichols, “Honor the constitution by Impeaching Jeff Sessions,” The Nation, Sept. 18, 2017. The Editorial Board, “Jeff Sessions as Attorney General: An Insult to Justice,” The New York Times, Nov 18. 2016. Miranda Blue, “12 Reasons Jeff Sessions Should Never Be Attorney General,” Right Wing Watch, Nov. 18, 2016. Pema Levy, “Sessions’ Anti-Immigration Influence Will Go Far Beyond His Role as Attorney General,” Mother Jones, Nov 18. 2016. Blue, “12 Reasons Jeff Sessions Should Never Be Attorney General.” Neha Thirani Bagri, “Trump’s choice for attorney general has done some really awful things to try to set back women’s rights,” Nov. 19, 2016. Jeffrey Birnbaum, “Lawmakers Move to Grant Banks Immunity Against Patent Lawsuit,” The Washington Post, Feb. 14, 2008. John Nichols, “Trump Fires Comey, Putting the Country ‘On the Verge of a Constitutional Crisis,’” The Nation, May 10, 2017. Ibid. Franken, “Sen. Franken Demands Attorney General Jeff Sessions Explain Himself Amid New Trump-Russia Revelations.”

Tell your Representatives to vote in favor of the amendments that would stop Sessions from expanding drug war forfeiture - policing for profit!

 

Tonight the U.S. House will vote on crucial amendments that would help stop the expansion of civil forfeiture that was recently announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

This corrupt practice – also known as “policing for profit” – allows police to seize and keep cash, property, and other assets from people who are merely suspected of being involved in a drug law violation.

It’s time to fight back. Tell your Representatives to vote in favor of the amendments that would stop Sessions from expanding drug war forfeiture.

Earlier this year, Sessions announced a new policy directing law enforcement agencies to increase the use of civil forfeiture. This unfair practice is a shameful relic of drug war hysteria and has been used to take billions of dollars from people who were not convicted of a crime.

And like other drug war programs, it’s disproportionately used against people of color and those who cannot afford to hire lawyers to get their property back.

Now we need your help to convince the House to stop Sessions from giving law enforcement agencies even more power to take innocent people’s property and run.

Send an email to your Representatives right now. And follow-up with phone calls to your Representatives. Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be connected with their offices. You can say:

As a constituent, I’m calling to urge my Representative to vote in favor of civil forfeiture amendments to H.R. 3354 that is being voted on today. Please vote yes on amendments Walberg/Cohen #46, Raskin/Sensenbrenner #67, and Amash/Sanford #70. These amendments would help stop the expansion of civil forfeiture and ensure that innocent property owners are protected. Please vote in favor of these amendments because civil forfeiture is an unfair practice that should not be expanded. Thank you.

- Grant Smith, Drug Policy Alliance


If you have time also contact Rep. McSally by phone, fax or e-mail.

Tucson Office:
Phone: (520) 881-3588
Fax: (520) 322-9490


Washington office:
Phone: (202) 225-2542
Fax: (202) 225-0378

https://mcsally.house.gov/contact

Trump wants the names and IP addresses of protesters who disagree with him

Petition to Jeff Sessions:
We demand that you immediately withdraw the DOJ effort to force Dreamhost, the web host for the Trump Resistance site disruptj20.org, to turn over the IP addresses, emails and message content from the 1.3 million site visitors leading up to the Resistance March on Inauguration Day.

The Department of Justice wants access to the 1.3 MILLION IP addresses of individuals who visited a Trump Resistance site leading up to the January inauguration.1

Let me repeat that: The Department of Justice, led by Trump-goon Jeff Sessions, wants the names and IP addresses of 1.3 million people who simply visited a Resistance website leading up to Trump’s inauguration.

This is not a drill, this is how The Handmaid’s Tale and 1984 get started. Tell the DOJ to back off. Sign the petition demanding they withdraw their outrageous search for the IP addresses of Trump Resisters.

The DOJ’s search warrant is more than a step too far, it’s a step off a bridge. Trump wants to use his position as President to identify as many people who disagree with his politics as possible.

The Constitution’s Bill of Rights was written to protect citizens against the overreach of government. And now the DOJ is stomping all over it – attacking free political speech and the right to peaceably assemble.

If we don’t push back now, the Trump administration will just get even more zealous with infringing on our civil liberties.

The Resistance movement was built out of the need to protect our country and the people we love from a xenophobic bigot in the White House. Now Trump and Sessions have their sights set on them.

This is not a drill: Sign the petition to demand the DOJ immediately withdraw their search sfor the IP addresses of Trump Resisters.

Sources:
1. The Hill, “Justice demands 1.3M IP addresses related to Trump resistance site,” August 14, 2017.

Tell Congress: Protect medical marijuana from Jeff Sessions

Fresh off of renewing the racist “war on drugs” and boosting private prisons, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is now going after sick people.

In a private letter to congressional leaders, Sessions demanded permission to prosecute medical marijuana providers and patients. For years, a bipartisan agreement in Congress has denied funding to the Department of Justice for such prosecutions. Now, Sessions is using scare tactics to try and undo that agreement.1

In states where medical marijuana is permitted, fewer people get hooked on dangerous opioids.2 Sessions’ dangerous crusade will put sick folks at risk and supercharge the opioid epidemic. We can’t let that happen.

Tell Congress: Protect medical marijuana from Jeff Sessions.

Jeff Sessions once allegedly joked that he had no problem with the Ku Klux Klan “until I found out they smoked pot.”3 That’s all you need to know about his warped priorities. Since taking office, Sessions has insisted that America is in the grip of a crime wave even though violent crime is at historic lows, demanded that prosecutors pursue the strongest possible penalties for non-violent offenses, hamstrung oversight of abusive police departments and recommitted to using dangerous and inefficient private prison companies.4

Now, he is going after sick people and risking inflaming the opioid epidemic. Sessions personally requested that the Senate Appropriations Committee reject an amendment, in place since 2014, that bans the Department of Justice from interfering with states that permit medical marijuana distribution, use or possession. The powerful committee recently rejected Sessions’ request – but the rest of Congress still has to agree in order for the amendment to be included in final legislation.5,6

Sessions is trying to turn back the clock and reboot the war on drugs, putting lives at risk in the process. He already has bipartisan opposition, but we need to make sure lawmakers find the courage to fight his scaremongering.

When people do not have access to medical marijuana, they are more likely to turn to dangerous, addictive and potentially lethal opiate painkillers. The National Institute on Drug Abuse confirms more and more research showing that states with medical marijuana laws have fewer overdoses and deaths.7

Sessions’ racist, xenophobic, pro-incarceration tenure at the Department of Justice is one of the most damaging parts of the Trump administration. Already over 368,000 CREDO members have called for his removal. We can win this fight to protect patients and further show that Sessions has no place in the Department of Justice, so we need to speak out with force immediately.

Tell Congress: Protect medical marijuana from Jeff Sessions.

Petition to Congress:
"Protect sick people and fight the opioid epidemic by resisting Jeff Sessions’ misguided crusade to prosecute medical marijuana providers and patients. Support bipartisan legislation banning the Department of Justice from prosecuting medical marijuana patients and respecting states' ability to set their own medical marijuana laws."

Add your name:

Thank you for speaking out.

- Credo

References:

1. Alan Pyke, “Sessions asks Congress to let him prosecute medical pot shops, patients,” ThinkProgress, June 13, 2017.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Hanna Kozlowska, “Jeff Sessions has done more damage in his first 100 days than his boss,” Quartz, May 19, 2017.
5. Christopher Ingraham, “Jeff Sessions personally asked Congress to let him prosecute medical-marijuana providers,” The Washington Post, June 13, 2017.
6. Drug Policy Alliance, “Powerful Senate Committee Ties Jeff Sessions's Hands on Medical Marijuana,” July 27, 2017
7. Ingraham, “Jeff Sessions personally asked Congress to let him prosecute medical-marijuana providers.”

Urge members of the Intel Committee to press Sessions on some key points....

click to enlarge 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is testifying in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee at 2:30 ET TODAY -- following testimony last week from fired FBI Director James Comey that raised some serious questions about Sessions and his “problematic” possible involvement in the ongoing Russia investigation…

Call members of the Intel Committee to make sure they press Sessions on some key points:

Urge these senators to demand Sessions explain:

• What was his involvement with the Russia investigation before his recusal?
• Are there safeguards in place to maintain his separation from the investigations from which he’s recused himself?
• Why, in light of his previously stated recusal, did he feel he could be part of recommending the firing of Director Comey, who was leading the Russia investigation?

Senate Intelligence Committee Members listed below -- if you can only make a few calls, please prioritize Democrats, who are more likely to follow through on your request.

Richard Burr (R-NC), Chair - (202) 224-3154

Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chair - (202) 224-2023

Democrats:

Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) - (202) 224-3841

Ron Wyden (D-OR) - (202) 224-5244

Martin Heinrich (D-NM) - (202) 224-5521

Angus King (I-ME) - (202) 224-5344

Joe Manchin (D-WV) - (202) 224-3954

Kamala Harris (D-CA) - (202) 224-3553

Republicans:

James Risch (R-ID) - (202) 224-2752

Marco Rubio (R-FL) - (202) 224-3041

Susan Collins (R-ME) - (202) 224-2523

Roy Blunt (R-MO) - (202) 224-5721

James Lankford (R-OK) - (202) 224-5754

Tom Cotton (R-AR) - (202) 224-2353

John Cornyn (R-TX) - (202) 224-2934

- People for the American Way

Attorney General Jeff Sessions pursues harsh sentences for people charged with nonviolent drug offenses

Attorney General Jeff Sessions called on his prosecutors to pursue harsh sentences for people charged with nonviolent drug offenses. Sessions’ memo rescinds policy instituted by former Attorney General Eric Holder, which avoided draconian mandatory minimums for many drug offenses.

This is a disastrous move that will increase the prison population, worsen racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and do nothing to reduce drug use or improve public safety. We won't let Sessions take our country back to the 1980s by escalating failed drug war policies.

Sign our petition to the Department of Justice urging them to rescind this memo immediately. It’s time to adopt smart drug policies instead of resurrecting the failed tactics of the past.

We warned you about Sessions when he was nominated for Attorney General, and throughout his confirmation hearings. We knew he’d be a nightmare for drug policy and criminal justice reform.

The memo Sessions issued today leaves no doubt that he and the Trump administration are going to escalate the drug war. We are doing everything in our power to stop them. But we need your help.

Demand the Department of Justice rescind this memo. Stand against this attempt to return to failed drug war policies that don’t work – add your name to our petition right now.

Jeff Sessions’ push for long mandatory minimums will destroy the lives of countless people, and tear apart families and communities.

Together, we must fight back against the “lock ‘em up and throw away the key” mentality that made the United States the number one incarcerator in the world.