Obama withdraws nomination of top DOJ civil rights lawyer
Source: MSNBC
The White House is officially in search of another nominee to head the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division after formally withdrawing the nomination of Debo Adegbile. Adegbiles confirmation was shot down in March after senators objected to legal work he did with the NAACPs Legal Defense Fund.
During his time working for the NAACP, Adegbile worked on a team that defended Mumia Abu-Jamal, a Philadelphia man convicted of killing a police officer in 1981. Abu-Jamal was spared the death penalty because an appeals court ruled that instructions given by the trial judge to jurors were unconstitutional.
While President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had previously said they would continue to support his nomination, Adegbile announced he would instead become a partner at the law firm WilmerHale.
The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department currently has several high profile investigations to conduct; in addition to investigating racial profiling by the Ferguson, Missouri police department, the office has still not finished its probe into the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
Read more: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/obama-withdraws-nomination-debo-adegbile-doj-civil-rights-lawyer
Cha
(297,222 posts)From your link.. thank you.
"Seven Democratic senators joined a unified Republican front to vote against Adegbile, leaving him three votes short of confirmation. At the time, Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat, called the vote the lowest point that I think this Senate has descended into in my 30 years here.
He also called out the Senate for holding a double standard based on race, pointing out that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts worked as an attorney pro bono for a man convicted of murdering eight people.:
alfredo
(60,071 posts)Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)JEB
(4,748 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)at the beginning of this session. Most of them are bluedogs.
Hawaii Hiker
(3,166 posts)Reid voted no only for procedural reasons, this would have enabled him to bring up the nomination again..
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=2&vote=00048
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)Casey PA
Coons DE
Donnelly IN
Heitkamp ND
Manchin WV
Pryor AR
Reid NV (procedural only, a no vote from him would enable him to bring up the vote again)
Drunken Irishman
(34,857 posts)The Party of the KKK strikes again.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)Or "Democrats"
BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)There are enough racist and anti-civil rights "Democrats" in the Senate who will happily side with Republicans when it comes to the rights of ordinary people.
I hope Adegbile will serve in some other capacity.
blackspade
(10,056 posts)Senators objected to legal work he did with the NAACPs Legal Defense Fund?
What a bunch of self serving, two faced, hypocritical assholes.