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Loretta Lynch, after being kept waiting in the wings by the Senate for five and a half months, was confirmed Thursday as the first African American woman to serve as Attorney General. Lynch was approved 56-43, one of the narrowest margins in history for an attorney general nominee. The vote ended an unusually partisan episode in modern Senate confirmation history, in which a largely uncontroversial nominee to one of the top cabinet posts was kept out of office for a lengthy period over issues extraneous to her job.

Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch joined a group of former U.S. attorneys in signing an amicus brief presented to the Supreme Court in 2006 in the case of Gonzales v. Carhart that argued that the federal ban on partial-birth abortion was unconstitutional because its language was too vague. In their brief, for example, Lynch and the other former U.S. attorneys argued that the term “living fetus” was too vague to be understood by those responsible for following and enforcing the law. Congress enacted the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2003 with broad bipartisan support. Senators Joe Biden of Delaware, Harry...

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) says he will force a vote on Loretta Lynch‘s attorney general nomination if it is delayed any longer by Senate Republicans, Mediaite has learned. Reid, the outgoing Senate minority leader, will call for the vote in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow set to air on Thursday night. “We’ve put up with this far too long and we’re going to need to have a vote on her very soon that’s created by Mitch McConnell or I’ll create one,” Reid will say. “I can still do that. I know parliamentary procedure around here and we’re going to...

Tennessee's attorney general says a bill seeking to make the Bible the state's official book would violate separation of church and state provisions in the federal and state constitutions. (Attorney General Herbert) Slatery in the opinion cites the provision in the Tennessee Constitution that states that “no preference shall ever be given, by law, to any religion establishment or mode of worship.” …

HARRISBURG — Attorney General Kathleen Kane's chief of staff resigned on Friday, four months into the job. Blake Rutherford, who took the position in December, follows others who left key positions under the embattled state prosecutor. Four aides quit last year as a grand jury investigated Kane for allegedly leaking secret grand jury information. She has replaced five spokespeople since 2013, including one who quit in February. Rutherford surprised staffers by emailing a notice that he had resigned. “Today is my last day at OAG. While I will miss working alongside each of you, I am excited about what this...

Did anyone think one of the Senate’s most reliable RINOs, who’s up for reelection next year not just in a very blue state but in Barack Obama’s home state, and who supported the Schumer/Rubio Gang of Eight amnesty bill, was going to go to the mat to block Obama’s pick for AG to protest executive amnesty?Conservative Republicans won’t stick up for religious liberty even in red states for fear of being called bigots. The odds of a moderate Republican opposing the first black woman Attorney General of the United States in a Democratic stronghold were precisely zero. “I am...

At first blush, it looks like Dick Durbin’s demagoguery did more damage than first thought, but that’s not the real issue. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham [see second update], both strong advocates for comprehensive immigration reform and usually among those looking for compromise and comity in the Senate on presidential nominations, came out foursquare against the confirmation of Loretta Lynch. In fact, McCain went so far as to declare on the Hugh Hewitt Show that “no Republican should vote for her confirmation,” given her support of Barack Obama’s executive amnesty: JM: Hugh, I know your time is short....

The second-ranking Senate Democrat on Wednesday accused Republicans of putting the president's attorney general nominee "in the back of the bus" by delaying her confirmation. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois made the comment on the Senate floor as he criticized the GOP over its handling of Loretta Lynch's nomination. She would become the nation's first black female attorney general, replacing Eric Holder, the first African-American in the job.

Following the scathing report that Eric Holder’s office issued which essentially indicted the entire Ferguson police department as hateful racists, rather than finding specific incidents of wrongdoing, a question arose. Can the Department of Justice in Washington reach out into the state and local levels of law enforcement and essentially close up a shop? Check out this video of a Fox News interview on the subject provided by Michael van der Galien at PJ Media. J. Christian Adams takes Attorney General Eric Holder to task for his unconstitutional and even downright dictatorial wish to shut down police departments that...

California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who has announced she will run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by her fellow Democrat Barbara Boxer, was recently shot down by the California 5th District Court of Appeal for downplaying a prosecutor’s fabrication of a confession by a defendant charged with child molesting who was recently charged again for child sex abuse. The national political media is ignoring Harris’ embarrassment before the court even as she moved on to the national stage last week speaking at a gala dinner by the pro-abortion group Emily’s List held in Washington, D.C. The Hill reported...

Former cop Dan Jackson, brother of Ferguson chief of police Tom Jackson, has replied to Eric Holder’s press report on Ferguson. Jackson sent the following via text at approximately 5 PM Missouri time.

Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder just couldn’t help himself. With his time as the nation’s chief law enforcement official coming to a close, Holder reflected on one of his deepest regrets: Failing to deliver civil rights charges for the variety figures embroiled in racial controversies over the course of his tenure.When a Florida jury failed to convict George Zimmerman for role in the death of Trayvon Martin, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division opened an investigation to determine whether Zimmerman had violated Martin’s civil rights. It was a response to the outrage displayed by those who were invested...

Because the GOP has a majority in the Senate, it also has a majority on all Senate committees — 12 to 9 in the case of the Judiciary Committee. But since Lynch’s confirmation has become a referendum on executive amnesty and the GOP is riddled with amnesty shills, there was no doubt that a few would cross over and vote with Democrats today to send her through to a floor vote of the entire Senate.The three defectors: Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham, both members of the Senate’s Gang of Eight on immigration, and Orrin Hatch, who sold himself as...

When it comes to most of the thorny issues she’ll be asked to referee on between President Obama and Congress, Loretta Lynch, the woman nominated to be the next attorney general, said she doesn’t yet have a sense for how she’ll come down. Ms. Lynch, who faces a probable vote Thursday in the Judiciary Committee and likely action by the full Senate next month, deflected dozens of questions in 221 pages of written responses to the panel, saying she wasn’t familiar with the fight over documents from the Fast and Furious gun-walking operation, couldn’t talk accurately about major parts of...

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has offered florist Barronelle Stutzman a deal: She can cater to same-sex weddings or she can stop doing weddings altogether. Of course, there’s always a third option: She can go out of business. Ms. Stutzman, the 70-year-old owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland, Washington, is opting for none of the above. “Your offer reveals that you don’t really understand me or what this conflict is all about,” Ms. Stutzman said in a letter to Mr. Ferguson. “It’s about freedom, not money. I certainly don’t relish the idea of losing my business, my home, and everything...

The Senate should not give up its ability to check presidential power by refusing to confirm unfit appointees like Loretta Lynch. If President Obama’s nominee for attorney general, Loretta Lynch, gets appointed, she will continue the practice of her predecessor by expanding presidential power and the federal government, ultimately threatening the liberty of American citizens and the stability of the nation. It is the Senate’s constitutional duty to make sure that doesn’t happen. Lynch supports Obama’s unconstitutional amnesty, believes illegal immigrants should have the same rights to employment as American citizens, opposes voter ID laws, advocates federal intrusion in local...

President Obama’s pick to serve as the next attorney general is having a hard time finding Republican supporters. To be confirmed by the Senate, Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch only needs four Republicans to support her nomination. But it is unclear where those votes will come from. Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah) is the only Republican so far who has signaled his intention to vote for Lynch, though several others have spoken favorably about her. But many Republicans are expressing concerns about Lynch's stance on immigration and what they suggest is a lack of “independence" from the White House. Lynch’s confirmation...

Greg Nash As the nation’s top cop, Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch appears likely to make cooling the simmering tensions between police and the black community a signature issue. Lynch, now in the midst of her conformation process, is widely expected to become the first African American woman to lead the Justice Department. Her ascension to the high-profile Cabinet post would come amid public uproar over the recent police killings of unarmed black men in New York and Missouri. Lawmakers and advocates are already looking to Lynch to take a leading role in repairing the damage wrought by the...

The self-proclaimed “activist” Attorney General, Eric Holder, told reporters that he “fixed” George Bush’s politicized Department of Justice. In fact, he went on to explain that the Obama DOJ is completely unbiased, irrefutably fair, and painstakingly judicious. And, humbly, the guy who once sued Ally Bank for discrimination without any actual evidence took full credit for “fixing” the politicization that took place during the years of Obama’s incompetent predecessor.And, he did it all without any intended sarcasm, satire, or irony… Given his history of suing banks, and handing the revenue over to Democrat oriented non-profits, I’d have to say this took a little bit...

IRS Cover-Up Expands to Justice Department Exchanging Terrorists for an Army Deserter? Will Senate Endorse Obama’s Lawlessness?IRS Cover-Up Expands to Justice Department In an interview with Bill O’Reilly of Fox News about a year ago, President Obama said that President Richard Nixon was actually more liberal in his policies than Obama is. But, while comparing their policies, Obama conveniently left out one chilling similarity: Both presidents used the virtually unbridled power and authority of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to target their political opponents. In fact, in many respects Obama’s IRS abuses actually have been much worse than Nixon’s. As...