Attorney General Jeff Sessions has historically been an asshole. This isn’t debatable. He’s such an asshole that God’s greatest grandma, Coretta Scott King, once wrote a letter to block Sessions from becoming a federal judge. One of his major policies since becoming attorney general has been green-lighting policy that allows police to take the cash and/or property of people suspected of but not charged with crimes. He’s a liar who’s been caught lying about his interactions with Russia.
And as if you need any more proof that Sessions is an asshole, he hates weed with a passion normally reserved for scorned lovers.
But this newly released video obtained by ABC News under the Freedom of Information Act might be the biggest proof of what a complete asshole Sessions is.
During a question-and-answer portion with Justice Department interns, Sessions was addressed by a University of California, Berkeley School of Law student who noted that his question came with the memory of Philando Castile and Michael Brown, two African Americans who were killed by police officers in separate incidents that drew national attention, and others who have “fallen victim to excessive force.”
The student added that he “grew up in the projects to a single mother, and the people who we are afraid of are not necessarily our neighbors but the police.”
Sessions interrupted so the student never got the chance to actually ask a question and noted, “Well, that may be the view in Berkeley, but it’s not the view in most places in the country.”
The student tried to interject that he wasn’t talking about Berkeley, but why would that stop Sessions? Sessions continued by saying that the over-policing of black communities is needed to “confront violent crime in America in cities that have abandoned traditional police activity like Baltimore and Chicago.” Sessions also pushed a popular right-wing narrative that murder rates “have surged, particularly in poor neighborhoods,” which thereby constitutes over-policing.
It wasn’t so much that Sessions’ position was dismissive as the way in which he cavalierly acted as if the student had no fucking clue what he was talking about. It also doesn’t help that the student never got to ask a question because the asshole just couldn’t wait to interrupt and answer something that wasn’t asked.
But let’s move over to the peak level of Sessions’ assholishness.
Here’s how Politico described the interaction:
Another student, a woman attending Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, told the attorney general that “statistically, guns kill more people than marijuana does.” “You support pretty harsh policies for marijuana and pretty lax gun control laws — I’m not even sure where you stand on the assault weapons ban,” she continued. “So I’d like to know, since guns kill more people than marijuana, why lax laws on one and harsh laws on the other?”
Sessions laughed and called her question one of “apples and oranges” before remarking: “The Second Amendment — you’re aware of that — guarantees the right of the American people to keep arms, and I intend to defend that Second Amendment. It’s as valid as the First Amendment.”
The attorney general knocked the notion that marijuana is “harmless” and “does no damage.” “Marijuana is not a healthy substance, in my opinion,” he said. “American Medical Association is crystal clear on that. Do you believe that?”
The student hesitated. “Uhh, I don’t,” she said nervously.
“OK. Dr. Whatever Your Name Is, you can write the AMA and see why they think otherwise,” Sessions said.
In the Asshole Book of Commandments, Chapter 6, verse 1, it clearly states that giving someone a title that you know they don’t have to prove that they don’t know what they are talking about makes you an asshole. It wasn’t as if the students were being belligerent. Based on his policy and position, they were asking for clarity, but you know what they say about asking assholes questions: You’re bound to get shitty answers.
You can watch the video here.
Also, fuck Jeff Sessions.