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Attorney General Jeff Sessions' office sent out a letter late Thursday to the nation's federal prosecutors instructing them to pursue the most serious charges possible against most criminal suspects.

The move will send more people to prison and for much longer terms by triggering mandatory minimum sentences.

Officials at the Department of Justice said the new guidelines are a direct rebuttal of policies implemented under President Obamas attorney general, Eric Holder.

The memo is already being referred to as the Sessions Memo. The 94 U.S. attorneys were instructed in the memo to charge and pursue the most serious and readily provable offense.

These cases often carry the longest sentences.The memo also brings back into effect mandatory minimum sentences, which are expected to increase prosecutions and the prison population.

Holder, who served under the Obama administration, implemented the Smart on Crime drug sentencing policy that focused on not incarcerating people who committed low level non-violent crimes.

The Obama administration used the Smart on Crime policy to combat what they believed was a high number of prosecutions of non-violent drug offenders. DOJ officials call it a false narrative and say unless a gun is involved, most of those cases arent charged period.

Officials say Holders Smart on Crime policy convoluted the process, and left prosecutors applying the law unevenly, which they said is not Justice.

Critics of the shift say it will revive the worst aspects of the drug war. But Sessions has said a spike in violence in some big cities shows the need for a return to tougher tactics.

Fox News' Jake Gibson and The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Sessions' office releases memo to all 94 US attorneys calling for reversal of Holder-era policy - Fox News

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is not the first exec to deal with sexual harassment and sexism issues. And hes not the first to be accused of stealing technology. Hes also not the first to anger customers through cloddish statements. And hes not the first to face significant doubts about his ability to manage a fast-growing startup.

But he is the very first speaker in the 15 years we have been putting on our tech and media events to cancel his interview due to the many embarrassing issues at his company. In this case, because the report from former Attorney General Eric Holder on Ubers culture and management problems has been delayed until the week of Code at the end of May.

Due to the delay of the Holder review, Travis is unable to attend this years conference, said an Uber spokesperson. We have been told that Kalanick needs to be with employees at Ubers offices in Northern California and cannot manage to travel an hour by plane to Southern California to appear at the conference, as he had promised.

We booked Kalanick before the explosive publication of a blog post by former employee Susan Fowler on pernicious sexual harassment and sexism issues at the car-hailing company. But, even after that, Kalanick confirmed his appearance, allowing us to announce it.

Last week, Kalanicks reps started to waver and then said he could not attend. In his place, they have offered and we have accepted director Arianna Huffington, who has been leading the investigation for the Uber board.

Since we also wanted to talk about the business, we asked for venture capitalist and Uber board member Bill Gurley to join her, as he has been deeply involved in Ubers operations since its founding and has opined publicly about it until recently. He has thus far declined the Code invitation. Gurley also did not respond to a text and an email he was sent, which he has never done before.

Also a no so far per Uber were requests for key Kalanick colleague and SVP Emil Michael, board chairman Garrett Camp and board member David Bonderman. One possible person that Uber has said might be able to join Huffington is human resources head Liane Hornsey, but that is currently unconfirmed until closer to the event.

In other words, replacing Kalanick and manning up to address serious gender issues at Uber when the men could not bring themselves to, could be two women.

Yeah, classic Silicon Valley, and all you need to know to understand the problems at Uber.

But understand this, too: We are obviously surprised and disappointed, because this does not happen. In fact, we have had a lot of tech and media executives who have been under pressure appear at our Code and also All Things D events over the years and none has canceled due to those moments of crisis.

Microsofts Bill Gates came despite the Vista disaster; Apples Steve Jobs came despite the stolen iPhone prototype debacle; various Yahoo chiefs came despite heaps of bad publicity and takeover rumors; Steve Case came soon after the utter humiliation of AOLs failed merger with Time Warner. Even Ralph de la Vega of AT&T came during controversial network failures.

And then there was Groupons Andrew Mason, who managed to make everyone laugh while answering questions despite the deep troubles at his company. (By the way, Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes appeared at the Wall Street Journal conference just days after the Journal published a devastating investigation of her business.)

We should note that there have been two speakers in the past who did not attend our event after committing to do so, but both cases were due to sudden and serious family illnesses. They are Zyngas Mark Pincus and Comcasts Brian Roberts, who then sent his No. 2 Steve Burke in his place.

Kalanick does not have a COO as yet, as most know, and has been on a search for one amid attrition and also some forced departures of top Uber execs.

We get it, he has his hands full and employee concerns are critical now. But avoiding tough questions from tough interviewers is not a good sign. Theres no doubt that Kalanick owes the public an explanation in his own words and were eager to hear it when he deigns to give it. Its just too bad that he wont keep his commitment to sit in our red chairs and discuss Ubers issues there as he said he would.

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Uber's Travis Kalanick has canceled his Code Conference interview ... - Recode

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson at the National Action Network Convention on April 26, 2017, in New York City (Aaron J. / RedCarpetImages.net for NAN)

The Rev. Al Sharptons annual power play, the National Action Network Convention in New York City, is back, and, as promised, the slate of high-powered speakers have brought the pain to Trumps front door.

As usual, the convention features the cream of the crop of political leaders, activists, media pundits and intellectualswith celebrities thrown in for good measure.

At last years 25th-anniversary convention, both Democratic candidates for president, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, appeared. President Barack Obama has spoken here twice. This year, Sanders is making a return (on Friday), and he is joined by heavy hitters such as Ras Baraka, mayor of Newark, N.J.; Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee; the Mothers of the Movement, including the mothers of Eric Garner, Trayvon Marin, Walter Scott and Sean Bell; and a gala dinner honoring Harry Belafonte.

On Wednesday, former Attorney General Eric Holder, who led a Justice Department that investigated many police departments throughout the nation and implemented reforms, was the first plenary speaker.

No justice, no peace, roared Sharpton as he rose to kick off the event, held at the Sheraton Hotel in midtown Manhattan April 26-29.

Were a few blocks south of Trump Tower and a few blocks away from Fox News, so we are in the middle of it, Sharpton quipped. But he promised that for the next three-and-a-half days, the series of panels and discussions will formulate a plan of action to deal with the current administration.

The reason Im not afraid of Donald Trump is that we already beat him twice with Obama, said Sharpton. And I think we can get things done, even within this era.

Sharpton then introduced Holder, who began his message plainly.

The most basic American rights, the right to vote, is under siege, said Holder.

Holder spoke of a movement afoot to try to suppress the vote, aided and abetted by the Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court decision in 2013 that gutted the Voting Rights Act. He spoke directly to Trump, saying that efforts to prevent voter fraud is really voter suppression.

It is more likely that a person will be struck by lightning than impersonate another person at the polls, said Holder. He then cited a study by an expert that found only 31 cases out of 1 billion ballots cast in the United States from 2000 to 2014 in which someone tried to commit voter fraud.

The restrictive voting laws that have been passed really combat a nonexistent problemwith serious negative collateral impacts, he noted.

Now, instead of ensuring the integrity of the voting process, [restrictive voter laws] actually do the opposite by keeping certain groups of people away from the polls, said Holder. And to quote our current president, that is how elections are rigged.

Holder enumerated the many instances of Republican-controlled state and county legislatures going on record to say how making voter ID a part of the voting process can help them win elections.

Now, lets be frank, he said to cheers. Voter fraud wasnt an issue until people of color started casting ballots in record numbers connected to the candidacy and presidency of Barack Obama.

Holder also ran down several ideas that could help turn this insidious tide, including using technology through which citizens can automatically be registered to vote at places like the DMV, and, because so many Americans move each year, making voter registrations portable.

He also said to keep an eye on the current Justice Department under Attorney General Jeff Sessions: Stay focused on a Department of Justice that I fear will stay focused on phantom crimes and take us back to an era of mass incarceration and will not stand for the right to vote.

Now is not the time to retreat in the face of a partisan assault on the most basic of American rights, he continued. The battle to ensure the voting rights of all Americans is, I believe, a defining one. It is not only a legal issue; its a moral imperative.

Watch Holder and Perez here:

For more information about the convention, which is free (except for certain events), go to the National Action Network.

Continued here:
Eric Holder Rails Against Voter Suppression at NAN Convention ... - The Root

Former Attorney General Eric Holder says its shamefulRepublicans are seeking to implement photo ID laws and other measures that make it more difficult to vote.

Holder, who is leading a national redistricting reform effort, accused Republicans of trying to suppress potential voters who are less likely to support them. He made the remarks during the National Action Networks annual convention in New York City on Wednesday.

Some Republicans have declared, If you cant beat em, change the rules. Make it more difficult for those least likely to support Republican candidates to vote, he said. This is done with the knowledge that by simply depressing the votes of certain groups, not even winning the majority vote of these groups, elections can in fact be effective.

The attempts in certain states to make even registration more difficult are shameful, he added.

Holder went on to cite a 2014 study by the Government Accountability Office showing that voter ID laws in Kansas and Tennessee reduced turnout among young and African-American voters.

If one were to try to find vote fraud or a rigged election system, that is exactly where it is, he said.

The comments come after Arkansas governor signed a voter ID bill last month. Iowas governor is considering a similar measure, and New Hampshire is also contemplating legislationto toughen its proof of residency requirements. There are laws in 34 statesrequiring voters to produce identification when they vote.

Holder addressed President Donald Trumps unsupported claim that millions voted illegally in the 2016 election, saying the president was fueling the perception that elections lacked integrity.

And with recent claims by Mr. Trump of rigged elections based on fraud again, without any proof, save the bluster of the candidate this mistaken belief in voter fraud becomes almost hard-wired, he said.

Such a perception, he added, makes voter suppression efforts easier.

The nations attention and laws should not be focused on these phantom, illegal voters, he said, adding that officials should instead focus on registering eligible voters.

Holder acknowledged the U.S. voting system is far from perfect. He pointed to a 2012 Pew report the same one cited by Trump to justify his claim of widespread voter fraud noting that 1 in every 8 voter registrations in the country is outdated.

This is not a result of people trying to game the system. It is an indication that the system itself is inadequate. That the system itself is at fault, Holder said.

He also called for more states to adopt automatic voter registration, so voters are automatically registered to vote whenever they have any meaningful interaction with the DMV.

Oregon became the first state in the country to implement the system last year and saw major gains in youth turnout and registration by people of color, according to one report.

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Eric Holder Rips Republicans For Trying To Make It More Difficult To ... - Huffington Post

Former Attorney General Eric Holder used his speech on the first morningof Rev. Al Sharptons National Action Network conventionto warnthat voting rightsparticularly those of communities of colorare currently under siege by Republican voter identification laws.

Holder, the first African-American to lead the U.S. Department of Justice, highlighted how courts had found GOP-backed North Carolina and Texas statutes obligating poll-goers to display a state-verified credential to be discriminatory. The appointee of former President Barack Obama accused Republicans of trying to change the rules to overcome growing demographic disadvantages.

He also made a dig at President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly assertedsans evidencethat millions of people illegally cast ballots in last Novembers election.

Over 50 years ago, the passage of perhaps the most significant civil rights legislation in our nations historythe Voting Rights Act of 1965that most basic of American rights, the right to vote, to protect and that most basic of American rights is now, as Rev. Al said, under siege, Holder said at the annual Manhattan gathering. Now to employ the language of our president, that is how elections are officially rigged by state governments controlled by his party.

History will be harsh in its assessment of those efforts, he continued.

Noting that studies have shown that actual instances of in-person voter fraud are extremely rare, Holder said the country should be making it easier for people to vote. He blasted what he described as un-American attempts to to make it more difficult for their fellow citizens to express their views.

He also argued there wasnt a need for voter identification because people are already required to in some way verify themselves at the polls. New York, for instance, has people sign their names in the voter roll.

Now let me start with a basic statement upon which youll all agree: every person attempting to vote should not show he or she is who they claim to be cause face it, too many today forget that this has always been the case, Holder continued. Let me say that again: it has always been a component to identify yourself before you cast a ballot.

Holder noted that the Census Bureau reported that in the 2008 presidential election, more than 70 million adult citizens did not vote and 60 million were not registered to vote.The real aim, he said, should be to establish automatic voter enrollment for all residents of a state.

This is one of the places where I think we should focus our efforts, he said.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Mayor Bill de Blasio have repeatedly called for reforms to New Yorks voting system, including automatic voter registration of eligible voters, same-day registration and allowing registered voters to change their party enrollment closer to primary day, calling the system outdated and regressive. Ahead of the New York primary last April, tens of thousands of people, mainly in predominantly Hispanic Sunset Park, got removed from the voter books.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged similar reforms during his State of the State tour in January.

Originally posted here:
Eric Holder Rages Against 'Un-American' Voter ID Laws at Al ... - Observer