Cory Booker: “today I wish to speak about my vote yesterday on the nomination of Rod Rosenstein to be Deputy Attorney General at the…”

“today I wish to speak about my vote yesterday on the nomination of Rod Rosenstein to be Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. I voted no on his nomination not because I think he is unqualified or because I think he is unfit for the job. He is neither of those things. Rather, I opposed his nomination because of the troubling actions the Justice Department is taking on criminal justice, civil rights, and immigration issues and because I firmly believe a special prosecutor is needed to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. Since taking over as our Nation's top law enforcement official, Attorney General Sessions has indicated he wishes to roll back certain actions taken during the Obama administration. For instance, Attorney General Sessions is considering changes to existing Justice Department drug charging policies. I am concerned he will direct Federal prosecutors to increase the use of mandatory minimum penalties in low- level, nonviolent drug cases. Since 1980, our Federal prison population has increased by nearly 800 percent in large part because of the failed war on drugs and the use of mandatory minimums. Increasing the utilization of mandatory minimums will not make us safer or fix our broken criminal justice system. To the contrary, it will come at great cost--not only to American taxpayers, but to public safety, to families, and to confidence in our justice system. As Deputy Attorney General, Mr.…”