President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be the new attorney general of the United States has emphatically denied sympathising with the Klu Klux Klan in front of his Senate confirmation hearing today. Despite pressing concerns outlined by numerous Democratic senators, the opposition are powerless to prevent Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, 69, from being confirmed as America's top prosecutor. Thus far, Donald Trump's choices for the upper chamber have raised eyebrows across the board due to their problematic backgrounds.
In the first day of a two-day hearing, Jeff Sessions claimed that accusations he once supported the notorious white supremacist group were "damnably false".
Sessions continued: "I abhor the KKK, what it represents and its pernicious ideology". Further, Jeff Sessions acknowledged the horrific impact that systemic discrimination has had on "our African-American" brothers and sisters.
A problematic past
Sessions is one of the most conservative members of Trump's assembled upper chamber. In the hearing, Sessions denied warning a black assistant to be "careful how he spoke to white people". In 1986, Jeff Sessions was denied federal judgeship after a committee heard he made racist remarks.
Throughout the course of the hearing, protesters chanted: "No Trump, No Klu Klux Klan, No Racist USA". An African American protester was heard shouting: "Stop this racist pig from getting into power," before he was escorted from the premises by police officers in attendance.
Opposition voice
The main voice of Democratic opposition in the hearing came from Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, who noted that there was a tangible fear in the African American community since the election of Donald Trump. Feinstein said that Mr Sessions had voted against a recent amendment that affirmed the United States would not prevent immigrants entering the country based on their religious beliefs.
However, Jeff Sessions denied that he supported the demonisation of the Islamic community, citing the "great Muslim citizens we have in this country".
In other testimony, Jeff Sessions appeared to distance himself further from his past political statements. Mr Sessions recognised that same-sex marriage and the right to abortion were fundamental laws of the modern day United States. In a surprise piece of testimony, Jeff Sessions stated that he possessed no reason to doubt that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind the hacking of Democratic party emails.
