title: Aoashi

text: As of August 2022, the manga had over 15 million copies in circulation. In 2020, the manga won the 65th Shogakukan Manga Award for the general category.


title: Aoashi

text: "Aoashi" tells the story of young Ashito Aoi in his third year at Ehime City Middle School and his meeting with football coach Tatsuya Fukuda. Ashito, although talented, is a difficult boy, but Fukuda believes in him and invites him to join his own team. Ashito could well change the face of Japanese football.


title: Aoashi

text: "Aoashi" is written and illustrated by Yūgo Kobayashi, and based on an original concept by Naohiko Ueno. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's "Weekly Big Comic Spirits" since January 5, 2015. Shogakukan has compiled its chapters into individual "tankōbon" volumes. The first volume was published on April 30, 2015. As of August 30, 2022, twenty-nine volumes have been published.


title: Aoashi

text: A spin-off manga series, also written and illustrated by Kobayashi, titled , was serialized for five chapters in "Weekly Big Comic Spirits" from July 12 to August 23, 2021. Its chapters were collected in a single "tankōbon" volume, released on August 30, 2021.


title: Aoashi

text: An anime television series adaptation was announced in May 2021. The series is produced by Production I.G and directed by Akira Satō, with scripts written by Masahiro Yokotani, and character designs by Manabu Nakatake, Toshie Kawamura, Asuka Yamaguchi, and Saki Hasegawa, with Nakatake and Yamaguchi also serving as chief animation directors. Masaru Yokoyama composed the series' music. It aired from April 9 to September 24, 2022, on NHK Educational TV. The first opening theme song is "Mushin Hakusū" by Alexandros, while the first ending theme song is "Blue Diary" by Rinne. The second opening theme song is "Presence" by Superfly, while the second ending theme song is "Color Lily no Koibumi" by Kami wa Saikoro wo Furanai. Crunchyroll has licensed the series outside of Asia. Disney Platform Distribution licensed the series in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. They began streaming the series in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand from May 4, 2022; Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore from June 8, 2022.


title: Aoashi

text: On April 11, 2022, Crunchyroll announced that the series will receive an English dub, which premiered on April 23.


title: Aoashi

text: "Aoashi" was nominated for the 10th Manga Taishō awards in 2017; and was ranked 4th with 60 points. In 2020, along with "", the manga won the 65th Shogakukan Manga Award for the general category. The series ranked 20th on the 2022 "Book of the Year" list by "Da Vinci" magazine.


title: Aoashi

text: As of April 2020, the manga had over 4.5 million copies in circulation, including digital versions. As of February 2022, the manga had over 10 million copies in circulation, including digital versions. As of June 2022, the manga had over 12 million copies in circulation. As of August 2022, the manga had over 15 million copies in circulation.


title: Mohan Babu

text: Manchu Bhakthavatsalam, credited and also known as Mohan Babu, is an Indian actor and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. An alumnus of the Madras Film Institute, Mohan Babu has acted in more than 500 films in lead, supporting and a variety of roles.


title: Mohan Babu

text: In 1995, he received Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for his work in the multi-starrer "Pedarayudu", which also starred Rajinikanth in a pivotal role. In 2007, he received the CineMAA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in "Yamadonga". Mohan Babu was honored at the University of California, Berkeley for his contribution to the field of cinema and education. He is the co-owner of production companies such as Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures, 24 Frames Factory and Manchu Entertainment. In 2017, he garnered the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South. In 2017, he received the "Special Appreciation Award" for completing "forty years in cinema" at the 6th South Indian International Movie Awards.


title: Mohan Babu

text: Mohan Babu was born to Manchu Narayanaswamy and Manchu Lakshmamma in the Modhugulapalem village near Tirupati.


title: Mohan Babu

text: Mohan Babu began his career as a Physical education instructor at the YMCA college of physical education for many years.


title: Mohan Babu

text: During this time, Mohan Babu was introduced to Dasari Narayana Rao who was then a script writer in Tollywood. This would pan out to become the most significant event of his career. Mohan Babu's first major breakthrough as an actor came with the 1975 film "Swargam Narakam", directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. Dasari cast him as a villain in the movie and went on to achieve great success. It was after this movie that his birth name Bakthavatsalam Naidu was changed to Mohan Babu. After appearing in many films as a comedy-villain, he proceeded to star as the leading actor in "Khaidi Kalidasu", "Ketugadu", "Gruha Pravesam", "Assembly Rowdy", "Allari Mogudu" and many more. After receiving success in Telugu Cinema, Mohan Babu as a lover of arts was also drawn to the happenings of Tamil Cinema. After being initiated into the Tamil Film Industry by Sivaji Ganesan, he went on to appear in over 20 Tamil films.


title: Mohan Babu

text: In 1978, he appeared in "Sivaranjani". The movie heralded the 'villain' and also came out with many of the mannerisms. He had an outstanding mentor in the form of Dasari Narayana Rao, who guided him in the right direction and gave him the initial foundation substratum he required to do well. Mohan Babu followed this success by portraying a variety of roles in his next films such as "Simha Garjana" (1978), "Simha Baludu" (1978), "Rama Krishnulu" (1978), "Padaharella Vayasu" (1978), "Nayudu Bava" (1978), "Shokilla Rayudu" (1979) and "Ravanude Ramudayithe?" (1979). His roles in "Patnam Vachina Pativrathalu" (1982), "Billa Ranga" (1978), "Dharma Poratam" (1983), "Padmavyooham" (1984), "Bhale Ramudu" (1984) and "Sanchalanam" (1985), showed a diverse range, despite often playing the villain.


title: Mohan Babu

text: His next film "Soorarai Pottru" (2020) was released on OTT platform Amazon Prime, and in Telugu as "Aakaasam Nee Haddhu Raa".


title: Mohan Babu

text: As of October 2020, he launched "Son of India" a Telugu film, directed by Diamond Ratnababu and produced by Vishnu Manchu. Mohan Babu has penned screenplay for the film.


title: Mohan Babu

text: Though not announced officially, Mohan Babu declared that his next films would be mythological film "Ravana Brahma" and historical film "Bhakta Kannappa".


title: Mohan Babu

text: As an ardent admirer of N.T. Rama Rao, in the year 1993, Mohan Babu produced "Major Chandrakanth", starring N.T. Rama Rao and himself . The movie was directed by K. Raghavendra Rao, and went on to become a major blockbuster. The movie also celebrated its silver jubilee and stands as the last movie in N.T. Rama Rao's film career.


title: Mohan Babu

text: While serving his tenure in the Rajya Sabha, he was also a member of the Committee on Human Resource Development from 1996 to 1997, the committee on Urban and Rural Development and the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.


title: Mohan Babu

text: After leaving the TDP, Mohan Babu continued with his career in the film industry. While in the midst of producing a movie titled "Sri Ramuliah", he narrowly escaped a bomb blast which killed 23 people and injuring 35 others in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad.


title: Mohan Babu

text: Mohan Babu is also known to have actively participated in improving the living standards of many underprivileged artists in the South Indian Film Industry. Mohan Babu stayed away from politics after NTR's demise. He joined YSR Congress Party in 2019 and campaigned for Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy in becoming CM. Though not actively involved in political activities, he raises his voice against any injustice in the society. There are speculations that BJP has invited Mohan Babu to join the national party as he met PM Narendra Modi along with his family in the beginning of 2020.


title: Mohan Babu

text: Due to severe drought, the Rayalaseema people and agrarian community were cut off from necessary food supplies. Due to the event, plenty of people suffered from starvation. During his tenure as a Rajya Sabha MP, Mohan Babu visited the drought hit region and created some solutions to help the victims of famine.


title: Mohan Babu

text: Mohan Babu developed his love of acting and passed it along to his children, with three kids following his footsteps into the film and education sector and carrying on his legacy. His daughter Lakshmi Manchu was appointed as the brand ambassador of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan by the Prime Minister of India. Manchu Vishnu and Manchu Manoj have undertaken many initiatives to improve the condition of underprivileged children who were flood victims in the past.


title: Mohan Babu

text: Mohan Babu was married to vidya Devi with whom he has a son Manchu Vishnu and a daughter Manchu Lakshmi Prasanna – both actors in the film industry. After her death, he married her sister, Nirmala Devi, with whom he has a son Manchu Manoj, also an actor.


title: Mohan Babu

text: As he completed 40 years in the film industry, the actor's popular dialogues were compiled in a book, named "Dialogue Book".


title: A Storm of Swords

text: A Storm of Swords is the third of seven planned novels in "A Song of Ice and Fire", a fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 8, 2000, in the United Kingdom, with a United States edition following in November 2000. Its publication was preceded by a novella called "Path of the Dragon", which collects some of the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel into a single book.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: At the time of its publication, "A Storm of Swords" was the longest novel in the series. It was so long that in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Serbia and Israel, its paperback edition was split in half, Part 1 being published as "Steel and Snow" in June 2001 (with the one-volume cover) and Part 2 as "Blood and Gold" in August 2001 (with a specially-commissioned new cover). The same division was used in the Polish and Greek editions. In France, the decision was made to cut the novel into four separate volumes.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: "A Storm of Swords" won the 2001 Locus Award, the 2002 Geffen Award for Best Novel and was nominated for the 2001 Nebula Award for Best Novel. It was the first novel in the series to be nominated for the Hugo Award, one of the two most prestigious awards in science fiction and fantasy publishing, although it lost to J. K. Rowling's novel "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".


title: A Storm of Swords

text: Meisha Merlin Publishing, which had previously issued limited, illustrated editions of both "A Game of Thrones" and "A Clash of Kings", was planning to release a similar version for "A Storm of Swords" in two volumes; however, lengthy delays in the release of "A Clash of Kings" caused it to lose its publishing rights, which were picked up by Subterranean Press. This edition, illustrated by Charles Vess, was released in the summer of 2006.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: "A Storm of Swords" is also the name of the second expansion to the board game "A Game of Thrones", released in July 2006. Approximately the first half of the novel was adapted for television as the third season of the HBO show "Game of Thrones", while the second half became the basis for the series' fourth season, and some elements for the series' fifth season.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: "A Storm of Swords" picks up the story slightly before the end of its predecessor, "A Clash of Kings". The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros are still in the grip of the War of the Five Kings, wherein Joffrey Baratheon and his uncle Stannis Baratheon compete for the Iron Throne, while Robb Stark of the North and Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands declare their independence (Stannis's brother Renly Baratheon, the fifth "king", has already been killed). Meanwhile, a large host of wildlings, the tribes from beyond the Seven Kingdoms' northern border, approach the Wall that marks the border, under the leadership of Mance Rayder, the self-proclaimed "King Beyond the Wall", with only the undermanned Night's Watch in opposition. Finally, Daenerys Targaryen, the daughter of a deposed former king of Westeros and "mother" of the world's only living dragons, sails west, planning to retake her late father's throne.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: At her father's castle of Riverrun, Robb's mother Catelyn Stark releases the captive Jaime Lannister, Joffrey's uncle (and, secretly, father) in order to secure the release of Catelyn's daughters, Sansa and Arya, who Catelyn believes are both being held hostage by the Lannisters in the capital city, King's Landing. Jaime is sent south, escorted by Brienne of Tarth. Robb's army returns to Riverrun, having vanquished the Lannister armies in the west, and Robb reveals that he has married Jeyne Westerling, violating his promise to be wed to a daughter of House Frey. These actions alienate and infuriate some of Robb's allies, weakening his military position.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: Jaime and Brienne are captured by mercenaries working for Roose Bolton, who is nominally an ally of Robb's but is secretly plotting to undermine him to become Warden of the North. The mercenary captain Vargo Hoat has Jaime's sword hand cut off. Brienne is thrown into a bear pit by Hoat, and Jaime risks his own life to rescue her. Bolton releases Jaime and Brienne and they travel to King's Landing.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: Arya Stark, traveling in the Riverlands, is taken in by the "Brotherhood Without Banners": a band that defends the smallfolk of the Riverlands, led by Lord Beric Dondarrion and the red priest Thoros of Myr. The group captures Sandor "The Hound" Clegane, Joffrey's former bodyguard, and offers him trial by combat for his crimes. The Hound kills Beric, but Thoros resurrects him with the power of the fire god R'hllor. The Hound kidnaps Arya and flees with her, planning to ransom her.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: In order to return north to defend the region against Greyjoy attacks, Robb needs the support of the Freys. The Freys propose a wedding between Catelyn's brother Edmure Tully, now lord of the Riverlands, and one of Lord Walder Frey's daughters, to compensate for Robb breaking his marriage agreement. At the wedding celebration, the Boltons and Freys turn on the Starks, massacring Robb's bannermen. Robb is murdered by Roose Bolton, while Catelyn's throat is cut and her body thrown into the river; Edmure is kept alive as a hostage. These events become known as the Red Wedding.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: Arya and the Hound witness the massacre and escape. Later, the Hound is wounded in a skirmish, and Arya abandons him. She takes a ship to the Free City of Braavos, where the assassin Jaqen H'ghar had told her she could find him.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: In the epilogue, a re-animated but decayed and mutilated Catelyn is leading the Brotherhood Without Banners, and she oversees the lynching of two of the Freys who were present at the Red Wedding.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: The smuggler-turned-knight Davos Seaworth attempts to assassinate Stannis' advisor Melisandre, a sorceress and priestess of R'hllor, blaming her for Stannis' defeat in his prior assault on King's Landing. Davos is imprisoned for treason, but at Melisandre's behest, Stannis releases Davos and appoints him Hand of the King. Melisandre uses the blood of Edric Storm, a bastard son of Stannis' late brother King Robert, to curse the three rival Kings. Balon Greyjoy's death is reported shortly thereafter.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: King's Landing welcomes the Lannisters' new allies, the Tyrells, as liberators, and King Joffrey sets aside his betrothal to Sansa Stark in favor of Margaery Tyrell. Joffrey's grandfather Tywin Lannister, the Hand of the King, compels Sansa to marry his dwarf son Tyrion, to enable Lannister control of the North; but Tyrion refuses to consummate the marriage against her will.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: Margaery and Joffrey's wedding is held as planned, but during the wedding feast, Joffrey is poisoned and dies. Tyrion is accused of the murder by his sister Cersei, Joffrey's mother, and arrested. Sansa escapes the castle with the help of Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, who admits to her his culpability in Joffrey's death, incriminating Margaery's grandmother Olenna as well. Littlefinger and Sansa depart King's Landing for the Eyrie, home of Catelyn's sister Lysa Arryn.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: After Balon, Robb and Joffrey die, as Melisandre predicted, Davos has Edric smuggled to safety to prevent Melisandre and Stannis sacrificing him for the power in his blood. Davos discovers a request by the Night's Watch for aid against Mance Rayder; Stannis prepares to execute Davos for treason but changes his mind after Davos shows Stannis the Night's Watch's plea.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: The spymaster Varys and Tyrion's lover Shae testify falsely against Tyrion at his trial. Prince Oberyn Martell, of the southern region of Dorne, offers to represent Tyrion in a trial by combat against Cersei's champion, Gregor Clegane, who was responsible for the death of Oberyn's sister Elia. Oberyn nearly wins, but is ultimately killed by Gregor, although the poison on Oberyn's spear leaves Gregor dying in agony. Tyrion is sentenced to death.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: Upon returning to King's Landing, Jaime gives Brienne a sword reforged from the hereditary sword of the Stark family, and sends her to find Arya and Sansa and return them home. Jaime refuses to believe that Tyrion killed Joffrey, and helps Varys free Tyrion from prison. Jaime reveals that Tyrion's first wife Tysha, whom Tywin had gang-raped by his garrison, was not a prostitute as Tywin told him, and genuinely loved Tyrion. Outraged, Tyrion swears revenge on Jaime, Cersei, and Tywin; during his escape, he murders both Shae and Tywin before fleeing Westeros.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: At the Eyrie, Sansa is disguised as an illegitimate daughter of Littlefinger, and Littlefinger and Lysa are married. Lysa reveals that Littlefinger had convinced her to poison her late husband Jon, and to pin the blame on the Lannisters, which was the catalyst for the events of "A Game of Thrones". Lysa threatens to kill Sansa, thinking she is trying to seduce Littlefinger, but Littlefinger intervenes and, after revealing that he had only ever loved Catelyn, pushes Lysa to her death.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: The detachment of the Night's Watch under Lord Commander Jeor Mormont are attacked by undead wights and the Others, hostile inhuman creatures from the far north. The Watch suffer heavy casualties, although the steward Samwell Tarly kills one of the Others with a blade of obsidian. Soon some of the Watch mutiny and kill Mormont, but Sam escapes with the help of a wildling girl, Gilly. Sam, Gilly, and Gilly's newborn child approach the Wall, assisted by a strange figure riding an elk, whom Sam calls Coldhands. Among the dead are most of the Watch's senior leadership.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: Robb's brother Bran and his friends, having escaped the Boltons' attack on the Stark castle Winterfell, are guided north by Bran's dreams of a three-eyed crow. At the Wall, Sam guides them to Coldhands and returns to the Night Watch's headquarters at Castle Black, having sworn to keep Bran's survival secret even from Jon Snow, Bran's bastard brother and Sam's fellow Watchman.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: Jon, on a mission to infiltrate the wildlings, convinces Mance that he is a deserter from the Night's Watch, and learns that the Others are driving the wildlings south towards the Wall. Jon and his captor Ygritte also begin a sexual relationship. After crossing the Wall, Jon escapes the wildlings and returns to Castle Black. The approaching wildling army attacks Castle Black; but Jon takes command of the defenses and repels several assaults, during which Ygritte is slain. After that, the Watch's surviving leaders Janos Slynt and Alliser Thorne falsely accuse Jon of treachery, and send him north of the Wall to kill Mance under a pretense of parley. As Jon is talking with Mance in the wildling camp, Stannis' army arrives, routing the Wildlings, and Mance is imprisoned. Stannis offers to legitimize Jon and make him Lord of Winterfell in exchange for his support, but Jon decides to decline Stannis' offer, and is elected by the Night's Watch as its new Lord Commander.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: Daenerys Targaryen learns that large slave armies can be bought in Astapor, one of the cities of Slaver's Bay, and buys the entire host of the warrior-eunuch Unsullied by offering one of her infant dragons in exchange. Upon payment, Daenerys orders the Unsullied and the dragon to turn on the slave traders and sack the city. With the help of her maturing dragons, she frees all the slaves of Astapor, including the Unsullied. Daenerys' army then conquers the slaver city of Yunkai; but the lords of the neighbouring city of Meereen antagonize Daenerys by killing child slaves and burning the land to deny her resources. Consequently, Daenerys besieges the city to no avail.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: Daenerys discovers two traitors in her camp: Ser Jorah Mormont, who had spied on her for the late King Robert, and Ser Barristan Selmy, the humiliated former Lord Commander of King Robert's Kingsguard. Daenerys offers both men the chance to make amends by sneaking into Meereen to free the slaves and start an uprising. Meereen soon falls and, in retaliation for the murdered child slaves, Daenerys has the city's rulers put to death. Selmy asks for Daenerys' forgiveness and becomes Lord Commander of her Queensguard, while Jorah, who refuses to admit any wrongdoing, is banished. When Daenerys learns that the council she left to govern Astapor has been overthrown, she decides to remain in Meereen to rule it herself.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: The tale is told through the eyes of ten main characters, plus a one-off prologue POV and a one-off epilogue POV character, for a total of 12 narrators.


title: A Storm of Swords

text: On October 6, 2009, Martin noted on his blog that his manuscript for "A Storm of Swords" had been 1521 pages in length; the initial printed hardcover came in at 992 pages. Martin did not write the Red Wedding chapters until he had completed every other chapter of the book, as he felt it was "the hardest thing I ever wrote" and that he would rather delay writing until absolutely necessary. In contrast, he referred to the chapter of Joffrey's fatal wedding as "easy and fun to write" but that he nevertheless tried to instill empathy for the painful demise of this very unpopular character and "bring home the point that this, too, was a human being who was scared and terrified and then dead".


title: A Storm of Swords

text: "Publishers Weekly" said the third volume was "one of the more rewarding examples of gigantism in contemporary fantasy. [...] The complexity of characters such as Daenerys, Arya and the Kingslayer will keep readers turning even the vast number of pages contained in this volume, for the author, like Tolkien or Jordan, makes us care about their fates. Those two fantasy greats are also evoked by Martin's ability to convey such sensual experiences as the heat of wildfire, the chill of ice, the smell of the sea and the sheer gargantuan indigestibility of the medieval banquet at its most excessive. Perhaps this saga doesn't go as far beyond the previous bounds of high fantasy as some claim, but for most readers it certainly goes far enough to command their attention."


title: A Storm of Swords

text: Martin was nominated for the 2001 Hugo Award for Best Novel, but lost to J. K. Rowling for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". Afterwards he made this comment about his fans: "Eat your heart out, Rowling. Maybe you have billions of dollars and my Hugo, but you don't have readers like "these"."


title: Frontal lobe

text: The frontal lobe is the largest of the four major lobes of the brain in mammals, and is located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere (in front of the parietal lobe and the temporal lobe). It is parted from the parietal lobe by a groove between tissues called the central sulcus and from the temporal lobe by a deeper groove called the lateral sulcus (Sylvian fissure). The most anterior rounded part of the frontal lobe (though not well-defined) is known as the frontal pole, one of the three poles of the cerebrum.


title: Frontal lobe

text: The frontal lobe is covered by the frontal cortex. The frontal cortex includes the premotor cortex, and the primary motor cortex – parts of the motor cortex. The front part of the frontal cortex is covered by the prefrontal cortex.


title: Frontal lobe

text: There are four principal gyri in the frontal lobe. The precentral gyrus is directly anterior to the central sulcus, running parallel to it and contains the primary motor cortex, which controls voluntary movements of specific body parts. Three horizontally arranged subsections of the frontal gyrus are the superior frontal gyrus, the middle frontal gyrus, and the inferior frontal gyrus. The inferior frontal gyrus is divided into three parts – the orbital part, the triangular part, and the opercular part.


title: Frontal lobe

text: The frontal lobe contains most of the dopamine neurons in the cerebral cortex. The dopaminergic pathways are associated with reward, attention, short-term memory tasks, planning, and motivation. Dopamine tends to limit and select sensory information arriving from the thalamus to the forebrain.


title: Frontal lobe

text: The frontal lobe is the largest lobe of the brain and makes up about a third of the surface area of each hemisphere. On the lateral surface of each hemisphere, the central sulcus separates the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe. The lateral sulcus separates the frontal lobe from the temporal lobe.


title: Frontal lobe

text: The frontal lobe can be divided into a lateral, polar, orbital (above the orbit; also called basal or ventral), and medial part. Each of these parts consists of a particular gyrus:


title: Frontal lobe

text: The gyri are separated by sulci. E.g., the precentral gyrus is in front of the central sulcus, and behind the precentral sulcus. The superior and middle frontal gyri are divided by the superior frontal sulcus. The middle and inferior frontal gyri are divided by the inferior frontal sulcus.


title: Frontal lobe

text: In humans, the frontal lobe reaches full maturity around the late 20s, marking the cognitive maturity associated with adulthood. A small amount of atrophy, however, is normal in the aging person's frontal lobe. Fjell, in 2009, studied atrophy of the brain in people aged 60–91 years. The 142 healthy participants were scanned using MRI. Their results were compared to those of 122 participants with Alzheimer's disease. A follow-up one year later showed there to have been a marked volumetric decline in those with Alzheimer's and a much smaller decline (averaging 0.5%) in the healthy group. These findings corroborate those of Coffey, who in 1992 indicated that the frontal lobe decreases in volume approximately 0.5–1% per year.


title: Frontal lobe

text: The entirety of the frontal cortex can be considered the "action cortex", much as the posterior cortex is considered the "sensory cortex". It is devoted to action of one kind or another: skeletal movement, ocular movement, speech control, and the expression of emotions. In humans, the largest part of the frontal cortex, the prefrontal cortex, (PFC) is responsible for internal, purposeful mental action, commonly called reasoning or prefrontal synthesis.


title: Frontal lobe

text: The function of the PFC involves the ability to project future consequences that result from current actions. PFC functions also include override and suppression of socially unacceptable responses as well as differentiation of tasks.


title: Frontal lobe

text: The PFC also plays an important part in integrating longer non-task based memories stored across the brain. These are often memories associated with emotions derived from input from the brain's limbic system. The frontal lobe modifies those emotions, generally to fit socially acceptable norms.


title: Frontal lobe

text: Psychological tests that measure frontal lobe function include finger tapping (as the frontal lobe controls voluntary movement), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and measures of language, numeracy skills and decision making which are all controlled by frontal lobe.


title: Frontal lobe

text: Damage to the frontal lobe can occur in a number of ways and result in many different consequences. Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) also known as mini-strokes, and strokes are common causes of frontal lobe damage in older adults (65 and over). These strokes and mini-strokes can occur due to the blockage of blood flow to the brain or as a result of the rupturing of an aneurysm in a cerebral artery. Other ways in which injury can occur include traumatic brain injuries incurred following accidents, diagnoses such as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease (which cause dementia symptoms), and frontal lobe epilepsy (which can occur at any age). Very often, frontal lobe damage is recognized in those with prenatal alcohol exposure.


title: Frontal lobe

text: Common effects of damage to the frontal lobe are varied. Patients who have experienced frontal lobe trauma may know the appropriate response to a situation but display inappropriate responses to those same situations in "real life". Similarly, emotions that are felt may not be expressed in the face or voice. For example, someone who is feeling happy would not smile, and the voice would be devoid of emotion. Along the same lines, though, the person may also exhibit excessive, unwarranted displays of emotion. Depression is common in stroke patients. Also common is a loss of or decrease in motivation. Someone might not want to carry out normal daily activities and would not feel "up to it". Those who are close to the person who has experienced the damage may notice changes in behavior. This personality change is characteristic of damage to the frontal lobe and was exemplified in the case of Phineas Gage. The frontal lobe is the same part of the brain that is responsible for executive functions such as planning for the future, judgment, decision-making skills, attention span, and inhibition. These functions can decrease drastically in someone whose frontal lobe is damaged.


title: Frontal lobe

text: Consequences that are seen less frequently are also varied. Confabulation may be the most frequently indicated "less common" effect. In the case of confabulation, someone gives false information while maintaining the belief that it is the truth. In a small number of patients, uncharacteristic cheerfulness can be noted. This effect is seen mostly in patients with lesions to the right frontal portion of the brain.


title: Frontal lobe

text: Another infrequent effect is that of reduplicative paramnesia, in which patients believe that the location in which they currently reside is a replica of one located somewhere else. Similarly, those who experience Capgras syndrome after frontal lobe damage believe that an identical "replacement" has taken the identity of a close friend, relative, or other person and is posing as that person. This last effect is seen mostly in schizophrenic patients who also have a neurological disorder in the frontal lobe.


title: Frontal lobe

text: In the human frontal cortex, a set of genes undergo reduced expression after age 40 and especially after age 70. This set includes genes that have key functions in synaptic plasticity important in learning and memory, vesicular transport and mitochondrial function. During aging, DNA damage is markedly increased in the promoters of the genes displaying reduced expression in the frontal cortex. In cultured human neurons, these promoters are selectively damaged by oxidative stress.


title: Frontal lobe

text: Individuals with HIV associated neurocognitive disorders accumulate nuclear and mitochondrial DNA damage in the frontal cortex.


title: Frontal lobe

text: A report from the National Institute of Mental Health says a gene variant of (COMT) that reduces dopamine activity in the prefrontal cortex is related to poorer performance and inefficient functioning of that brain region during working memory, tasks, and to a slightly increased risk for schizophrenia.


title: Frontal lobe

text: In the early 20th century, a medical treatment for mental illness, first developed by Portuguese neurologist Egas Moniz, involved damaging the pathways connecting the frontal lobe to the limbic system. A frontal lobotomy (sometimes called frontal leucotomy) successfully reduced distress but at the cost of often blunting the subject's emotions, volition and personality. The indiscriminate use of this psychosurgical procedure, combined with its severe side effects and a mortality rate of 7.4 to 17 per cent, gained it a bad reputation. The frontal lobotomy has largely died out as a psychiatric treatment. More precise psychosurgical procedures are still used, although rarely. They may include anterior capsulotomy (bilateral thermal lesions of the anterior limbs of the internal capsule) or the bilateral cingulotomy (involving lesions of the anterior cingulate gyri) and might be used to treat otherwise untreatable obsessional disorders or clinical depression.


title: Frontal lobe

text: It may be highlighted that the theories described above differ in their focus on certain processes/systems or construct-lets. Stuss (1999) remarks that the question of homogeneity (single construct) or heterogeneity (multiple processes/systems) of function "may represent a problem of semantics and/or incomplete functional analysis rather than an unresolvable dichotomy" (p. 348). However, further research will show if a unified theory of frontal lobe function that fully accounts for the diversity of functions will be available.


title: Frontal lobe

text: Many scientists had thought that the frontal lobe was disproportionately enlarged in humans compared to other primates. This was thought to be an important feature of human evolution and seen as the primary reason why human cognition differs from that of other primates. However, this view in relation to great apes has since been challenged by neuroimaging studies. Using magnetic resonance imaging to determine the volume of the frontal cortex in humans, all extant ape species and several monkey species, it was found that the human frontal cortex was not relatively larger than the cortex of other great apes but was relatively larger than the frontal cortex of lesser apes and the monkeys. The higher cognition of the humans is instead seen to relate to a greater connectedness given by neural tracts that do not affect the cortical volume. This is also evident in the pathways of the language network connecting the frontal and temporal lobes.


title: Michael Alig

text: Michael Alig (April 29, 1966 – December 24, 2020) was an American club promoter and convicted felon. He was one of the ringleaders of the Club Kids, a group of young New York City clubgoers who became a cultural phenomenon in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In March 1996, Alig and his roommate, Robert D. "Freeze" Riggs, killed fellow Club Kid Andre "Angel" Melendez in a confrontation over a drug debt. In October 1997, Alig pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter. Both men were sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. Riggs was released on parole in 2010. Alig was released on May 5, 2014.


title: Michael Alig

text: On Christmas Eve, 2020, shortly before midnight, Alig died at his Washington Heights home from an accidental drug overdose at the age of 54.


title: Michael Alig

text: Born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, Michael Alig was the second of two sons born to John and Elke Alig. His mother, a native of Bremerhaven, Germany, moved to the United States after marrying his father, a computer programmer. The couple divorced when Alig was four years old.


title: Michael Alig

text: Alig attended Grissom Middle School and Penn High School, where he was a straight-A student and graduated in the top 8% of his class. During his teenage years, Alig reported that he was often bullied because of his homosexuality. Seeking a less conservative social environment after graduating in 1984, he attended Fordham University in New York City. He studied architecture there before transferring to the Fashion Institute of Technology. There, he met the boyfriend of artist Keith Haring, who introduced Alig to New York City nightlife. Alig soon dropped out of school and began working at Danceteria as a bus boy.


title: Michael Alig

text: While working at Danceteria, Alig studied the nightclub business and soon became a party promoter. His ability to stage memorable parties helped him rise in New York's party scene. During this time, Alig and other regular clubgoers began creating flamboyant personas, and later became known as "Club Kids". The Club Kids wore outrageous costumes that former Club Kid and celebutante James St. James later described as "part drag, part clown, part infantilism". They were also known for their frequent use of ketamine (known as Special K), Ecstasy, Rohypnol, heroin, and cocaine. Alig's Club Kids included (among others): "Astro Erle", "Ernie Glam", "Gitsie", "Jennytalia", "Superstar DJ Keoki", Amanda Lepore, Charlie "Dash" Prestano, Joshua Davis, "Richie Rich", Robert "Freeze" Riggs, RuPaul, and "Walt Paper". The Club Kids' outrageousness became a source of interest for the media, and articles about them appeared in such media outlets as "Newsweek", "People", and "TIME". They also appeared on "Donahue", "Geraldo", and "The Joan Rivers Show".


title: Michael Alig

text: In 1988, Alig was hired by the owner of The Limelight, Peter Gatien. Alig's parties at The Limelight were such a hit that he began organizing parties for Gatien's other clubs: Club USA, the Palladium, and Tunnel. Alig's notorious "Outlaw Parties", which were thrown in various unconventional places including a Burger King, a Dunkin' Donuts, abandoned houses, and a subway, helped to revitalize the downtown New York City club scene which "Village Voice" columnist Michael Musto declared had atrophied after artist Andy Warhol died in 1987.


title: Michael Alig

text: Alig's parties also became notorious due in part to his own "bad behavior". Alig would throw $100 bills on crowded dance floors just to watch people scramble for them. In other instances, he would urinate on clubgoers or urinate in their drinks, and would engage in stage falls wherein he knocked others to the ground.


title: Michael Alig

text: As Alig's popularity in the club scene grew, so did his drug use. He was arrested several times for drug offenses and entered rehab, but continued to use drugs. In 1995, his boss, Gatien, sent Alig to rehab once again. Alig later claimed that after he completed his stint and was released, Gatien fired him.


title: Michael Alig

text: Some of Alig's behavior could be explained by a personality disorder. He reported being diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder, which is characterized by high levels of attention-seeking behavior, stating: "The doctor said I was the most extreme case he'd ever seen. Everything has to be completely over the top and exaggerated. It worked well for my job – I was a promoter."


title: Michael Alig

text: Andre "Angel" Melendez was a regular on the New York City club scene and worked at The Limelight, among other clubs (some not owned by Gatien, e.g., Webster Hall), where he sold drugs on the premises. After The Limelight was closed by federal agents and an investigation found that Gatien was allowing drugs to be sold there, Melendez was fired. Shortly thereafter, he moved into Alig's Riverbank West apartment. On the night of March 17, 1996, Alig and his roommate, Robert D. "Freeze" Riggs, killed Melendez after an argument in Alig's apartment over many things, including a long-standing drug debt. Alig claimed many times that he was so high on drugs that his memory of the events is unclear.


title: Michael Alig

text: After Melendez's death, Alig and Riggs did not know what to do with the body. They initially left it in the bathtub, which they filled with ice. After a few days, the body began to decompose and became malodorous. After discussing what to do with Melendez's body and who should do it, Riggs went to Macy's to buy knives and a box. In exchange for 10 bags of heroin, Alig agreed to dismember Melendez's body. He cut his legs off and put them each in a separate garbage bag, then into separate duffel bags and threw them into the Hudson River. The rest of the body was put into a large box Riggs found in the basement of their apartment. Afterwards, he and Riggs threw the box into the Hudson River.


title: Michael Alig

text: In the weeks following Melendez's disappearance, Alig allegedly told "anyone who would listen" that he and Riggs had killed him. Most people did not believe Alig and thought his "confession" was a ploy to get attention.


title: Michael Alig

text: However, Michael Musto recalls: "By the time Alig sent out a party invite joking about the murder, a lot of people wanted to kill "him" (especially since a source was floating a more premeditated version of the killing)."


title: Michael Alig

text: On April 26, 1996, Musto reported rumors of Alig's involvement in Melendez's death in a blind item, in his "Village Voice" column. Although no names were used, Musto's reports included the details of murder. Musto had previously reported on Alig's firing from The Limelight and noted the buzz about a missing club person. The following day, the "New York Post"s "Page Six" column ran a lead item about the murder mystery, citing Musto's reporting as well as a "New York" magazine piece quoting an evasive Alig. Over the coming weeks, the "Village Voice" continued to report and make accusations about Melendez's murder.


title: Michael Alig

text: Through September 1996, the police still had not questioned Alig about the murder; they were focused on his former boss and onetime business partner, Peter Gatien, wanting Alig to testify against him. Since several months had passed, many people believed Alig would get away with murdering Melendez, until children playing in the water pulled a box containing a legless torso from the waters of Oakwood Beach at Miller Field, in New Dorp, Staten Island. James St. James recounted how Melendez's brother was baffled by what he regarded as callous indifference by the police and by the scenesters Melendez had considered friends.


title: Michael Alig

text: In November 1996, the coroner reported the body had been identified as Andre "Angel" Melendez. Alig fled New York, but was located by police in a motel room rented by his drug dealer boyfriend, Brian, in Toms River, New Jersey. Alig was arrested as was Riggs. Shortly after his arrest, Riggs confessed to police:


title: Michael Alig

text: According to Riggs, he hit Melendez a total of three times on the head with the hammer. Then Alig grabbed a pillow and tried to smother him. While Melendez was unconscious, Riggs went to the other room; when he returned, he noticed a broken syringe on the floor. Riggs claimed that Alig was pouring "some cleaner or chemical" into Melendez' mouth, then duct-taped it with the help of Riggs. Alig disputed these claims, however, and cited the "Drano in the hypodermic needle" as one of the key false dramatizations in "Disco Bloodbath" and "Party Monster".


title: Michael Alig

text: Alig claimed he killed Melendez in self-defense and helped to dispose of the body in a panic. Prosecutors were hesitant to charge Alig with first-degree murder, as they still hoped he would testify against his former boss, Peter Gatien, who had been arrested for allowing drugs to be sold in his nightclubs. They eventually offered both Alig and Riggs a plea deal: a sentence of 10 to 20 years if they accepted the lesser charge of manslaughter. On October 1, 1997, both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 10 to 20 years.


title: Michael Alig

text: While in prison, Alig told journalist Michael Musto, "I know why I blabbed. I must have wanted to stop me. I was spinning out of control. It's like the old saying 'What do you have to do to get attention around here – kill somebody?'"


title: Michael Alig

text: While incarcerated in the New York State prison system, Alig was transferred from prison to prison; he also spent time in the psychiatric ward at Rikers Island. In 2000, at Southport Correctional Facility, he was placed in solitary confinement after he was caught using heroin. He remained in solitary for another two-and-a-half years after a drug test showed that he was still using drugs.


title: Michael Alig

text: In August 2004, Alig's longtime friend and mentor, James St. James, began a blog entitled "Phone Calls From a Felon". The blog contained transcripts of phone conversations between Alig and St. James about Alig's experiences in prison. After six weeks, Alig put a stop to the phone calls claiming, "People think I'm having a grand old time. Or that I'm trying to exploit my situation." He was moved to Elmira Correctional Facility that year.


title: Michael Alig

text: Alig became eligible for parole in 2006. His first parole request, in November 2006, was denied, reportedly after parole officers watched the film "Party Monster" (2003), a fictionalized account of Alig's life, starring Macaulay Culkin. He was again denied parole in July 2008 after failing several drug tests. In an interview with his former fellow prisoner, Daniel Genis, Alig said that his time spent reading while in solitary inspired him to write his memoirs, which he titled "Aligula", and he particularly identified with the character Raskolnikov from Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment". In March 2009, Alig said he finally decided to stop using drugs and that he had been sober since then.


title: Michael Alig

text: Alig was paroled on May 5, 2014. Per the conditions of his parole, Alig returned to New York City. He was required to abide by an 8 p.m. curfew and undergo drug and anger management counseling, and job readiness training. In the months following his release, Alig granted numerous interviews in which he expressed a desire to star in his own reality show and stage an exhibition of his artwork. Michael Alig had numerous Club Kids and mentors helping him get established to function in the modern real world life such as Club Kid Ernie Glam and his husband David Maurici, Club Kid Screamin' Rachael, nightlife legend Steve Lewis, Esther Hayes, Club Kid Christopher Comp, Club Kid Sushi, Club Kid Michael Tronn, nightlife personality Professor Victor P. Corona, and nightlife personality/musician Ingrid LaLa. When asked "how can you be so patient with Michael Alig when he is all over the place", mentor Ingrid LaLa replied: " When I was 23 years old, I taught sixth grade!". In May 2014, reports emerged that Alig was attempting to sell his memoirs and was pursuing a career as a magazine writer. From September 7, 2014 on, Alig and fellow Club Kid Ernie Glam hosted a YouTube comedy talk show titled "The Pee-ew".


title: Michael Alig

text: On October 15, 2014, Alig released the pop song, "What's In" (featuring DJ Keoki), written and produced by Greg Tanoose, through Austound Music, an Austin, Texas-based record label. An EP, also entitled "What's In", was released.


title: Michael Alig

text: On June 25, 2015, Michael Alig had his first and only art show event held in three separate art galleries in New York City in the LES area. In the New York Post article " Party Monster: Painting in Prison Kept Me from Killing Myself", it featured the upcoming June 25, 2015 art event, an interview of Michael Alig as a painter and photos his paintings such as Zombie Babies, Club Kids and the Pfizer series - Orange Butterflies Pfizer painting. The invitation designed by Michael Alig was a three piece puzzle of his art work; each puzzle piece revealed the location of the gallery and the time. A week before the June 25, 2015 art event, someone stole the box with the second middle pieces of the puzzle art invitation. A complete three piece set of the puzzle invitation is rare and hard to find.


title: Michael Alig

text: The art event was filmed by World of Wonder (WOW) for the Party Monster 2 movie. Club Kid/nightlife personality/celebrity/author James St James, Club Kid/nightlife personality/author Ernie Glam, Club Kid and mentor Screaming' Rachael, Club Kid DJ Keoki ,Club Kid JennyTalia (Jenny Dembrow), film director Eric Spade Rivas, Hollywood musician/painter/nightlife personality/film actress Ingrid LaLa, NYC musician/painter Joseph Arthur, NYC nightlife legend and mentor Steve Lewis, and many others attended Michael Alig's June 25, 2015 art event. The third gallery was at Hotel Chantel in which a DJ set by DJ Keoki was performed.


title: Michael Alig

text: DJ Keoki started to DJ at a weekly Monday night party called Outrage! in the New York City LES area. Later DJ Keoki got Michael Alig involved with Outrage!. Michael Alig enlisted his mentor and executive manager from Hollywood, Ingrid LaLa, to create a master contact list, do PR and send mailchimp emails for the Outrage! parties. Outrage! became a huge success packing the venue every Monday night with DJ Keoki doing DJ sets and Michael Alig bringing in the old and new generation of Club Kids.


title: Michael Alig

text: In January 2017, Michael Alig convinced NYC nightlife personality/musician Jason Chaos to curate and work Outrage! Each week Outrage! had a party with a theme.With Jason Chaos, Michael Alig, Ingrid LaLa and others working as a team, Outrage! became a successful party and Michael Alig was working in nightlife promotions again.


title: Michael Alig

text: Michael Alig starred in four Eric Spade Rivas films : Vamp Bikers, Vamp Bikers Dos, Vamp Bikers 3 and Duke of New York.


title: Michael Alig

text: On February 2, 2017, Alig was arrested for trespassing and smoking crystal meth in Joyce Kilmer Park in Concourse, outside the Bronx Supreme Court, at approximately 1:30 a.m. He was detained because the park closes after dusk. The complaint alleges that "police found a bag of crystal meth and a pipe with residue from the drug in his jacket pocket". The "New York Daily News" reported that Alig was arraigned on drug possession and trespass charges, and pleaded guilty to trespass in exchange for a conditional discharge.


title: Michael Alig

text: After working the Outrage! events, Michael Alig continued to promote and host parties in New York City for Noel Ashman, Trax Records, Jason Chaos and more. During the pandemic , Screamin' Rachael, Jason Chaos and Trax Records were the first to launched virtual zoom parties every Saturday night Michael Alig teamed with Screamin' Rachael and Jason Chaos during the pandemic to host these events. Due to the popularity of these events during the lockdown, NYC police investigated believing there was a real in person event when it was actually a virtual party. Michael Alig hosted these virtual parties until his untimely death on December 25, 2020.


title: Michael Alig

text: On December 24, 2020, shortly before midnight, Alig was found unconscious by his ex-boyfriend at their Washington Heights, Manhattan, home. He was using heroin before he fell ill and was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 54 years old. The following day, Christmas, Alig's mother confirmed his cause of death as an accidental heroin overdose. The Office of the Chief Medical examiner in New York City verified in May 2021 that Alig died from acute intoxication from the drugs fentanyl, acetylfentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United States Senator from Alabama from 1997 to 2017 before resigning that position to serve as attorney general in the administration of President Donald Trump.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: From 1981 to 1993, Sessions served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan nominated Sessions to a judgeship on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. After allegations of racism were made against him in testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which Sessions denied, the committee voted against advancing his nomination to the Senate floor; the nomination was later withdrawn. Sessions was elected Attorney General of Alabama in 1994. In 1996, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, and was re-elected in 2002, 2008 and 2014. During his Senate tenure, Sessions was considered one of the most conservative Senators. His Senate voting record includes votes against comprehensive immigration reform (2006), the 2008 bank bailout, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Affordable Care Act (2009) and criminal justice reform (2015).


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions was an early supporter of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign; he was nominated by Trump for the post of U.S. attorney general. He was confirmed and sworn in as attorney general in February 2017. In his confirmation hearings, Sessions stated under oath that he did not have contact with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential campaign and that he was unaware of any contact between Trump campaign members and Russian officials. However, in March 2017, news reports revealed that Sessions had twice met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in 2016. Sessions later recused himself from any investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. As Attorney General, Sessions rescinded a memo issued by one of his predecessors, Eric Holder, that had sought to curb mass incarceration by avoiding mandatory sentencing for drug crimes; he ordered federal prosecutors to begin seeking the maximum criminal charges possible. A staunch opponent of illegal immigration, Sessions adopted a hard line on sanctuary cities and told reporters that cities failing to comply with federal immigration policy would lose federal funding. He also played a key role in the implementation of the Trump administration family separation policy. Trump issued an executive order revoking the cities' funding, but that order was overturned by a federal court. Sessions also supported Department of Justice prosecutions of medical marijuana providers.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On November 7, 2018, Sessions tendered his resignation at Trump's request following months of public and private conflict with President Trump over his recusal from investigations relating to Russian election interference. Sessions ran in the 2020 Senate election in Alabama to reclaim his old seat, but lost in the Republican primary to Tommy Tuberville, who was supported by President Trump.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions was born in Selma, Alabama, on December 24, 1946, the son of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, Jr., and the former Abbie Powe. Sessions, his father, and his grandfather were named after Jefferson Davis, a U.S. senator and president of the Confederate States of America, and P. G. T. Beauregard, a veteran of the Mexican-American War and a Confederate general who oversaw the Battle of Fort Sumter that commenced the American Civil War. His father owned a general store in Hybart, Alabama, and later owned a farm equipment dealership. Both Sessions's parents were primarily of English descent, with some Scots-Irish ancestry. In 1964, Sessions became an Eagle Scout, and later, he earned the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award for his many years of service.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: After attending Wilcox County High School in nearby Camden, Sessions studied at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1969. He was active in the Young Republicans and was student body president. Sessions attended the University of Alabama School of Law and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1973.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions entered the private practice of law in Russellville and later in Mobile. He also served in the Army Reserve in the 1970s with the rank of captain.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama beginning in 1975. In 1981, President Reagan nominated him to be the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. The Senate confirmed him and he held that position for twelve years. In 1993, Sessions resigned his post after Democrat Bill Clinton was elected President of the United States.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions's office filed civil rights charges in the 1981 killing of Michael Donald, a young African American man who was murdered in Mobile, Alabama, by a pair of Ku Klux Klan members. Sessions' office did not prosecute the case, but both men were arrested and convicted.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In 1985, Sessions prosecuted three African American community organizers in the Black Belt of Alabama, including Martin Luther King Jr.'s former aide Albert Turner, for voter fraud, alleging tampering with 14 absentee ballots. The prosecution stirred charges of selective prosecution of black voter registration. The defendants, known as the Marion Three, were acquitted of all charges by a jury after three hours of deliberation. Historian Wayne Flynt told "The Washington Post" he regarded concerns about tactics employed in the 1984 election and by Turner in particular as legitimate, but also noted Sessions had no history of advocating for black voter rights before 1984. Interviewed in 2009, Sessions said he remained convinced that he did the right thing, but admitted he "failed to make the case".


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In 1986, Reagan nominated Sessions to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. Sessions's judicial nomination was recommended and actively backed by Republican Alabama senator Jeremiah Denton. A substantial majority of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which rates nominees to the federal bench, rated Sessions "qualified", with a minority voting that Sessions was "not qualified". His nomination was opposed by the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and People for the American Way.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: At Sessions's confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, four Department of Justice lawyers who had worked with Sessions testified that he made racially offensive remarks. One of those lawyers, J. Gerald Hebert, testified that Sessions had referred to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as "un-American" and "Communist-inspired" (Sessions said he was referring to their support of the Sandinistas) and that they did more harm than good by trying to force civil rights "down the throats of people". Hebert, a civil rights lawyer, said that he did not consider Sessions a racist, and that Sessions "has a tendency sometimes to just say something, and I believe these comments were along that vein." Hebert also said that Sessions had called a white civil rights attorney "maybe" a "disgrace to his race". Sessions said he did not recall making that remark and he did not believe it.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Thomas Figures, a black assistant U.S. attorney, testified that Sessions said he thought the Ku Klux Klan was "OK until I found out they smoked pot". Sessions later said that the comment was not serious, but did apologize for it, saying that he considered the Klan to be "a force for hatred and bigotry". Barry Kowalski, a prosecutor in the civil rights division, also heard the remark and testified that prosecutors working such a gruesome case sometimes "resort to operating room humor and that is what I considered it to be". Another DOJ lawyer, Albert Glenn, said, "It never occurred to me that there was any seriousness to it." Figures testified that on one occasion, when the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division sent the office instructions to investigate a case that Sessions had tried to close, Figures and Sessions "had a very spirited discussion regarding how the Hodge case should then be handled; in the course of that argument, Mr. Sessions threw the file on a table, and remarked, 'I wish I could decline on all of them, by which Figures said Sessions meant civil rights cases generally. Kowalski, however, testified that he believed "[Sessions] was eager to see that justice was done in the area of criminal civil rights prosecutions."


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Figures also said that Sessions had called him "boy", which Sessions denied. Figures testified that two assistant prosecutors had also heard Sessions, including current federal judge Ginny Granade. Granade denied this. He also testified that "Mr. Sessions admonished me to 'be careful what you say to white folks.'" Sessions denied this. In 1992, Figures was charged with attempting to bribe a witness by offering $50,000 to a convicted drug dealer who was to testify against his client. Figures claimed the charge was retaliation for his role in blocking the Sessions nomination. Sessions denied this, saying that he recused himself from the case. Figures was ultimately acquitted.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Hebert, Kowalski and Daniel Bell, deputy chief of the criminal section in the Civil Rights Division, testified that they considered Sessions to have been more welcoming to the work of the Civil Rights Division than many other Southern U.S. attorneys at the time. Sessions has always defended his civil rights record, saying that "when I was [a U.S. attorney], I signed 10 pleadings attacking segregation or the remnants of segregation, where we as part of the Department of Justice, we sought desegregation remedies." Critics later argued that Sessions had exaggerated his involvement in civil rights cases. Michigan Law professor Samuel Bagenstos, reviewing Sessions's claims, argued that "[a]ll this shows is that Sessions didn't completely refuse to participate in or have his name on pleadings in cases that the civil rights division brought during his tenure... These four cases are awfully weak evidence of Sessions's supposed commitment to civil rights."


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr. wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee to oppose the nomination. In her letter, she wrote that "Mr. Sessions has used the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters."


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On June 5, 1986, the committee voted 10–8 against recommending the nomination to the Senate floor, with Republican senators Charles Mathias of Maryland and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania voting with the Democrats. It then split 9–9 on a vote to send Sessions's nomination to the Senate floor with no recommendation, this time with Specter in support. A majority was required for the nomination to proceed. The pivotal votes against Sessions came from his home state's Democratic senator Howell Heflin of Alabama. Although Heflin had previously backed Sessions, he began to oppose Sessions after hearing testimony, concluding that there were "reasonable doubts" over Sessions's ability to be "fair and impartial". The nomination was withdrawn on July 31, 1986.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions became only the second nominee to the federal judiciary in 48 years whose nomination was killed by the Senate Judiciary Committee. He was quoted then as saying that the Senate on occasion had been insensitive to the rights and reputation of nominees. A law clerk from the U.S. District Court in Mobile who had worked with Sessions later acknowledged the confirmation controversy, but stated that he observed Sessions as "a lawyer of the highest ethical and intellectual standards".


title: Jeff Sessions

text: When Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania left the GOP to join the Democratic Party on April 28, 2009, Sessions was selected to be the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee. At that time, Specter said that his vote against Sessions's 1986 federal judicial nomination had been a mistake, adding that he had later found Sen. Sessions to be an "egalitarian".


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions was elected Attorney General of Alabama in November 1994, unseating incumbent Democrat Jimmy Evans with 57% of the vote. The harsh criticism he had received from Senator Ted Kennedy, who called him a "throw-back to a shameful era" and a "disgrace", was considered to have won him the support of Alabama conservatives.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: As Attorney General, Sessions defended the state in a litigation that challenged the funding system for Alabama's public schools. The litigation resulted in the creation of a new funding system after "Judge Eugene W. Reese found the state's education funding unconstitutional and ordered lawmakers to come up with a system to remedy inequities between rich and poor schools."


title: Jeff Sessions

text: As Attorney General in 1995, Sessions defended a newly passed state law denying access to meeting space and student group funding for Gay-Straight Alliances at the state's public universities, stating that "an organization that professes to be homosexuals and/or lesbians may not receive state funding or use state-supported facilities to foster or promote those illegal, sexually deviate activities defined in the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws." The U.S. District court ruled against the state law as a violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance v. Sessions, 917 F. Supp. 1548 (1996)


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In 1996, Sessions won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, after a runoff, and then defeated Democrat Roger Bedford 53%–46% in the November general election. He succeeded Howell Heflin (a Democrat), who had retired after 18 years in the Senate, making his victory a Republican pickup in the Senate.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In February of 1999, Sessions voted to convict President Bill Clinton on both articles of impeachment for obstruction of justice. However Bill Clinton was acquitted on both charges afterwards.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Following the Columbine High School massacre in April 1999, Sessions took part in the Senate's Subcommittee that investigated the massacre. Sessions blamed violent video games, movies and music, especially that of Marilyn Manson, and parts of culture for the actions of the two shooters.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In 2002, Sessions won reelection by defeating Democratic state auditor Susan Parker. In 2008, Sessions defeated Democratic state senator Vivian Davis Figures (sister-in-law of Thomas Figures, the assistant U.S. attorney who testified at Sessions's judicial confirmation hearing) to win a third term. Sessions received 63 percent of the vote to Figures's 37 percent. Sessions successfully sought a fourth term in 2014. In 2014, Sessions was uncontested in the Republican primary and was only opposed in the general election by write-in Democratic candidate Victor Sanchez Williams.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions was only the second freshman Republican senator from Alabama since Reconstruction and gave Alabama two Republican senators, a first since Reconstruction. In 2002, he became the first Republican reelected to the Senate from Alabama since Reconstruction (given that his colleague Richard Shelby, who won reelection as a Republican in 1998, had previously run as a Democrat, switching parties in 1994).


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions was the ranking Republican member on the Senate Budget Committee, a former ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. He also served on the Environment and Public Works Committee.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: According to OpenSecrets, between 1995 and 2016, Sessions's largest donors came from the legal, health, real estate, and insurance industries. From 1995 to 2016, the corporations employing donors who gave the most to his campaign were the Southern Company utility firm, the Balch & Bingham law firm, the Drummond Company coal mining firm, Collazo Enterprises, and Vulcan Materials.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions was an early supporter of the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump, and was a major policy adviser to the Trump campaign, especially in regard to immigration and national security. He was on the short list to become Trump's running mate and was widely seen as a potential Cabinet secretary in a Trump administration.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions donned a "Make America Great Again" cap at a Trump rally in August 2015, and Stephen Miller, Sessions's long-time communications director, joined the Trump campaign. On February 28, 2016, Sessions officially endorsed Donald Trump for president. Session's endorsement further legitimized Trump's campaign, as he was the first and only sitting U.S Senator to endorse him during the primary. Sessions's and Rudy Giuliani's appearance was a staple at Trump campaign rallies. Uncorroborated Russian communications intercepted by U.S. intelligence agencies discuss Ambassador Sergey Kislyak meeting privately with Sessions at the Mayflower Hotel during a Trump campaign event in April 2016.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: During the transition, Sessions played a large role in appointments and policy preparation relative to space, NASA and related facilities in Alabama, while Peter Thiel advocated for private spaceflight.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: President-elect Trump announced on November 18, 2016, that he would nominate Sessions to be Attorney General of the United States. Trump would later state in an August 22, 2018, interview with Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt that the only reason he nominated Sessions was because Sessions was an original supporter during his presidential campaign. The nomination engendered support and opposition from various groups and individuals. He was introduced by Senator Susan Collins from Maine who said, "He's a decent individual with a strong commitment to the rule of law. He's a leader of integrity. I think the attacks against him are not well founded and are unfair." More than 1,400 law school professors wrote a letter urging the Senate to reject the nomination. A group of black pastors rallied in support of Sessions in advance of his confirmation hearing; his nomination was supported by Gerald A. Reynolds, an African American former chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Six NAACP activists, including NAACP President Cornell William Brooks, were arrested at a January 2017 sit-in protesting the nomination.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On January 10, 2017, the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on his nomination began and were interrupted by protesters. The committee approved his nomination February1 on an 11–9 party-line vote. The nomination then went to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. The vote on Sessions was delayed until after the vote on Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos, because his confirmationand subsequent resignation from the Senatewould create a temporary vacancy, which otherwise would have jeopardized DeVos's narrow confirmation. On February 7, 2017, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell stopped Senator Elizabeth Warren from reading statements opposing Sessions's nomination as federal judge that had been made by Ted Kennedy and Coretta Scott King. Warren was then officially rebuked per Senate Rule XIX on a party-line vote for "impugning a fellow senator's character". In silencing Warren, McConnell uttered the phrase "Nevertheless, she persisted"; the phrase was later adopted by the feminist movement in referring to women's persistence in breaking barriers. A few hours later Senator Jeff Merkley read without interruption the same letter by King that Warren had attempted to read.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On February 8, 2017, Sessions was confirmed as attorney general by a vote of 52 to 47. The next day, he was sworn in into his new post.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On March 10, 2017, Sessions oversaw the firing of 46 United States attorneys. His acting deputy, Dana Boente, and Deputy Attorney General nominee Rod Rosenstein remained in place after Trump declined their resignations.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On April 10, 2017, Sessions disbanded the National Commission on Forensic Science and ended the department's review of forensic accuracy in closed cases.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions imposed a hiring freeze on most of the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division and U.S. attorneys' offices, and placed a total hiring freeze on the Department's Fraud Section. On April 24, 2017, Sessions traveled to an ethics lawyers' conference to assure them the department would continue prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, regardless of Trump's comments that the law is a "horrible law" and that "the world is laughing at us".


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On May 9, 2017, Sessions delivered a memo to the president recommending that Trump fire FBI director James Comey, attaching a memo by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein which called the Director's behavior indefensible. Trump fired Comey that day. In March 2017, Sessions had recused himself from investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Comey was leading the investigations prior to his dismissal.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On June 5, 2017, Sessions issued a memo preventing the Justice Department's future lawsuit settlements from including funding for third parties. Such settlement funding had been made available for the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Volkswagen emissions scandal.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In a November 2017 overview of his tenure in the "Washington Post", Sessions was described as having made "dramatic and controversial changes [which] reflect his nationalist ideology and hard-line views".


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On December 21, 2017, Sessions rescinded 200 pages of guidance documents. Some of those 25 guidance documents had included warnings to avoid imposing excessive fees on the poor, to refrain from shipping some guns across state lines, and to encourage accommodation of the developmentally disabled. Sessions's recessions were criticized by the United States Commission on Civil Rights and prompted a lawsuit by the City Attorney of San Francisco. In 2018, Sessions shuttered the Justice Department's Office for Access to Justice, which had focused on legal aid.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On November 7, 2018, Sessions resigned at President Trump's behest. It has been reported that his letter of resignation had also been submitted on a prior occasion.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: During Sessions's Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on January 10, Senator Al Franken asked him what he would do as Attorney General "if there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign". Franken was referring to a news report alleging that Russia had compromising material on Trump, and that Trump surrogates were in contact with the Russian government. Sessions replied that he was "not aware of any of those activities" and said "I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I didn't havedid not have communications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on it."


title: Jeff Sessions

text: A week later, in his responses to written questions presented by Senator Patrick Leahy, Sessions stated that he had not been "in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election".


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On March 1, 2017, reports surfaced that Sessions had contact with Russian government officials during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, even though during his confirmation hearings he denied he had any discussions with representatives of the Russian government. News reports revealed that Sessions had spoken twice with Russia's ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. The first communication took place after a Heritage Foundation event at the 2016 Republican National Convention attended by several ambassadors, including Kislyak who spoke with Sessions. The second interaction took place on September 8, 2016, when they met in Sessions's office; Sessions said they discussed Ukraine and terrorism. Sessions released a statement on March 1, 2017, saying "I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false." U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said: "There was absolutely nothing misleading about his answer. He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaignnot about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee... Last year, the Senator had over 25 conversations with foreign ambassadors as a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, including the British, Korean, Japanese, Polish, Indian, Chinese, Canadian, Australian, German and Russian ambassadors."


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Upon the revelation that Sessions had met several times with the Russian ambassador, Republican senator Lindsey Graham called for Sessions to recuse himself from any investigations into the connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. Several Democratic members of Congress called on Sessions to resign his post as United States Attorney General. Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Elijah Cummings and Senator Al Franken accused Sessions of having lied under oath at his confirmation hearing.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On March 20, 2017, FBI director James Comey testified in front of the House Intelligence Committee that since July 2016, the FBI had been conducting a counter-intelligence investigation to assess the extent of Russia's interference into the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump associates played a role in Russia's efforts. In May 2017 the Justice Department reported that Sessions had failed to disclose meetings with Russian officials during the presidential campaign in 2016, when he applied for his security clearance. Sessions's staff had been advised by the FBI that meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staff connected with his Senate activities did not need to be disclosed.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On June 13, 2017, Sessions testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee after canceling testimonies before the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. Sessions rejected reports he had met with Russian Ambassador Kislyak during Trump's April 2016 speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., testifying that he did not remember any "brief interaction" he may have had with the ambassador. Accused of "stonewalling" by Senator Ron Wyden, Sessions discussed the executive privilege power, and said that he was refusing to answer questions about his conversations with Trump because "I am protecting the President's right to assert it if he chooses." He was being advised by his personal lawyer Charles J. Cooper.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In July 2017, "The Washington Post" reported that Kislyak, in communications intercepted by U.S. intelligence, had told his superiors in Moscow that his conversations with Sessions had concerned Trump's campaign as well as "Trump's positions on Russia-related issues". Previously, after initially denying having met with Kisylak at all, Sessions had repeatedly asserted that in his meetings with the Russian ambassador he never discussed the campaign and only met with him in his capacity as a U.S. senator. The Department of Justice responded by saying that Sessions stood by his testimony that he "never met with or had any conversations with any Russians or any foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election".


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In March 2016, one of Trump's foreign policy advisors named George Papadopoulos suggested that he could use personal connections to arrange a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Sessions rejected the proposed meeting, according to information provided to CNN by a person in attendance. This raised questions on the truthfulness of Sessions's testimony and whether Sessions committed perjury during his testimony. Furthermore, on the same day, testimony given by Carter Page to the House intelligence committee contradicted Sessions's previous statements by stating that he had told Sessions about plans to visit Russia during the campaign.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Beginning in March 2017, Senators asked the FBI to conduct a criminal perjury investigation into Sessions. Deputy Director Andrew McCabe then assigned FBI agents to investigate. According to Sessions's personal lawyer, the investigation concluded without charges being brought.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On March 16, 2018, Sessions fired McCabe hours before the deputy director would have qualified for a government pension, citing McCabe's lack of candor to the Department's Inspector General.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: The idea that Sessions might have to recuse himself from the Russia investigation was raised almost as soon as he took office. Trump was concerned about the implications of such a recusal, reportedly telling aides that he needed a loyalist overseeing the investigation. In early March he told White House counsel Don McGahn to urge Sessions to retain oversight of the investigation, but Sessions told McGahn he intended to follow the advice of Justice Department lawyers.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On March 2, 2017, Sessions announced that he would recuse himself from any investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, or any other matters related to the 2016 presidential election. He had been advised to do so by career Justice Department personnel, citing concerns about impartiality given his prominent role in the Trump election campaign. When told that a special counsel had been appointed, the president slumped back in his chair and said, "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm fucked." That same day, "The Wall Street Journal" reported that Sessions's contacts with Russians had been investigated, but it was not clear whether the investigation was ongoing. Sessions said during a televised interview that the recusal was not an admission of any wrongdoing. On June 8, 2017, James Comey, who had been dismissed as FBI director a month earlier, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that he had expected Sessions to recuse himself from the Russia investigation two weeks before he did so, for classified reasons that made Sessions's continued engagement in the investigation "problematic".


title: Jeff Sessions

text: A few days after he announced his recusal, Sessions traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump. Sessions wanted to talk about implementing Trump's proposed travel ban, but instead Trump berated him for recusing himself and asked him to reverse his recusal. Sessions refused. In May 2017, Sessions offered to resign after receiving criticism from Trump, but Trump did not accept the resignation.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: For the rest of Sessions's tenure, Trump continued to be furious with him for his recusal, blaming it for the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Trump publicly attacked Sessions multiple times via Twitter and in public comments, saying he regretted choosing him as attorney general and that he never would have done so if he had known Sessions was going to recuse himself from the investigation. According to Bob Woodward's book , Trump called Jeff Sessions "mentally retarded" and described him as a "dumb southerner". Trump denied ever using "these terms on anyone", although he had been recorded using the word "retarded" as an insult on two episodes of The Howard Stern Show.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In addition to criticizing him, Trump often used Twitter to suggest things he thought Sessions should do or to criticize Justice Department actions. According to Senator Jeff Flake, "the president has been pushing [Sessions] very openly to go after the president's enemies and lay off his friends," adding "And so far, Jeff Sessions, bless his heart, has resisted and maintained that the judiciary needs to be independent." Trump demanded that Sessions investigate Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and various employees of the FBI and Justice Department. In August 2018 he said that Sessions should "stop" the Mueller investigation. He later tweeted that "Our A.G. is scared stiff and Missing in Action." In an August interview Trump complained that Jeff Sessions "never took control of the Justice Department", to which Sessions in a rare response said "While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations... I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in."


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On September 3, 2018, Trump complained on Twitter that "investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time." Many lawmakers, including Republican senators, said Trump's remark was inappropriate, and a spokesperson for House Speaker Paul Ryan said the Justice Department "should always remain apolitical".


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Trump often hinted he wanted to fire Sessions, perhaps after the November 2018 elections. Sessions told associates he did not intend to resign, but on November 7, 2018, he submitted a letter of resignation to Chief of Staff John Kelly at President Trump's request.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On April 3, 2017, Sessions announced that he intended to review consent decrees in which local law enforcement agencies had agreed to Department oversight. U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar then denied Sessions's request to delay a new consent decree with the Baltimore Police Department.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On May 12, 2017, Sessions ordered federal prosecutors to begin seeking the greatest criminal charges possible in drug cases. The new guidelines rescinded a memo by Attorney General Eric Holder that had sought to reduce mass incarceration by avoiding mandatory sentencing.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On July 19, 2017, Sessions signed an order reviving federally adopted civil asset forfeiture, which allows local law enforcement to bypass state limitations on seizing the property of those suspected but not charged of crimes.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In September 2017, the Justice Department under Sessions stated that it would no longer investigate police departments and publicize their shortcomings in reports, a policy previously enacted under the Obama administration. These reports were the basis of negotiating consent decrees.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On December 22, 2017, Sessions rescinded guidelines intended to warn local courts against imposing excessive fines and fees on poor defendants.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In February 2018, Sessions sent a public letter to Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) opposing the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman's bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act bill. Sessions opposed White House senior advisor Jared Kushner's support for the reforms until Kushner reportedly agreed to focus instead on improving prison conditions.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On March 20, 2018, Sessions signed a memo instructing federal prosecutors to seek capital punishment on major drug dealers.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In November 2018, just before Sessions was fired by Trump, Sessions ordered for consent decrees to be severely restricted.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In June 2020, Sessions asserted that former president Barack Obama had coddled criminals while disrespecting law enforcement. He characterized an episode in which "there's a riot, and he has a beer at the White House with some criminal, to listen to him. Wasn't having a beer with the police officers." In July 2009, a brief uproar arose after a black Harvard professor, Henry Louis Gates, was arrested by a white police officer as Gates attempted to enter his own home. Obama hosted both men at the White House to discuss the incident over beers.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On March 27, 2017, Sessions told reporters that sanctuary cities failing to comply with policies of the Trump administration would lose federal funding, and cited the shooting of Kathryn Steinle as an example of an illegal immigrant committing a heinous crime.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On April 11, 2017, Sessions issued a memo for federal attorneys to consider prosecuting anyone harboring an illegal immigrant. On the same day, while at an entry border port in Nogales, Arizona, Sessions insisted the new administration would implement policies against those continuing "to seek improper and illegal entry into this country". On April 21, nine sanctuary cities were sent letters by the Justice Department giving them a deadline of June 30 to provide an explanation of how their policies were not in violation of the law, and Sessions hours later warned "enough is enough" in San Diego amid his tour of the U.S.–Mexico border. Two days later, Sessions said that reducing false tax credits given to "mostly Mexicans" could pay for the U.S.–Mexico border and it would be paid for "one way or the other".


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions attempted to block funding to sanctuary cities. Sessions also threatened to criminally prosecute uncooperative local officials. Federal judges in Chicago, San Francisco, and Philadelphia have rejected Sessions's efforts.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On March 6, 2018, Sessions sued the state of California in federal district court, alleging that the state's laws regarding prisoner release, workplace inspection, and detention site inspection are preempted by the federal government's immigration policy.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions played an important role in implementing the Trump administration family separation policy wherein undocumented immigrants were separated from their children. In June 2018, Sessions gave a speech in which he cited the Bible to justify the family separation policy, declaring that people should "obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order." Christian leaders strongly disagreed with the policy, with Cardinal Daniel DiNardo calling it "immoral", Reverend Franklin Graham calling it "disgraceful", and Bishop Kenneth Carter of Session's own church (the United Methodist Church) calling it "unnecessarily cruel". Bible scholar and professor Matthew Schlimm said that history was being repeated as Sessions had taken the quote "completely out of context" just as slave traders and Nazis had misused the Bible in the past. Sessions sought to distance himself from the family separation policy, letting others in the administration take the blame.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On June 11, 2018, Sessions reversed a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals granting a battered woman asylum and announced that victims of domestic abuse or gang violence will no longer qualify for asylum in the United States. He stated that "[t]he mere fact that a country may have problems effectively policing certain crimessuch as domestic violence or gang violenceor that certain populations are more likely to be victims of crime, cannot itself establish an asylum claim." Domestic violence victims had been eligible for asylum since 2014. According to "The New Yorker", legal experts estimated that "Sessions had single-handedly dismantled between sixty and seventy per cent of asylum jurisprudence from the previous three decades."


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In April 2017, while on a radio talk show, Sessions said that he was "amazed that a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the President of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and Constitutional power". This was in reference to Derrick Watson, a judge for the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, blocking an executive order by President Donald Trump. After receiving criticism for the remark, Sessions said there is nothing he "would want to phrase differently" and that he "wasn't criticizing the judge or the island".


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In a May 2017 letter, Sessions personally asked congressional leaders to repeal the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment so that the Justice Department could prosecute providers of medical marijuana. The Rohrabacher–Farr amendment is a 2014 measure that bars the Justice Department from using federal funds to prevent states "from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana". Sessions wrote in the letter that "I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime." John Hudak of the Brookings Institution criticized the letter, stating that it was a "scare tactic" that "should make everyone openly question whether candidate Trump's rhetoric and the White House's words on his support for medical marijuana was actually a lie to the American public on an issue that garners broad, bipartisan support."


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On January 4, 2018, Sessions rescinded the Cole Memorandum, which had prevented federal prosecutors from bringing charges against state legalized marijuana use.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: Sessions called the fatal vehicle-ramming attack at the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia an act of domestic terrorism, and began a civil rights investigation into the attack to determine if it will be tried in court as a hate crime. Sessions said "You can be sure we will charge and advance the investigation toward the most serious charges that can be brought, because this is an unequivocally unacceptable and evil attack that cannot be accepted in America."


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In a "Dear Colleague" letter issued February 22, 2017, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Education withdrew and rescinded the 2016 "Dear Colleague" letter issued jointly by the same organizations. The earlier "Dear Colleague" letter, issued on May 13, 2016, had established that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 allows access to sex-segregated facilities (such as restrooms) corresponding to a student's gender identity. The 2017 letter argued that the 2016 letter lacked "extensive legal analysis", did not "explain how the position is consistent with the express language of Title IX", and it had not undergone "any formal public process". Sessions issued a statement which said "Congress, state legislatures, and local governments are in a position to adopt appropriate policies or laws addressing this issue."


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On October 4, 2017, Sessions released a Department of Justice (DoJ) memo interpreting Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, stating that Title VII "is ordinarily defined to mean biologically male or female," but it "does not prohibit discrimination based on gender identity "per se"." The memo was written to withdraw an earlier DoJ memorandum issued by Eric Holder on December 15, 2014, which aligned the DoJ with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on interpreting Title VII to include gender identity or transgender status as a protected class. At that time, DoJ had already stopped opposing claims of discrimination brought by federal transgender employees. Devin O'Malley, representing the DoJ, stated "the last administration abandoned that fundamental principle [that the Department of Justice cannot expand the law beyond what Congress has provided], which necessitated today's action." Sharon McGowan, a lawyer with Lambda Legal who previously served in the Civil Rights division of DoJ, rejected that argument, saying "this memo [issued by Sessions] is not actually a reflection of the law as it isit's a reflection of what the DOJ wishes the law were" and "[t]he Justice Department is actually getting back in the business of making anti-transgender law in court."


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On August 1, 2018, the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on top Turkish government officials who were involved in the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who was arrested in October 2016, several months after a failed coup attempt in Turkey. Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered Sessions's assets in Turkey frozen in retaliation for U.S. sanctions.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: On November 7, 2018 (the day after the 2018 midterm elections), Sessions resigned as attorney general at the president's request.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: In October 2019, Sessions began exploring a potential candidacy for his old Senate seat in the 2020 election. On November 7, 2019, Sessions, the night before the deadline to file in the hyper-competitive Republican race, announced his candidacy. The winner of the Republican primary would challenge incumbent Democrat Doug Jones.


title: Jeff Sessions

text: With no candidate acquiring more than 50% of the vote in the Republican primary, Sessions advanced to the run-off originally to be held on March 31, but delayed until July 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sessions faced the former head football coach at Auburn University, Tommy Tuberville. During the primary, Alabama's senior senator Richard Shelby asked Trump to stay out of the race. However, after the first-round primary Trump endorsed Tuberville. Throughout the campaign, Sessions had called himself an ally and supporter of Trump. However, on April3 the Trump campaign sent a letter to Sessions, objecting and condemning the connections that Sessions has made between him and Trump during the Senate race.