AG nominee Loretta Lynch: If confirmed, the Constitution 'will be my lodestar'

Loretta Lynch, President Obama's nominee to replace Attorney General Eric Holder, on Wednesday cast herself as a nonpartisan prosecutor who would focus primarily on counterterrorism should she be confirmed.

"If confirmed as Attorney General I pledge to you and to the American people that the Constitution, the bedrock of our system of justice, will be my lodestar as I exercise the power and responsibility of that position," Lynch said in the opening remarks of her confirmation hearing.

If confirmed, Lynch would be the first African-American woman to serve as attorney general. She is expected to face tough grilling from Senate Republicans, particularly over the Obama administration's move to unilaterally prioritize deportations.

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