Khizr Khan urges Senate not to confirm Jeff Sessions as attorney general

Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who came to prominence last summer after sharing the story of his son's heroics in the Iraq War at the Democratic National Convention, is speaking out against Donald Trump's attorney general nominee, conservative Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).

Sessions' confirmation hearing is set to start Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. ET, and in a letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee made public on Monday, Khan urged the members to "think beyond partisan politics as you consider this nomination." Sessions was accused of making racist comments in the 1980s, and the Senate then denied him confirmation as a federal judge. "His record since then does not give us any reason to believe that those senators were in error," Khan said. To lead the Department of Justice, a person must have a "demonstrated commitment to pursuing justice for all Americans," Khan added, and "Mr. Sessions fails to meet that standard."

He's not the only parent with concerns about Sessions. Judy Shepard — whose son, Matthew, was beaten, tortured, and left to die in Wyoming in 1998 in a crime believed to be driven by anti-gay sentiment — has criticized Sessions for his opposition of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, signed in 2009 by President Obama. A Sessions spokesperson said he opposed the law, but as attorney general, he would enforce it.

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