In the midst of a Democratic protest Tuesday evening against the nomination of U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., as the next attorney general, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., began reading the contents of a 1986 letter from civil rights leader Coretta Scott King, protesting his nomination to be a U.S. District judge.
Sessions' judgeship nomination was unsuccessful. King, who was the widow of slain civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died in 2006.
>> Read more trending news
But 31 years later, Warren was sanctioned by her Senate colleagues for reading the letter on the chamber floor, which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said impugned the character of her fellow senator. Here’s the portion of King’s letter that Warren tried to read:
<em>"I write to express my sincere opposition to the confirmation of Jefferson B. Sessions as a federal district court judge for the Southern District of Alabama. My professional and personal roots in Alabama are deep and lasting. Anyone who has used the power of his office as United States Attorney to intimidate and chill the free exercise of the ballot by citizens should not be elevated to our courts. Mr. Sessions has used the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters. For this reprehensible conduct, he should not be rewarded with a federal judgeship."</em>
A video of the event was posted to YouTube later on Warren's channel:
Both sides of the debate went to Twitter to discuss Warren's punishment.
Cox Media Group
