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hide captionDebo Adegbile, shown at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2009 when he was an attorney with the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP.
Alex Brandon/AP
Debo Adegbile, shown at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2009 when he was an attorney with the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP.
Alex Brandon/AP
Eight Senate Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, joined Republicans in a vote to block President Obama's nomination of Debo Adegbile to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
The Washington Post writes:
"[Adegbile's] nomination was adamantly and vocally opposed by conservatives due to his participation in an appeal filed on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal — an internationally-known prisoner convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner."It marks the first Obama administration nominee to be rejected under new Senate rules approved in November requiring only a simple majority to move such nominations ahead.
Politico says:
"Adegbile previously worked for the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund, which worked in support of Abu-Jamal's efforts to overturn his death sentence."
"That past led both of Pennsylvania's senators — including Democrat Bob Casey — to oppose Adegbile's nomination. Republicans spent much of Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning on the Senate floor criticizing the assistant AG choice pointedly for his work with Abu-Jamal."
"'He decided to join a political cause ... and in my view, by doing so he demonstrated his own contempt for — and frankly a willingness to undermine — the criminal justice system of the United States,' said Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). 'I do not believe that Mr. Adegbile's nomination is consistent with justice for the family of officer Danny Faulkner or for anyone else that cares about the law enforcement community.'"
