What Biden had initially envisaged would be announced on Christmas Day, extending into the new year. This breaks with recent rules for a new president to be attorney general among his first cabinet choices. It also increased calls for Biden to address issues of racial diversity and injustice through his choice to lead the department.
Not only is the most prominent position left to Biden, the attorney general is also competent on many of the issues that fuel racial injustice.
Tensions are particularly high because, despite all the lobbying by outside groups, three of the main remaining leaders to lead the Department of Justice are all white, and two of them are men.
Transition officials told CNN that they are in regular contact with civil rights groups about their choice of attorney general and the Department of Justice more broadly, and that they value their perspectives and advice on both topics.
The drive for diversity comes from a broad list of civil rights activists from organizations such as the League of Latin American United Citizens (LULAC), the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) and the National Organization of Black Enforcement Executives of the Law (NOBLE). They all told CNN that they have been in constant contact with the Biden transition team to distribute hundreds of recommendations from people they have examined for positions across the administration.
“We are recommending more than 80 people for various (leadership) positions” in the Department of Justice and Secret Service, among other law enforcement agencies, NOBLE President Lynda Williams told CNN.
Williams acknowledged that the next attorney general may not be and need not be a black person, but if he or she is, then it will be “a bonus”.
In the end, Williams said the nominee must understand that “they represent something bigger than themselves” and that there are big issues related to race in this country, “even if it doesn’t happen well at your feet”.
Among the most prominent voices for cultural change at DOJ is Rev. Al Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network. At a meeting in early December with Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and his team, Sharpton expressed his preference that the next attorney general be black and have experience in the federal government with an emphasis on civil rights issues.
Sharpton, however, seemed to give Jones an implicit nod recently, when he followed the mid-December pressures by a black attorney general, saying he could also accept a white candidate with “a proven track record of civil rights that will deal with this racist and intolerant atmosphere. ”
Jones was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama under President Bill Clinton when he successfully sued the members of the Ku Klux Klan who were responsible for the bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963.
A year of struggle
After a year marked by protests and racial strife, calls for federal prosecutions and investigations into police shootings that sparked widespread protests this summer went unanswered. A few days after George Floyd’s death, then Attorney General William Barr said that Floyd’s death “brought home” a long-standing collapse in the criminal justice system, and Barr promised to “find constructive solutions” in the coming weeks and months “so that Mr. Floyd’s death will not be in vain.”
But little reform took place.
That investigation, along with several other investigations launched this summer, is likely to be among the first issues that many expect the next attorney general to face immediately.
Old problems
Last week, the Justice Department returned to protest when it announced that there was insufficient evidence for federal charges surrounding the police shooting of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black child, who was holding a shotgun in 2014, when was shot by an officer who believed it was a real pistol.
This case is a reminder that much of the dispute over police brutality against minorities predates the Trump administration, and that ordinary DOJ officials have been pushing for internal changes for years.
Darlene Brooks has been with the Justice Department for 33 years and she says it will take more than just a few diverse voices to change the white-centered culture that has been incorporated over many administrations.
“Even with Attorney General (Eric) Holder, I was excited for him, but it was like he stopped there,” said Brooks. “If the Department is full of professionals who do not embrace diversity and just exercise on paper, then it is useless and there is no change.”
Brooks serves as president of the DOJ Chapter of the Blacks in Government group, where he leads a team that advocates equal opportunities and the professional development of black government officials. Brooks hopes that a new leadership in the Justice Department will introduce greater diversity into the workforce, put a renewed focus on civil rights and prioritize police reform.
“It’s not about withdrawing funds or taking money from the police, which is how people continue to misinterpret,” explained Brooks. “It’s really about getting into these police departments and educating their practices.”
Restoring a commitment to equal justice
To do this, Sharpton said it is the responsibility of the federal government to take the lead immediately.
“The reason we were unable to deal with local authorities and prosecutors is the intrinsic relationship between the local police who were involved in these situations and the prosecutors in those counties,” Sharpton told CNN. “Someone who is sensitive to this understands why the federal government and the Department of Justice need to intervene. … So there is a practice of sensitivity and an experienced practice that people of color could bring and that has been totally absent for the past four years . ”
Kristen Clarke, chairman of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, said the Justice Department should prioritize strengthening the enforcement of federal civil rights by applying the Voting Rights Act, dealing with police brutality and cases in the educational space that need to be addressed. examined.
“I think this is one of the most important decisions that President-elect Biden will have to take to find the right attorney general who can restore the commitment to equal justice before the law for all, who can make the protection of racial justice and civil rights a top priority. These are incredibly important principles and values that the country needs now in its next attorney general, so I’m happy that the next government is not rushing to announce a decision and being really thoughtful and careful when deciding who will propose for this important position, “said Clarke.
National Urban League President Marc Morial was at the virtual December 8 meeting with Biden, Harris and six other civil rights groups. “We generally talk about the diversity of the Cabinet and the need for there to be a maximum number of African Americans serving in the Cabinet, so that the President can succeed with an emphasis on racial justice and addressing these issues,” said Morial.
“The most important thing is that the leadership team is diverse and has a strong commitment to civil rights and racial justice. In this environment that goes beyond the simple attorney general and goes to other key positions. President-elect Biden has clearly told us, without reservation, that racial justice will be part of everything he does. Racial justice will be part of everything he does, whether agricultural or commercial, or economic policy, ”he said. continuous.
“We know that the spearhead is police relations with the community. This police problem will not stop. The police relationship systematically with black communities is broken and is costing people’s lives.”
CNN’s Dan Merica contributed to this report.