Washington, DC | www.adc.org | March 5, 2014- The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) condemns the failure of the United States Senate to confirm Debo P. Adegbile as Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
Mr. Adegbile is exceptionally qualified to lead the Civil Rights Division. He has litigated cases across the civil rights spectrum, from voting rights to fair housing to employment discrimination to equal educational opportunity. As the nation’s chief law enforcement officer on civil rights issues, he would bring a depth and breadth of understanding of federal civil rights laws, and their enforcement and application.
Unfortunately, the public debate was not focused on Mr. Adegbile’s substantive qualifications as a civil rights attorney. Unable to find any legitimate claims against his record as a civil rights attorney, his opponents resorted to defaming his character. Mr. Adegbile’s opponents called him a “cop killer” for defending the constitutional rights of a death row inmate during his time at the NAACP Legal Defense fund.
ADC President Samer Khalaf stated, “Mr. Adegbile was merely doing his ethical duty as a lawyer. When you become a lawyer, you take an oath to uphold the law and defend the rights of all Americans, even if it is not politically popular. Unfortunately, politicians these days are often more inclined to choose political expediency over democratic principles.”
Fortunately, the Senate still has another opportunity to take a stand for civil rights and democratic principles. ADC urges Senator Reid to call another vote to confirm Mr. Adegbile as Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
Click here to read the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ statement of support for Mr. Adegbile that was signed by ADC and 85 other organizations.