DOJ nominee Kristen Clarke defends record to senators as supporters say civil rights chief is badly needed
CNN
Kristen Clarke, President Joe Biden's nominee to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, defended her record against some skeptical senators during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday as a groundswell of supporters says there's an urgency for Clarke to take office and lead the team of federal prosecutors to address recent allegations of unconstitutional acts across the country, including police killings of unarmed people of color.
If Clarke, 45, is confirmed, she would be the first Black woman to lead this division since its inception in 1957. Wednesday's Judiciary Committee hearing was filled with questions from members that resurfaced controversial moments that go back as far as her undergraduate years at Harvard University where she co-authored an article that compared the genetics of Blacks and Whites and as the leader of Harvard's Black Students' Association where she invited an anti-Semitic author for a speaking engagement.In the days and weeks leading up Hunter Biden’s trial on felony gun charges, President Joe Biden made little attempt to distance himself from his son. Instead, Hunter Biden was seen at the White House and in Delaware at his father’s side amid what the president’s allies acknowledge is a difficult moment for both men.