> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://ivn.us/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Targeting the AG: Sessions' War on Drugs Draws Bipartisan Fire
- URL: https://ivn.us/sessions-plan-cruel-ruin-lives/
- Published: 2017-05-17T18:11:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-22T19:57:55.000Z
- Author: Jeff Powers
- Tags: News

The public outcry in Washington over Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ order last week directing federal prosecutors to charge defendants with the most serious crimes possible is growing.

This week, a bipartisan group of Senators, Rand Paul (R-KY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Jeff Merkley(D-OR) have reintroduced the Justice Safety Valve Act in response to Sessions’ order. Paul highlighted this effort on Twitter Tuesday evening, calling Congress to "come together in a bipartisan way."

https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/864664489534398465

https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/864838567356506112

The bipartisan legislation gives federal judges the ability to impose sentences below the mandatory minimums when appropriate.

Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Bobby Scott (D-VA) have also introduced a companion bill in the House.

Senator Rand Paul was quick to criticize Sessions’ order last week. [In an op-ed](http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/15/opinions/sessions-is-wrong-rand-paul-opinion/index.html?ref=ivn.us) Paul noted that the directive would "accentuate the injustice in our criminal justice system. Mandatory minimum sentences disproportionally affect minorities and low-income communities, while doing little to keep us safe and turning mistakes into tragedies.”

In a speech last Friday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said, “We are returning to the enforcement of the laws as passed by Congress, plain and simple, if you are a drug trafficker, we will not look the other way, we will not be willfully blind to your misconduct.”

IVN [published a piece](https://ivn.us/2017/05/15/another-war-drugs-rep-tulsi-gabbard-calls-ag-plan-outdated/) on this issue earlier in the week highlighting the efforts of Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D).

*Image Source: [Flickr.com](https://www.flickr.com/?ref=ivn.us) / [Rand Paul](https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5813/22688016166%5F0111e4e8a7%5Fb.jpg?ref=ivn.us)*