WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - Attorneys General from five states are urging President Joe Biden to withdraw the nomination of Vanita Gupta for associate AG, the number three position at the Justice Department.
“Ms. Gupta’s past comments and track record have demonstrated her disinterest in meaningful police reform in favor of destructive policies that would defund the police,” the AGs from Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas wrote in a March 1 letter to the president. “ Her nomination will further divide our nation instead of implementing policies to protect our communities and support law enforcement.”
The letter went on to say that while some of Gupta’s backers claim she supports police, past comments show that she actually supports defunding the police.
“In fact, she wants to get away from a ‘policing approach’ and has urged Congress to ‘redirect government dollars away from policing practices rooted in the criminal-legal system,’ the AGs wrote. “Calling on Congress to shift resources from police to other priorities is a call for defunding the police, and that is not something Americans support. This is a time when our local law enforcement agencies need additional resources, not fewer.”
The Federalist reported that back in September Gupta’s interest group, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, urged Congress to “redirect government dollars away from policing practices rooted in the criminal-legal system and carceral state and toward practices that reflect a vision of public safety that promotes community health and rebuilds trust.”
In March 2019, the organization published a 416-page report calling to abolish police in all schools, and advocated for “community policing” over “real” policing measures carried out by trained law enforcement.
“Police officers should have no role in student disciplinary matters,” the report states. “Even leaders who express a commitment to community policing sometimes view it as separate and distinct from ‘real’ law enforcement. Some delegate the task of cultivating community relationships to a handful of officers and assign others to patrolling streets and responding to calls.”
Gupta served in the Obama Justice Department, and worked for the American Civil Liberties Union.
A Senate Judiciary Hearing committee on the nomination is scheduled for next week.
The letter was signed by Todd Rokita of Indiana, Leslie Rutledge of Arkansas, Jeff Landry of Louisiana, Mike Hunter of Oklahoma and Ken Paxton of Texas.