Exclusive: Jeff Sessions Calls On Prosecutors to Crack Down on Gun Crimes

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Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Justice Department on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in 2017.

Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters

Responding to a surge in violent crime, former U.S. attorney general Jeff Sessions is urging the nation’s prosecutors to crack down on gun crime in order to deter other would-be lawbreakers. And after a wave of deadly mass shootings across the nation, including Monday’s shooting in Highland Park, Ill., Sessions is calling on federal law-enforcement leaders to take on a greater leadership role and to do more to help local agencies root out potential killers before they attack.

The former U.S. senator and tough-on-crime prosecutor from Alabama who served as Donald Trump’s attorney general in 2017 and 2018, told National Review in an exclusive interview that he’s skeptical of the idea that the bipartisan gun bill passed in June will do much to curb gun crime. That bill, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, mandated enhanced background checks for gun buyers under 21, provided federal funding for states that implement red-flag laws, and closed the so-called “boyfriend loophole” to prevent domestic abusers from obtaining firearms.

Ryan Mills

About the Author

Ryan Mills

Ryan Mills was an enterprise and media reporter at National Review. He previously worked for 14 years as a breaking news reporter, investigative reporter, and editor at newspapers in Florida. Originally from Minnesota, Ryan lives in the Fort Myers area with his wife and two sons.

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