She’s only been with us for a short time, but if the last few months are any indication, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch is definitely on the right track.
And though controversy surrounds the newly crowned attorney general, we know that she’s built tough enough to withstand any political weather that comes her way.
If you recall, she was unfazed by partisan politics that delayed her Senate confirmation for nearly five months. She hit the ground running upon taking office in April, heading straight to Baltimore, Maryland, to announce a Department of Justice probe into the death of Freddie Gray, who received a fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody. And in just a few short months, Lynch has made it a priority to be vocal about every possible and definite civil rights injustice that has occurred since she’s been in charge.
She spearheaded the probe that led to the resignation of Sepp Blatter, who led FIFA, world soccer’s governing body for 17 years, and who was regarded as one of the most powerful people in global sports, according to The New York Times.
The move came as the United States confirmed that he was a focus of a federal corruption investigation. She built the case while serving as U.S. attorney in Brooklyn in New York City from 2010 to 2015.
She compared “human trafficking to modern-day slavery.” During a visit to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh, North Carolina this week, she described human trafficking as modern-day slavery and said eradicating it is one of her priorities as attorney general. She noted that the Wake County, North Carolina Violent Crime Task Force brought together federal, state and local law enforcement officials for a two-night undercover operation that led to multiple arrests and the release of several minors who were victims of sex trafficking.
“Human traffickers prey on some of the most vulnerable members of our society to exploit them for labor, for sex and for servitude of all kinds,” she said in a statement released on Wednesday. “Their crimes, appropriately described as modern-day slavery, have no place in this nation. One of my top priorities as Attorney General is to bring human traffickers to justice, assist trafficking survivors and secure the rights and dignity of anyone unable to do so for themselves.”
She speaks out righteously — sometimes subtly — on important issues like whether the Confederate flag should fly at statehouses. During a trip last week to Birmingham, Alabama, Lynch said: “With respect to what states do with these confederate flags…if people want to commemorate that part of their history, museums are wonderful places to do that,” Lynch said.
She immediately vowed to investigate John Crawford‘s death. Twenty-two year-old Crawford was shot by police last summer as he held an air rifle inside a Walmart in Ohio; a shooting that came amid an outcry over allegations of excessive force by police officers in the Black community.
She used Fredrick Douglass‘ Bible to take her oath to office.
Congratulations and keep up the great work, Mrs. Lynch!