Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal grilled Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker on the family separations at the southern border, describing the traumatized children she witnessed. There was a zero tolerance policy,” he said. The administration’s controversial “zero tolerance” policy required that all adults apprehended at the border be subject to criminal prosecution, resulting in families being separated. The HHS IG report, specifically, found that thousands of children had been separated prior to the policy being publicly announced. Asked if the Justice Department provided advanced notice to other agencies, Whitaker repeatedly referred to a news conference by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions in May 2018.

Source: CNN February 08, 2019 14:06 UTC