An internal Republican fight over a new criminal justice reform bill got a public airing on Twitter Monday.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a leading proponent of a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, called Sen. Tom Cotton’s tweet opposing the legislation “fake news” on Twitter.
“I highly respect my colleague from Arkansas but everything in his tweet and this thread is 100% Fake News,” Lee tweeted Monday.
[Opinion: On Thanksgiving, Trump should pardon more than turkeys]
I highly respect my colleague from Arkansas but everything in his tweet and this thread is 100% Fake News. 1/ https://t.co/fFeHMxLpBf
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) November 19, 2018
Cotton is a staunch opponent of the legislation and argued it would cut short the sentences of criminals including drug dealers and those convicted of assaulting police officers and assault with deadly weapons.
The proposal, Cotton said, “gives early release to ‘low level, nonviolent’ criminals who steal passports & immigration docs from aliens who have been trafficked to keep them in captivity (USC 1592(a)). Hearings & open debate would bring needed daylight…”
Lee, in a multi-tweet response to Cotton, said the bill does not provide “early release” to prisoners.
“What the First Step Act does do is encourage rehabilitation by incentivizing inmates to participate in recidivism reduction programs by giving them time credits that can help them qualify for pre-release custody,” Lee tweeted.
Nothing in the First Step Act gives inmates early release. It only incentivizes participation in recidivism reduction programs. At all times the Bureau of Prisons retains all authority over who does and does not qualify for early release. 5/
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) November 19, 2018
But Cotton tweeted back sections of the bill that he said show it could lead to the early release of prisoners, including some who assaulted police.
Look at the bill. Inmates also get early release in many other sections, including retroactive application of Fair Sentencing Act, reduced punishments for trafficking fentanyl under 841(b), and retroactive expansion of “Good Time” credits. pic.twitter.com/snCtIcHjJh
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) November 19, 2018
Proponents of the bill want Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to bring the bill to the floor by the end of the year, before Democrats take over the House and demand changes that could nix the current agreement.
But McConnell isn’t enthusiastic about the measure and said he’ll consider it if the proponents can show it will get 60 votes, and if it does not interfere with consideration of a year-end spending bill an farm programs spending bill.
