The Star Witness On Sessions' 'Racism' Has Deeply Troubled History

Thomas Figures, an assistant U.S. attorney whose accusations of racial bias torpedoed Sen. Jeff Sessions’ nomination to the federal bench in 1986, had a history of erratic and disturbed behavior, colleagues and estranged family say.

New sworn statements obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation given by former colleagues allege Figures, who died in 2015, was a paranoid figure who, among other things, believed “CBS Evening News” anchor Dan Rather was communicating with him through his television. An office loner with a flair for confrontation, Figures was later indicted by federal authorities for attempting to bribe a witness.

30 years later, his testimony continues to shape press coverage of Sessions’ nomination to serve as attorney general in the Trump administration.

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