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Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) almost thought he had an anarchist in his midst during a Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing today.

John Laub (University of Maryland)

The panel’s ranking member questioned John Laub, who is nominated to lead the Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice, about a paper he wrote as a doctoral student that seemed to espouse anarchism. But Laub was ready.

The nominee said he had a feeling that Sessions would ask about the paper he wrote in 1978 when he was studying for his Ph.D at State University of New York at Albany’s School of Criminal Justice.

“I re-read the article 30 years out and frankly didn’t understand much of it,” Laub said at the hearing, drawing laughter from the audience. He added that his track record as a professor — most recently at the University of Maryland — shows that he is not an anarchist.

Susan B. Carbon (National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges)

The panel also heard from Susan Carbon, who is nominated to head the department’s Office on Violence Against Women. The state judge, who supervises the New Hampshire judicial branch family division, said, if confirmed, she would focus on the prevention of domestic violence and efforts to help children suffering from the effects of domestic abuse.

“I know that the issue of violence against women is extremely important to this administration and I’m particularly humbled to have been nominated for this position,” Carbon said.

The panel has yet to schedule votes on Laub and Carbon, who were nominated last month.