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August 23, 2018 03:52 PM UTC

Jeff Sessions, Dead Man Walking

  • 12 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

As Bloomberg News reports, two Senate Republicans are paving the way for President Trump to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions — but Trump has to wait until after the mid-term elections:

Two key Republican senators signaled to President Donald Trump that he could replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions after the midterm elections in November, a move that would open the way for firing Robert Mueller or constraining his probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

“The president’s entitled to an attorney general he has faith in, somebody that’s qualified for the job, and I think there will come a time, sooner rather than later, where it will be time to have a new face and a fresh voice at the Department of Justice,” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who may be in line to head the Judiciary Committee next year, told reporters Thursday. “Clearly, Attorney General Sessions doesn’t have the confidence of the president.”

Senator Chuck Grassley, the current Judiciary chairman, also changed his position on Thursday, saying in an interview that he’d be able to make time for hearings for a new attorney general after saying in the past that the panel was too busy to tackle that explosive possibility.

Not all Senate Republicans are ready to sign off on Sessions’ execution, however. Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Maine Sen. Susan Collins are among the Republicans quoted by  Bloomberg voicing opposition to removing Sessions — particularly while Trump is still under investigation from special counsel Robert Mueller.

Trump has made no secret of his disappointment in Sessions for not adequately protecting him from the investigation into potential collusion with Russia. Sessions has been largely quiet about Trump’s repeated barbs until today. As CNN explains:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired back at President Donald Trump Thursday afternoon, after Trump said he “never took control” of the Justice Department.

“While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action. However, no nation has a more talented, more dedicated group of law enforcement investigators and prosecutors than the United States,” Sessions said in a statement…

…The assertion from the attorney general that he has in fact taken control of the Justice Department comes after the President lashed out at Sessions in an interview that aired on Fox News Thursday morning.

If Democrats are able to take control of the Senate, this entire story becomes much more complicated. It’s strange to think that Sessions might be silently rooting for a Democratic majority in November.

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12 thoughts on “Jeff Sessions, Dead Man Walking”

  1. YOU'RE FIRED seems less impressive as time rolls along.  Maybe it was Sessions anti-dope position and The Donald is going to need all the dope smoking Libertarians for his 2020 campaign.  Won't miss Sessions at all but he has plenty of time to poison the well before he is gone.

    1. The only reason I think he wants to fire Sessions is so he can appoint an AG who will fire Mueller. 

      Don't get me wrong, I loathe Sessions and the animosity that has developed between him and Trump is well deserved for both sides, but Sessions is the one thing keeping this investigation going. 

      1. Of course it is the only reason Trump wants to fire Sessions.  The problem for Trump is that firing Sessions and Mueller isn't going to make his troubles go away.  He will inherit a whole new set which will be just as troubling.  If Trump fires Mueller the ensuing leaks will become a flood and his little fingers won't be able to plug all of them.

        1. If Republicans are the same fundamentally decent people they were in 1974, true. Firing all the investigators did bring down Nixon because rule of law meant something to Americans back then. Lots of those Republicans are dead because it has been 44 years.

          I would like to be wrong, but I think 60-70% of Republicans today will say firing the investigator for attacking the the party's leader is what they want.

          1. Sadly, I think your estimate of the percentage is probably a little on the low side.

            Look, even Lindsey Graham – who has not always been close to Trump – told him how he could get away with firing Sessions in November.

            1. You may be correct, polls show only about 25% of Republicans approving of the investigation currently. On the other hand I think there are some who disapprove who would be outraged by a coverup.

  4. The rot in the Republican Party starts at the top and runs right through the cabinet to their congressional "leadership". A pox on the lot of them

     

  5. Timing is everything.

    If Trump moves before the mid-terms, it would likely complicate the Kavanaugh confirmation and goose Democratic turnout.

    If Trump waits, I'm thinking there is a decent chance Mueller's team will have

    • completed the second Manafort trial and gotten another verdict;
    • used his 2 month "quiet period" to have at least a partial report on Rosenstein's desk, ready to drop at any instant;
    • used the time to prepare a few indictments, expecting them to drop immediately after the election;
    • cooperated (or at least communicated) with a flurry of OTHER actions from NY’s acting attorney general, Virginia’s attorney general, and Micheal Avenetti/Stormy Daniels.

    And finally, Trump, his legal team, and his Sad!-ministration advisors will need to take a moment to consider the make up of the House and Senate after the election.

    1. He'll likely stay away from Avenatti as a private party, but yes on state AGs, and yes on the report and sealed indictments. If Mueller think he's likely to be removed, he'll also spread cases out to other districts as he did with Cohen.

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