Sessions resigns as Attorney General

[RosyDaisy]

 

https://www.al.com/news/2018/11/jeff-sessions-resigns-as-attorney-general.html

 

At Trump's request. Matthew Whittaker, Sessions' Chief of Staff, will be the acting AG.

 

Mark my words, Sessions will try to get his senate seat back. The one now occupied by Doug Jones (Dem who beat Roy Moore). That just cannot happen!

 

[fraurosena]

More obstruction of justice. That hole he's digging for himself is getting deeper and deeper...

I fervently hope this is true.

 

[fraurosena]

This is interesting. 

 

[fraurosena]

The chances of this happening lies somewhere on the scale of nope-nuh-uh to absolutely never-ever-ever- gonna-happen-ever.

Pelosi calls on acting AG to recuse himself from Russia probe

Quote

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday called for acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to recuse himself from "any involvement" in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, which Whitaker has previously criticized.

"It is impossible to read Attorney General [Jeff] Sessions’ firing as anything other than another blatant attempt by [President Trump] to undermine & end Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation," Pelosi wrote in a tweet.

The appointment of Whitaker and the ouster of Sessions has elicited concerns among Democrats that Trump is taking steps to limit or shut down Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and any possible coordination with his team.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday also called for Whitaker to recuse himself from involvement in Mueller's probe.

The Department of Justice, however, confirmed Wednesday that Whitaker will take over for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in overseeing the investigation. Whitaker was named acting attorney general on Wednesday when Trump fired Sessions, who had recused himself from the Russia investigation over his role in the Trump campaign.

Whitaker has previously criticized the idea of Mueller's investigation and has suggested that funding for it should be slashed.

In an op-ed for The Hill published last year before Mueller was appointed, Whitaker wrote that calls for an independent counsel to investigate Russian interference "ring hollow."

"Serious, bipartisan congressional investigations into the Russian allegations have been under way for weeks and they have made progress," he wrote. "Hollow calls for independent prosecutors are just craven attempts to score cheap political points and serve the public in no measurable way."

And, in a CNN op-ed also from last year, he said that Mueller was close to crossing a "red line" by investigating Trump's finances. He suggested that Rosenstein "should order Mueller to limit the scope of his investigation."

Whitaker also raised the possibility that a replacement for Sessions could reduce Mueller's funding to the point that the investigation came to "almost a halt."

“I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced with  a recess appointment and that attorney general doesn’t fire Bob Mueller, but he just reduces his budget so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt," he said on CNN.

 

 

[nvmbr02]

I agree that I don't see the acting AG recusing himself. And I doubt Pelosi sees it happening either. But you have to go through the motions.

There have been a few mentions here and there that I've read on twitter that suggest Rosenstein will also be resigning in the next 48 hours. I think things are about to get uglier. 

[fraurosena]

Because of course there are conflicts of interest.

 

[formergothardite]

They have no incentive at all to not be openly corrupt about trying to cover up for Trump. Things are going to be nasty between now and January as they fight to cover up as much as possible. 

[fraurosena]

This is a pretty good thread on what it means now Sessions is fired.

 

[nvmbr02]

It is nice the the acting attorney general spelled out his hypothetical more than a year ago...

 

The only positive thing is Mueller may be far enough in his investigation that a cut to his budget may not stop the process from going forward. I expect that we will see a more forceful removal of Mueller or at least a strong attempt to remove him before the new congress is in session. 

[fraurosena]

Aha. Mueller is getting too close to junior, hence this Wednesday massacre.

Except.. I don't think it's Mueller doing the indicting. It's probably going to be SDNY... just like Cohen. And Gates. And Manafort.

[SassyPants]

13 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

Aha. Mueller is getting too close to junior, hence this Wednesday massacre.

Except.. I don't think it's Mueller doing the indicting. It's probably going to be SDNY... just like Cohen. And Gates. And Manafort.

Which Trump has no purview over, correct?

[nvmbr02]

 

8 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Which Trump has no purview over, correct?

I don't think he does, because he doesn't have power of the state of NY, just federal stuff. I don't believe he can pardon state charges either. 

[Smoochie]

This is one comment that got a chuckle from me and sweet rufus I hope it's true

 

 

 

[onekidanddone]

I found one near me.  I'm going to have to suck it up and go.  My social anxiety and fear of crowds is just going to have to take a back seat right now.

Our country needs us. 

[anniebgood]

I hope the door doesn't hit Sessions on his way out. His actions were despicable and his claiming Biblical principles was false. He was one of the worst Attorney Generals in history. 
I don't think that the orange shitgibbons appointment of Whittaker was legal. I only hope that the remaining democrats in Congress get their shit together and prevent what's left of sanity in this country from slipping away.
 

[RosyDaisy]

The nearest locations to me are Huntsville and Florence, AL. I won't be attending either due to health reasons. My husband might go.

[Howl]

I've been reading that it makes a difference in Whittaker's status and what he can do,  if he's replacing Sessions because  Sessions voluntarily resigned or if he's replacing Sessions because Sessions was fired.  In "his" letter, Sessions clearly states that he  was asked to resign.  When you resign because you were asked to resign, that means YOU WERE FIRED.

Word from unnamed sources at DoJ is that Whittaker and Rosenstein don't like each other.  The word "tense" was used repeatedly.  Little Rufus Reindeer, what an Infrastructure Week! 

[fraurosena]

Interesting perspective. I hope she's right.

 

[nvmbr02]

24 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

Interesting perspective. I hope she's right.

 

(Bill?) Palmer from the Palmer Report had a similar take. I do think the theory has some sense but I also feel like Trump is too much of a wild card. Who knows. But it is important o stay on our toes. I really feel like something is brewing and things are going to get worse before they get better.

I really hope I am wrong though.

[fraurosena]

The fact that Whitaker is connected to Sam Clovis doesn't bode well in my opinion. He's part of the whole conspiracy, if you ask me. That said, I do think that the rules and regulations within the DOJ will have to be adhered to, and if they don't there will be trouble come January. 

We'll have to wait and see what happens. I'm counting on Mueller being fully prepared for every eventuality though.

[Cartmann99]

 

It's funny how one golf game with Orange Donnie can change a man.

[Howl]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

The WaPo's mega-article this morning was related to the Sessions firing: "The Daily 202: Trump ousting Sessions tees up tests for these eight people, with Mueller’s probe in the balance"

Spoiler

THE BIG IDEA: What little hope existed for bipartisan breakthroughs in the next Congress seemed to extinguish within 24 hours of polls closing.

When Democrats gained 31 House seats in 2006, George W. Bush called it a “thumpin’. ” When Republicans picked up 63 seats in 2010, Barack Obama called it a “shellacking.” After Democrats netted at least 28 House seats and took control of the chamber, President Trump said his party “significantly” beat expectations.

“I thought it was very close to complete victory,” Trump said at a Wednesday news conference. Instead, true to form, he blamed GOP incumbents for not embracing him and emphasized his party’s gains in the Senate.

Trump promised he’ll take a “warlike posture” against House Democrats if they follow through on their electoral mandate to conduct oversight of the executive branch. “We will have a responsibility to honor our oversight responsibilities, and that’s the path that we will go down,” replied House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

-- We found out later that, before Trump began his hour-and-a-half news conference, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had telephoned Attorney General Jeff Sessions to tell him the president wanted him to resign. He will be replaced on an interim basis by Matt Whitaker, a failed GOP Senate candidate from Iowa who has been serving as Sessions’s chief of staff. “A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date,” Trump tweeted. The Justice Department quickly announced that Whitaker would assume authority over special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

“Even as election results were coming in, Trump complained about Sessions and said he hoped Republicans would win a large enough margin in the Senate that he could fire the attorney general quickly,” Devlin Barrett, Matt Zapotosky and Josh Dawsey report. “Trump has told advisers that Whitaker is loyal and would not have recused himself from the investigation, current and former White House officials said. … Sessions sought to stay on the job at least until the end of the week … Kelly rejected that suggestion, insisting Wednesday would be Sessions’s last day … Sessions canceled meetings and scheduled one for later in the day, where he would say goodbye to his staff.”

-- Why wouldn’t Trump allow Sessions to stay through Friday? Vanity Fair’s Gabe Sherman offers one possible explanation: “Trump allies are increasingly concerned about Donald Trump Jr.’s legal exposure. In recent days, according to three sources, Don Jr. has been telling friends he is worried about being indicted as early as this week. One person close to Don Jr. speculated that Mueller could indict him for making false statements to Congress and the F.B.I. about whether he had told his father about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians to gather ‘dirt’ on Hillary Clinton. This source had heard that the case could revolve around Trump’s former deputy campaign chairman, Rick Gates, who’s cooperating with Mueller and who was deeply involved in the campaign at the time of the meeting. Trump, this person continued, is ‘very upset’ about the risks Don Jr. faces. … (‘Don never said any such thing, and there is absolutely no truth to these rumors,’ said Don Jr.’s lawyer, Alan Futerfas.)”

-- After the shake-up, here are eight people to watch closely:

1. MATT WHITAKER

“As acting attorney general, Whitaker could sharply curtail Mueller’s authority, cut his budget or order him to cease lines of inquiry,” Ros Helderman, Zapotosky and Carol Leonnig report. “His approval would also be required before Mueller could take major investigative steps, including asking a grand jury for additional indictments. Any report that Mueller issues describing his overall findings would be submitted to Whitaker, who could decide it contained privileged material that should not be made public. Justice Department regulations would allow him to fire Mueller, but only for misconduct, conflict of interest or other ‘good cause.’ The regulations would allow him to reject requests by Mueller to take major steps in the investigation. Should he do so, however, he would be required to provide the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate judiciary committees a ‘description and explanation of instances’ in which he overruled the special counsel.”

In July 2017, Whitaker said on CNN: “I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced, it would recess appointment and that attorney general doesn't fire Bob Mueller but he just reduces his budget to so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt.”

-- “As Sessions’s chief of staff, Whitaker met with the president in the Oval Office more than a dozen times, normally accompanying the attorney general, according to a senior administration official,” Leonnig, Tom Hamburger, Sari Horwitz and Robert Costa report. “When Trump complained about the Mueller investigation, Whitaker often smiled knowingly and nodded in assent, the official said. … Whitaker also has ties to a witness in the probe: onetime Trump campaign chairman Sam Clovis. The two men have been close since Whitaker chaired Clovis’s bid for Iowa state treasurer in 2014.”

-- Whitaker worked for a time with a Miami-based invention-marketing company that was shut down last year by the FTC, which called it a “scam.” The Miami New Times’s Brittany Shammas reports: “Whitaker not only sat on the board of World Patent Marketing but also once sent a threatening email to a former customer who had complained after he spent thousands of dollars and did not receive the promised services. Court records obtained by New Times for a 2017 feature about the fraudulent company show that in an August 2015 email to a disgruntled customer, Whitaker touted his background as a former federal attorney and suggested that filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and ‘smearing’ the company online could result in ‘serious civil and criminal consequences.’ ”

2. BOB MUELLER

Justice Department rules have required the special counsel to stay quiet publicly during the period before Nov. 6. “With the midterm elections now over, Mueller faces key decision points in his 18-month-old investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign — a probe that has led to charges against 32 people, including 26 Russians,” per Ros, Matt and Carol. “The grand jury hearing evidence in the Russia investigation has been seen meeting at a federal courthouse in Washington on six of the last eight Fridays. Based on witnesses who have been called to the grand jury, the special counsel appears to be intensely focused on [longtime Trump adviser Roger] Stone. The longtime Trump friend and former adviser is under scrutiny for claims he made in the 2016 campaign that suggested he was in contact with WikiLeaks.

“Meanwhile, the special counsel must decide whether to accept only written answers from the president or to fight for an interview. Such a move would probably require issuing a subpoena to the president, which would then draw a legal challenge from Trump’s team. By mid-November, the president’s attorneys plan to turn over Trump’s written answers to roughly a dozen questions the special counsel has posed — including the president’s knowledge of the hacked Democratic emails and his advisers’ contacts with Russians during the campaign and transition.”

3. JERRY NADLER

-- The New York Democrat will be the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which gives him subpoena power and the ability to summon government witnesses for oversight hearings. He’s promising to make an investigation into Sessions’s dismissal a top priority.

“Democrats are also prepping a break-glass scenario in case there’s a Nixon-era Saturday Night Massacre during which Trump fires his current DOJ leadership and tries to shutter the Mueller probe in the process,” Politico’s Darren Samuelsohn reports. “If that happens, senior Democratic officials say Mueller would likely get an immediate summons to Capitol Hill for nationally televised testimony about his findings.”

-- Two other incoming House Democratic chairmen are also worth following.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who will take over as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee from Devin Nunes, said the Mueller probe is in “new and immediate peril” with Whitaker in control. “Interference with the special counsel’s investigation would cause a constitutional crisis and undermine the rule of law,” he said in a statement. “If the president seeks to interfere in the impartial administration of justice, the Congress must stop him. No one is above the law.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who will take over the House Oversight Committee, could also wade in. “Congress must now investigate the real reason for this termination, confirm that [Whitaker] is recused from all aspects of the Special Counsel’s probe, and ensure that the Department of Justice safeguards the integrity of the Mueller investigation,” he said in a statement. 

4. PAT CIPOLLONE

Former White House counsel Don McGahn had persuaded the president to keep Sessions on the job, but he’s gone and, now, so is Sessions. His replacement, Pat Cipollone, is trying to get the counsel’s office geared up to handle the coming onslaught of subpoenas and requests for document production. There are a number of key jobs he has to fill, but insiders in the conservative legal community say it’s been a struggle for them to hire top-flight legal talent because the best lawyers don’t want the reputational risk of working for Trump.

“Trump has said privately that he does not believe his administration should necessarily cooperate with Democratic investigations, and that he would be willing to fight subpoenas to the Supreme Court if necessary, according to (a) senior White House official and an outside adviser to the president,” per Phil Rucker, Costa and Dawsey. “Trump has been consulting White House lawyer Emmet Flood, who is overseeing the handling of the Russia investigation, and Flood has expressed interest in fighting back against incoming subpoenas ...”

“One of the things the White House needs to understand is that we doubled the size of the general counsel’s office and that wasn’t big enough,” former top George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove said about the Democrats’ sweep in the 2006 midterm elections. “We found out pretty quick that we didn’t have enough lawyers.”

5. MITCH MCCONNELL

-- Trump announced on Wednesday that he will instruct Republicans in the Senate to investigate Democrats in the House. “Two can play that game,” he tweeted. Trump has repeatedly articulated this view that governing is some sort of “game.” He used that term multiple times yesterday. “They can play that game, but we can play it better, because we have a thing called the United States Senate,” the president said at his news conference. “They can look at us, then we can look at them and it’ll go back and forth. And it’ll probably be very good for me politically … because I think I’m better at that game than they are, actually.”

-- How willing will McConnell be to play Trump’s “game” and be part of the fight between the House and the White House? The Senate majority leader is up for reelection in 2020 in Kentucky, where Trump is more popular than him. That creates a strong incentive to kowtow to the president. But he also prides himself on being an institutionalist who wants to protect what was once the world’s greatest deliberative body. That’s why he didn’t get rid of the legislative filibuster during this Congress, resisting public pressure from Trump. Now that Democrats control the House, taking that drastic step is moot.

As an astute student of history, though, McConnell knows his legacy will be heavily linked to Trump’s and could be defined by his level of acquiescence during the tumultuous two years to come. But the leader also wants to continue confirming as many judges as possible.

-- At his own news conference, McConnell warned Democrats against what he called “presidential harassment.” “The Democrats in the House will have to decide just how much presidential harassment they think is good strategy,” he told reporters at the Capitol, recalling the backlash Republicans faced when they impeached Bill Clinton. “I’m not so sure it will work for them.”

6. MITT ROMNEY

-- The 2012 GOP presidential nominee, elected on Tuesday to replace the retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch, promised in Utah this year that he will speak out against Trump “when it is a matter of substantial significance.”

“Hopefully,” he said, “there will be few occasions where I will be compelled by conscience to criticize. But, as I have said throughout this campaign, I will call them like I see them.”

-- On Wednesday, Romney tweeted that Mueller must be allowed to do his work “unimpeded.” We will find out quickly whether he’ll follow in the independent-minded tradition of Trump critics like retiring Sens. Jeff Flake and Bob Corker or the late John McCain. Romney might also not want to rock the boat as a freshman and conclude that having a good relationship with Trump will make him a more effective lawmaker. Romney has always evolved with the political circumstances, so it’s hard to know what he’ll be like now that he’s secured a six-year term.

-- As far as we can tell, just three of the 51 sitting Republican senators expressed concern about the integrity of Mueller's investigation after Sessions was fired. And Flake is retiring next month:

7. TRUMP’S NOMINEE TO REPLACE SESSIONS

-- This person will face immense pressure to promise both that they’ll recuse themselves from overseeing the investigation and, if they don’t, that they will not undermine Mueller. But it seems improbable that Trump will appoint anyone unless they promise not to recuse themselves. He sees that as Sessions’s original sin. It permanently ruined their relationship. Whomever Trump chooses will face a grueling confirmation hearing.

-- Because Whitaker has not been confirmed by the Senate, by law he can serve for only 210 days before he must be replaced by someone who has been confirmed. Under the Vacancies Act, the clock extends somewhat if Trump nominates a replacement who is not immediately confirmed.

“Among those said to be under consideration for the job are Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, former U.S. attorney general Bill Barr and former federal judges Janice Rogers Brown and J. Michael Luttig,” per Devin, Matt and Josh. “An administration official said the president has also considered selecting another U.S. senator for the position, on the grounds that a lawmaker might have an easier confirmation, but so far GOP lawmakers have privately expressed little interest in the position. Two other officials said former New Jersey governor Chris Christie (R) might be under consideration. One said Christie has talked with the president about the job.”

-- Also keep an eye on Kris Kobach, who lost the Kansas governor’s race on Tuesday. Reached yesterday afternoon by the Kansas City Star on his cellphone, Kobach declined to comment on whether he’s had discussions about taking the AG job. “Kobach met with Trump shortly after the 2016 election to discuss plans for the Department of Homeland Security,” Hunter Woodall and Bryan Lowry report. “Kobach said last year that he had been offered roles in the administration, but turned them down to pursue the governor’s office. ‘I hated that he ran because I would have loved to have brought him into my administration,’ Trump told a crowd in Topeka last month. ‘I hope he loses because I want him so badly. But don’t do that.’ … Kobach’s campaign manager J.R. Claeys said the Republican is ‘well-suited’ to become attorney general. … Kansas GOP chair Kelly Arnold said that he expects Trump ‘find a place for him in his administration.’

“Kobach was found in contempt of federal court this year and ordered to undergo six hours of legal training this year after he unsuccessfully represented his office against a federal lawsuit [challenging] the state’s proof of citizenship law. His legal work on immigration has also come under scrutiny. An investigation by The Kansas City Star and ProPublica found that small cities that listened to Kobach on immigration policy wound up paying hefty legal bills in defense of ineffective ordinances.”

-- And there’s always Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “Last year, [Graham] had declared himself ‘100 percent’ behind Sessions and warned that ‘there will be holy hell to pay’ if Trump fired his attorney general. On Wednesday, Graham, who has transformed into one of Trump’s strongest defenders in recent months, gave his blessing to the president’s move,” Felicia Sonmez and Karoun Demirjian report. “Graham’s name has been floated around the halls of Congress as a potential replacement for Sessions — but he hinted strongly in his comments that he planned to stay in the Senate and not put his hand up for the attorney general job.”

8. JEFF SESSIONS

-- Now that he’s unemployed, Sessions is considering running for his old Senate seat in 2020 against Alabama’s Democratic Sen. Doug Jones. “Jones is up for a full term in 2020, and he is widely viewed as the most vulnerable incumbent senator facing reelection given Alabama’s conservative tilt,” Politico’s Alex Isenstadt reports. “Republicans are certain to contest the seat aggressively as they look to protect their majority. Former Republican Sen. Luther Strange, who was temporarily appointed to Sessions’ former seat, took to Twitter on Wednesday evening to encourage a comeback bid. ‘Jeff Sessions for Senate in 2020!’ Strange wrote.”

-- If he’s running in a red state on the same ballot as Trump, Sessions will be much less likely to speak critically of the president. 

,,,

 

[fraurosena]

I had a thought last night. What if Whitaker is not necessarily appointed to undermine the Mueller investigation so much as to find out exactly how much Mueller knows? And then brief the presidunce?

[fraurosena]

Great idea.