GOP Senator’s Graham and Grassley now seem to be pointing to a possible departure of the beleaguered US GOP Attorney General Jeff Sessions after the November elections…..
Donald Trump and other Republicans ARE so scared they are thinking about putting a new head of the Justice Dept. before the Mueller upcoming throw down is coming….
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said it’s “very likely” President Donald Trump will replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions but warned against doing so before the midterm elections.
“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,” said Graham of South Carolina, who may be in line to head the Judiciary Committee next year. “Clearly, Attorney General Sessions doesn’t have the confidence of the president.”
Graham however warned against acting before the election, calling that possibility “a nonstarter.” That “would create havoc” with Senate efforts to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and with the midterm elections in November, he said.
Mueller Probe
Trump often takes aim at Sessions, a former Republican senator he has attacked and ridiculed for recusing himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election that’s now being run by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Graham has provided a sometimes confounding mix of criticism and praise for Trump, who sometimes invites the senator to golf at one of his resorts. It wasn’t clear why Graham would publicly predict Trump will take such a politically explosive action even as the senator said it should be delayed.
If Trump replaces Sessions — who has so far resisted Trump’s very public hints that he should resign — a new attorney general could take over the investigation and fire Mueller or cripple his probe….
Graham is facing a tough possible primary in SC in 2020.
Possible opponents include: OMB Director and former Congressman Mick Mulvaney,former Governor and present UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Congressman Jeff Duncan.
That’s why the former Trump critic has become much more friendly with Trump of late.The SC Republican Party is Down the line Trump.
Such a distinguished line of Palmetto State statesmen: John C. Calhoun, Edmund Ruffin, J. Strom Thurmond, L. Mendel Rivers, Lee Atwater, …
I don’t think you could define Atwater as a “statesma.”
He never even ran for public office.The only official position he held was the strictly political job of Chairman of the RNC.
…Trump, in an interview that aired Thursday morning, also blasted Sessions because he feels the former GOP Alabama senator “never took control of the Justice Department.”
About seven hours later, the country’s top law enforcement officer fired back. And, by doing so, took on Trump publicly in a way few Republicans in Washington have during his turbulent 19-month-old presidency.
“I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have had unprecedented success at effectuating the President’s agenda—one that protects the safety and security and rights of the American people, reduces violent crime, enforces our immigration laws, promotes economic growth, and advances religious liberty,” the AG said in a statement…
More…
…Republican senators grew increasingly vocal in their warnings to President Donald Trump if he fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions, including threats not to vote for a replacement.
Sen. Ben Sasse came to the floor Thursday afternoon to read into the Congressional Record the statement that Sessions, a former Alabama senator well-liked by his former colleagues, issued in response to criticism from Trump.
Sessions was highlighting the independence of the Justice Department, and Sasse, a Nebraska Republican, wanted it to be perfectly clear that he would have the attorney general’s back….
More..
…John Cornyn (R-Tex.) defended Sessions while speaking to reporters:
“I think it would be bad for the country, it would be bad for the president, it would be bad for the Department of Justice for him to be forced out under these circumstances. So I hope he stays the course and I hope cooler heads prevail.”
More…
(I wouldn’t count on these guys challenging Trump , at least not right now…)
(Yawn)
Wouldn’t count on it!?
Compare what the ball less Lindsay Graham said about Bill Clinton’s impeachment with what she said about Trump’s threat to fire Sessions yesterday.
Trump must have pictures of the old queen.
The GOP is soulless.
This is a good read.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/the-end-of-trumps-reign/568480/
While I can’t find the full statement anywhere convenient, the more significant lines come from the next paragraph of The Hill’s story:
“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,” Sessions added. “However, no nation has a more talented, more dedicated group of law enforcement investigators and prosecutors than the United States.”
He made his statement AFTER a meeting with Trump I believe…
Hmmmmm?
Sessions HAS BEEN carrying the water for Trump on immigration….
His firing WOULD, no matter what, just add to the issues Trump has already even if the thinks he can get someone to try to pull the rug out from Mueller and the various US Atty offices handling things….
But?
The NY AG m and Manhattan DA’s office have convientily made sure that they get the message to Trump in the media that they are waiting on the bench to jump in against anyone who did ten minutes of business in NY State or NYC…
Everyday gets Trump deeper in shit…
Why doesn’t the guy just quit and let Pence pardon him so a Democrat can win in 2020?
Here, according to CNBC, is Attorney-General Sessions’ full statement (2 paragraphs):
I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have had unprecedented success at effectuating the President’s agenda—one that protects the safety and security and rights of the American people, reduces violent crime, enforces our immigration laws, promotes economic growth, and advances religious liberty.
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. I am proud to serve with them and proud of the work we have done in successfully advancing the rule of law.
Video here:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/23/jeff-sessions-pushes-back-against-trump-actions-of-doj-will-not-be-improperly-influenced-by-political-considerations.html
Good pushback in support of his troops….
But he IS fostering policy that is designed to hurt and frustrate the processing of legal immigrants , and legitimate refugee….
This HAS curried flavor with Trump and conservatives and has become part of his insurance to keep his job….
Trump has began to work the phones to get support for firing AG Sessions….Senator’s Grassley and Graham HAVE wavered in the last few days…Of course Trump wants Sessions gone so he can have someone shitcan Mueller’s work…Both mentioned Senator’s have said THAT shouldn’t happen…What’s wrong with this picture?
The willingness of Republican senators to turn on Attorney General Jeff Sessions is the result of a furious lobbying campaign from President Donald Trump, who for the past 10 days has been venting his anger at Sessions to “any senator who will listen,” as one GOP Senate aide put it.
The president, who has spent a year and a half fulminating against his attorney general in public, finally got traction on Capitol Hill thanks to the growing frustration of a handful of GOP senators with their former colleague – most importantly, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, who have been irritated by Sessions’ opposition to a criminal justice reform bill they support, according to interviews with more than a half-dozen congressional GOP aides, Trump advisers, and Republicans close to the White House….
More…
David Goodman
@davidgoodmanTV
BREAKING: Pres. Trump: AG Jeff Sessions Safe In Job Until At Least Nov. Elections
twitter….