Wednesday Afternoon Massacre:
Attorney General Sessions Resigns
Under Pressure from Trump
Democrats warn Trump on ouster of U.S. attorney general (feeds.reuters.com)House Intel Democrats’ New Mission: Protect Mueller, Use Subpoena Power (thedailybeast.com)
No surprise.
CNBC:
Embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at the “request” of President Donald Trump on Wednesday after more than a year of public criticism from the president.
Sessions’s chief of staff Matthew Whitaker will serve as acting attorney general, Trump announced.
Whitaker also will assume oversight of the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and possible collusion by Trump’s campaign in that meddling. Whitaker by law can serve as acting AG for a maximum of 210 days. [more]
Bloomberg has a copy of the letter, which begins with the words, “At your request…”
More: Sessions says he resigned at the request of Donald Trump https://t.co/D33z1WMYws pic.twitter.com/E6XWBDmJsO
— Bloomberg (@business) November 7, 2018
Also from Bloomberg:
Democrats warned against interference in the probe. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that “protecting Mueller and his investigation is paramount.” He called on Whitaker to recuse himself “given his previous comments advocating defunding and imposing limitations on the Mueller investigation.”
Mueller declined to comment, according to his spokesman, Peter Carr.
Fun flashback from 2017:
Lindsey Graham in July 2017: “If Sessions is fired, there will be holy hell to pay.” (via CNN) pic.twitter.com/VmqsAjXNlJ
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 7, 2018
Several pundits are picking up portents of an imminent move (or several) by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Control of Mueller’s probe goes to Sessions’s chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, who has said that were Mueller to expand his probe to include probe Trump’s family, Mueller would be crossing a “red line.” What Whitaker does, however, may be mooted by House Democrats:
If Whitaker is now supervising the Mueller investigation, any final report by Mueller will go to Whitaker, who could decline to make it public or transmit it to Congress. But the House Intel Committee could subpoena it and anyone involved in preparing it. https://t.co/32QnZLV6d0
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 7, 2018
And not to put too fine a point on it, but Whitaker is a political hack. Here’s a little of sumpin’ sumpin’ he wrote for USA Today on July 6, 2016:
According to FBI Director James Comey’s statement on Tuesday, former secretary of State Hillary Clinton could have been charged with violating several different code sections, and he detailed the evidence that supports bringing criminal charges.
Yet, Director Comey’s judgment was that “no reasonable prosecutor” would bring the case. I disagree. I believe myself to have been a reasonable prosecutor, and when the facts and evidence show a criminal violation has been committed, the individuals involved should not dictate whether the case is prosecuted.
This looks to be a major miscalculation by Donald Trump at the least, and obstruction of justice at worst. Strap in, kids!