Posted on 07/19/2017 6:14:34 PM PDT by SkyPilot
President Trump said on Wednesday that he never would have appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions had he known Mr. Sessions would recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation that has dogged his presidency, calling the decision “very unfair to the president.”
In a remarkable public break with one of his earliest political supporters, Mr. Trump complained that Mr. Sessions’s decision ultimately led to the appointment of a special counsel that should not have happened. “Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else,” Mr. Trump said.
In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, the president also accused James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director he fired in May, of trying to leverage a dossier of compromising material to keep his job. Mr. Trump criticized both the acting F.B.I. director who has been filling in since Mr. Comey’s dismissal and the deputy attorney general who recommended it. And he took on Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel now leading the investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s election.
Mr. Trump said Mr. Mueller was running an office rife with conflicts of interest and warned investigators against delving into matters too far afield from Russia. Mr. Trump never said he would order the Justice Department to fire Mr. Mueller, nor would he outline circumstances under which he might do so. But he left open the possibility as he expressed deep grievance over an investigation that has taken a political toll in the six months since he took office.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Christie is now officially beached whale. used to advocate for Trey Gowdy but he has shown time and again he ia legal technician and an ineffective politician. Guiliani was then and is now the obvious choice. he has the experience and the street cred.
Well using the NYT sure seems odd and way out of character so maybe something is up
I sure hope so because if not Trump is starting to stumble big time
Why on earth would Trump do an interview for the NYT????
Helping the president? It is not Sessions’ job to protect Trump and his family from themselves.
Thank you.
But then using the NYT sure gets the message out front and center big time
Trump's complaint is that he would not have NOMINATED Sessions, if Sessoins had only told him up front that he (Sessions) was going to recuse.
As for recusal or not, either the regulation is followed or it is flouted. I guess what Trump is saying is that Sessions should have flouted the regulation. Okay, and after that, then what?
Actually it would be Session's obligation to discuss it with Trump before making that decision.
People keep thinking the AG is independent he is not.
28 CFR 45.2, notes that a Justice Department employee shall not participate in a "criminal investigation or prosecution if he has a personal or political relationship with ... an elected official, a candidate (whether or not successful) for elective, public office, a political party, or a campaign organization.""I recused myself not because of any asserted wrongdoing on my part during the campaign," Sessions said. "But because a Department of Justice regulation, 28 CFR 45.2, required it."
He recused from prosecution of Clinton, more or less because he is perceived as having prejudged the case, what with "lock her up" and all.
A few days ago McCain’s surgery for a blood clot didn’t pass the sniff test. We see how that turned out.
Now we have this statement by President Trump to the NYTimes of all places! This statement is very out of character & completely unnecessary. Why would he ruin Jeff Sessions reputation when he could have quietly asked for his resignation?
This appears to be a move for another different purpose and I believe Jeff Sessions loves this country enough to take one for the team if needed. Whether its a distraction or a move to draw people out we will see.
Unfortunately, that is the money quote right there. For Sessions, it was "all about me" and his precious reputation. As a Christian, he should have read more about the pitfalls of pride. He put himself and his self-image above the good of the country and the President. Trump is fighting for his very life, and Sessions is talking about asset forfeiture, marijuana, gang violence, the D.A.R.E. program, and praising the prosecution of the Bundy family.
What regulation would that be?
“The evidence is Cyrillic metadata in the leaked DNC emails”
Evidence? That is a joke.
Only if you accept the word of an Ukrainian company whose owner hates Trump and was hired by the DNC. You are being dishonest or ignorant.
Which regulation are you talking about? Do you have a link? I'd be interested in reading it.
As strongly as Trump feels about it, it was his obligation to let Sessions know during the weeks when it was constantly in the news. There were obligations on the part of several: Sessions, Trump, Preibus, the WH counsel and other advisors Trumps listens to the most.
And we also have Tillerson and Mad Dog making decisions that are at odds with the policies Trump ran on. There is simply at lack of coordination of policy decisions at times in several departments.
Cabinets are supposed to meet and discuss critical issues when necessary.
Against whom is President Trump fighting for his life? The Fake News folks he loves to bait? The clown posse of Democrat donor lawyers? The ridiculous Muh Russia that is robbing the oxygen but doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.
Those things are gnats. President Trump & his family knew what they were getting into by running to drain the swamp. President Trump is used to dealing with unions, gangsters, building things where the rules are byzantine and payoffs the norm. The Senate is frustrating but certainly not life threatening. In the end he will bring them to heel.
Maybe the statement is in character. I think it is, it resembles other remarks he's made about various players. I don't think the remark affects Sessions' reputation at all, or certainly not much. Trump is executing what looks like a turnaround in business. People who come and go in turnarounds aren't harmed unless they are incompetent; and I doubt Sessions has any concern at all if the world decides he is "incompetent as AG." It's not like there are many of those jobs around, and Sessions is plenty competent. He'd make more money outside the government than inside.
-- This appears to be a move for another different purpose and I believe Jeff Sessions loves this country enough to take one for the team if needed. --
I wish I could see inside his head. He might take it personally, or he might have correctly assessed Trump months ago, and this outburst is inconsequential, even though it is in the nature of a public insult. Complicated business. Trump isn't the only person gifted to see what's going on.
LOL!
So you’re not convinced by the evidence. Guess what, neither is any reasonable person.
But nonetheless- there’s evidence.
I sure hope you are right
Election night was such a great event as was the whole election cycle
Trump going to the NYT is so out of character it must be a plot
Too much 20/20 hindsight. He picked Sessions in October or November (?) and the Russia thing was gradually fomented by the Dims over several months and wasn't a major issue until Sessions was near his confirmation hearings. And it really blew up after he was confirmed as one of your posts showed.
Trump shouldn't be throwing Sessions under the bus in public. Very poor form and it will make it much harder to find a decent replacement for AG, if necessary, and it'll make it harder to fill other positions that are still open.
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