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 ...
But what really set DJT off was Donny Jr now being Russia involved and the Mueller coterie will be looking into that too. Get rid of Mueller and company now or Trump and his whole family will end up naked and bleeding. Might take two-tree years but this is what will happen.
In reality Trump’s own duplicity has brought him to this point. He has continually obfuscated on readily verifiable matters. His statement something to the effect that he didn’t have any deals with Russia will most likely be exposed as a bald-faced lie and perhaps be the tipping point that moves the House toward impeachment proceedings.
For once in his life he should look in the mirror and point the finger of blame at who is responsible.
I gave you the "inconvenient" facts. If Trump is unhappy with Sessions, he should fire him. Why hasn't he? Sessions is forcing his hand by saying he will continue to serve "as appropriate."
You fail to understand the relationship between the President and the AG. Do you want Sessions to remain steadfast to the rule of law or do you want him to be a political puppet like Holder and Lynch who violated the law?
Sessions consulted with the DOJ's Ethics office before making his decision to recuse himself. He was probably unaware of the ongoing FBI investigation of the Trump campaign until he took office. That investigation no doubt influenced his decision.
Sessions is a straight shooter who places the rule of law above all else. It has marked his entire public service career including his former service in DOJ for 20 years, as the Alabama AG, and 20 years as a US Senator. He is exactly the kind of person we need and want as AG.
Still think this is all diversion. Sessions all smiles & praise for DT today in presser.
Trump could have said all this in private. He says it to the Slimes for a reason, and it ain’t to “discipline” Sessions.
I think it’s cheese in the maze.
Thanks - I hope so. But there is a huge part of me that’s elated that Sessions, Mueller and Rosenstein might resign today and someone the Deep State actually fears takes over the DOJ. This perpetual defense mode is demoralizing and starting to have that hopeless feeling to it.
On November 14, 1973, federal district judge Gerhard Gesell ruled firing Cox was illegal absent a finding of extraordinary impropriety as specified in the regulation establishing the special prosecutor's office. Congress was infuriated by what it saw as a gross abuse of presidential power as did many Americans, who sent an unusually large number of telegrams to the White House and Congress in protest.
Less than a week after the Saturday Night Massacre, an Oliver Quayle poll for NBC News showed that, for the first time, a plurality of U.S. citizens supported impeaching Nixon, with 44% in favor, 43% opposed, and 13% undecided, with a sampling error of 2 to 3 per cent. In the days that followed, numerous resolutions of impeachment against the president were introduced in Congress.
I don’t know if Trump was yanking NYT fake news chain or what, but I do know he shouldn’t even consider giving those a55h013s an interview. Sessions is a fine man, loyal and Trumps first Senate supporter. Maybe he made a couple of mistakes, well so has Trump. It is disturbing to see so many on here piling on Jeff Sessions. Criticizing him to a far left outlet is inexcusable. Pick some other way to get press, jerkoff press, or use diversionary tactics. BTW I have been for Trump since DAY 1 and fully support his agenda as outlined on the campaign trail.
Agreed. The drip, drip, drip of new disclosures coupled with fits of pique marked by attacks against friend and foe alike is unsettling. Trump needs to control his emotions. I still can’t believe he met with the NYT reporters including Maggie Haberman who was the recipient of many leaks from people like Sally Yates and Katie Walsh.
Difference between us. I’m neither demoralized nor “hopeless.” I think it’s fun and asskicking.
Ditto on your remarks. If there is one indispensable man on the Trump cabinet, it is Jeff Sessions. He is the one the Dems fear the most, which is why they tried to block his confirmation and have been advocating his removal ever since. They will be the true winners if Sessions leaves.
Mueller was appointed under false pretenses orchestrated by Comey as per Comey’s testimony.
I’m using ‘demoralized’ at so far not a drop of RAT blood spattered. Well, I’ve waited 20 years for the buckets, vats, tankers of it, guess I can wait a couple more months.
If that is true, why has Trump waited so long to do something about it? He has not called for Mueller's removal previously and now that Mueller is going places that Trump does not like, it will cause a firestorm of protest should he now fire Mueller. They will call it a coverup.
It is worth remembering that Mueller was interviewed by Trump to fill the vacant FBI job.
The country is 1000% better off today than it was a year ago.
I’ve asked this before: if it’s a choice between “getting” some of the Ds or rebuilding the country-—and IF you can’t have both, which is it?
I once said we could indict Cankles, or stop illegals, stop the insanity overseas, fix the US economy. But not both, because it simply takes too much time, energy and political capital to do these things.
Garbage, there are no Russian dealings of note. Only innocuous incidental encounters that the press is seizing upon and trying to sell as ginourmously important.
How can you expect Trump’s team to have pored over anytime they were in a room with diplomats and a Russian one was there to report that fact and remember pleasantries in detail. Its a setup and if they get Trump supporters pointing fingers they are winning. What is the big deal about opposition research? Everyone else does it. Just Fake News from the Fake News Media.
If you can’t believe it then look for the explanation. Trump does nothing without a reason.
What do you mean if true?
I am as strong a Trump supporter as there is at FR, but I don’t believe that Trump is infallible or incapable of making a mistake. In this case, he made a mistake by venting to the NYT.
Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein today announced the appointment of former Department of Justice official and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to serve as Special Counsel to oversee the previously-confirmed FBI investigation of Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election and related matters.
“In my capacity as acting Attorney General, I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a Special Counsel to assume responsibility for this matter,” said Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein. “My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. I have made no such determination. What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances, the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.”
Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein added, “Each year, the career professionals of the U.S. Department of Justice conduct tens of thousands of criminal investigations and handle countless other matters without regard to partisan political considerations. I have great confidence in the independence and integrity of our people and our processes. Considering the unique circumstances of this matter, however, I determined that a Special Counsel is necessary in order for the American people to have full confidence in the outcome. Our nation is grounded on the rule of law, and the public must be assured that government officials administer the law fairly. Special Counsel Mueller will have all appropriate resources to conduct a thorough and complete investigation, and I am confident that he will follow the facts, apply the law and reach a just result.”
Special Counsel Mueller has agreed to resign from his private law firm in order to avoid any conflicts of interest with firm clients or attorneys.
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