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Are AG Jeff Sessions’ Days Numbered?


By Stephen Lendman
stephenlendman.org
7-25-17

 
Days earlier, Trump criticized Sessions for recusing himself from the Justice Department’s Russiagate investigation - saying had he known, he wouldn’t have appointed him AG, adding:

“Jeff Sessions takes the job, gets into the job, recuses himself, which frankly I think is very unfair to the president.”

“How do you take a job and then recuse yourself? If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, ‘Thanks, Jeff, but I’m not going to take you.’ It’s extremely unfair — and that’s a mild word — to the president.”

He acted on advice from DOJ ethics experts and the American Bar Association - to avoid a possible conflict of interest or appearance of one.

On Monday, Trump tweeted: “So why aren't the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered AG, looking into Crooked Hillarys crimes & Russia relations?”

On Tuesday, he tweeted: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails & DNC server) & Intel leakers!”

“Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - ‘quietly working to boost Clinton.’ So where is the investigation AG.”

Sessions said he’ll serve “as long as that is appropriate.” On Monday during a White House visit, he didn’t meet with Trump.

Newly appointed communications director Anthony Scaramucci declined to say if the president wants Sessions to resign or if he intends sacking him.

“They need to sit down face to face and have a reconciliation and a discussion of the future,” he said. “They need to speak and determine what the future of the relationship looks like.”

Reports suggest Trump is considering possible replacements - Ted Cruz and Rudy Giuliani mentioned as possible choices.

Cruz said he is “deeply gratified that we have a principled conservative like Jeff Sessions serving as Attorney General. The stories being reported in the media tonight are false.”

Giuliani said Sessions “made the right decision under the rules of the Justice Department” to recuse himself. It’s unclear if he’d take the job if offered.

Given Trump’s displeasure with Sessions, his days may be numbered, their relationship perhaps irreparably damaged.

For now, he’s in limbo, isolated from the White House. A beleaguered AG isn’t a prescription for an effective one.

So far, he shows no signs of stepping down. In Washington, things can either play out over many months or shift dramatically in days.

“I do my best every day to fulfill the goals the president and I share,” said Sessions. For how much longer is an open question.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
 
My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

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