Sessions made the big mistake of trusting Trump, but his recusal was anything but a betrayal of his oath of office, which was, of course, allegiance to the Constitution.
5
Except for his recusal, I totally and wholehearted detest everything that Sessions did re: immigration et al. With that being said, I still respect him, not sure how or why, but I do.
2
Let's give the man his due. And not view him as a victim. To say he was just implementing Trump's agenda disguises the fact that it's his agenda too. This is not some grave statesmen noted for his balanced approach. He's a partisan right winger of the first order who jumped on the Trump train from the very first moment because he saw the opportunity of his lifetime to roll back protectations for ordinary Amercians. That's why he put up with Trump's abuse for so long -- because, he, not Trump, wasn't finished.
4
@SGoodwin
Just read the other article on Sesssions last gesture before departing: "In a major last-minute act, Mr. Sessions signed a memorandum on Wednesday. . . curtailing the use of so-called consent decrees, court-approved deals between the Justice Department and local governments that create a road map of changes for law enforcement."
As you noted, a "partisan right winger of the first order." Now he goes home celebrated as a hero of the radical right.
4
There was only one thing wrong with Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, at least in Trump's mind. HE COULDN'T PROTECT THE PRESIDENT FROM THE MUELLER INVESTIGATION. Once Sessions appropriately recused himself, he was essentially useless to the man who constantly professes he has nothing to hide and nothing to fear from an investigation.
Session's firing is only the first step. This opens the possibility for a Trump stooge, Matthew Whitaker, to take over management of the Mueller investigation. This includes oversight for the writing and release of any reports, preservation of evidence, and further possible indictments. Trump wants all of this to go away while leaving hm with plausible deniability for dong the deed.
Trump already admitting obstructing justice over the 'Rusher thing,' and he's an un-indicted co-conspirator in major election fraud (buying the silence of a porn star and a Playboy model). And his senior campaign leadership clearly wanted to conspire with the Russians, almost certainly with Trump's knowledge.
But none of this probably matters to a Republican electorate that was willing to re-elect two House members (Chris Collins and Duncan Hunter) while they are under major felony indictments. Law and order only counts for migrants who fear for their lives and want to seek asylum.
Yet another Trump appointee sent whimpering into the night, confused and very sad that their idol has rebuffed them in such a cold, calculated and publicly-humiliating way. And most of them dare to call themselves Christians.
3
Betrayal? Hardly. Only to Trump.
2
…., now it appears that there is no reasonable prospect that anything Mueller does or says could result in Trump's removal and replacement by Pence.
Trump famously said "I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose any votes" .
That has now been replaced by "Trump could be caught on videotape handing American military secrets to Russia and still not have any Republican votes for impeachment".
Whatever evidence and proof of criminal acts that Mueller could come up with, it is certain that such evidence and proof could not be as powerful an indication of wrongdoing as the evidence in the public record that Bret Kavanaugh was lying in the senate hearings relating to his confirmation as a Supreme Court Justice.
Once Ford’s account included three people she said were there AND his calendar had them all at Tim Gaudette’s house on July 1, 1982, AND Ford’s description of the interior of Gaudette’s house in Rockville, MD exactly matches that of the actual house, which still exists: the only way that Kavanaugh was not lying is either: Ford somehow obtained access to his 1982 diary/calendar, or Ford has a time machine or Ford stalked Kavanaugh in 1982 and planned to do this, if and when he was nominated to the Supreme Court..."
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4216597
1
It wasn't a betrayal! Don't use Trump's lying, crime-boss language! Sessions for once in his life did the right thing, if only in the hope of being let off the hook on perjury charges. Trump is a criminal! For the chief law enforcement officer of the United States not to help him escape justice is not a betrayal!
3
On February 26, 2018, Trump falsely claimed he would have run into the Parkland school in Florida without a gun to stop the shooter.
Of course he lied because Trump is a coward who acts solely out of self-preservation and nothing else.
He uses people as human flack jackets to save himself from harm. Jeff Sessions is one of many people Trump has discarded to survive.
Trump is an unprincipled coward. If he, Don Jr., and his criminal associates were innocent, he would let the investigation take its course.
He cannot because he knows where the truth will lead.
4
Sessions did not betray Trump. He refused to do something Trump wanted, i.e., oversee the Mueller investigation, for valid reasons. That is not the same as betrayal. Please use a dictionary before throwing around a loaded term like “betrayal”.
4
Everyone knows this. It's the "why" that matters.
Trump expected Sessions to cover for his traitorous complicity and collusion and conspiracy with Russia in stealing the 2016 election.
4
Did Mueller make a major mistake by waiting until after the midterms to file indictments on the Trump family, if indeed the facts lead to that action?
If Mueller filed indictments, Trump would have fired everyone in sight. And when Trump fired Sessions and put in his lapdog, maybe the Senate would have fallen to the Democrats.
Now, Trump probably can get away with anything he wants, as he just stacked the Supreme Court, and has his puppy running the Justice Department, and the corrupt Republican Party runs the Senate.
If the rule of law falls, then so does democracy. I don't want to live in a banana republic, but that sure seems where we are headed.
Hugh Massengill, Eugene Oregon
2
"...Could Not Look Past a Betrayal"?
How about, "Could Not Look Past His Own Raging Narcissistic Avarice"?
Jeff Sessions hardly betrayed the president; but he betrayed the Republican Party and the American People by sponsoring his candidacy.
3
Remember, at his confirmation hearings Sessions lied to the Senate saying he had no communication with the Russians during the campaign. Oops BUT he did have communication with Russian Ambassador Kislyak twice while he was National security advisor to Trump’s campaign and Russian sanctions were on the table. Then came the recusal, in spite of calls for him to resign. He then became the fall guy (distraction). Maybe it’s just really good staging by Trump et al. But let’s not forget...he lied to the senate in his confirmation hearings! Hey Press, get the whole story and context right! Don’t omit this fact!
3
Whitaker the new Micheal Cohen in town. He better ask the letter how fixing Trump feels like before he starts his own roadmap to prison.
What is wrong people's these days with greed and power intoxication?
3
The only daylight between the misanthropic and white nationalist Trump and Sessions was the recusal. I detect a pattern emerging. Just kidding. This episode is like exhibit 27 in an obstruction of justice indictment.
5
The headline to this story reflects a faulty premise. The law and law school legal ethics required recusal. Following the law and the advice of Department of Justice ethics personnel does not constitute betrayal. Only a mob boss views adherence to the law as a betrayal. Unfortunately, we have a POTUS who models himself after a mob boss.
4
The headline should read "perceived" betrayal.
He had no choice but to recuse himself.
As usual, Trump has no grasp on reality.
Unless it's a TV show.
2
So, is the Whitaker “appointment” unconstitutional? And how does this appointment override any investigation, such as Mueller’s, to look for collusion? Where is the justice according to real law?
3
When it comes to immigration policy, Sessions worldview matches up with Trumps. It’s not that hard to imagine Sessions was executing the policy regardless of the treatment he was getting from Trump.
4
Mr. Sessions did not execute Mr. Trump's agenda. He did execute the hard conservative right agenda. Mr Trump has no agenda other than self survival and enrichment.
9
This only proves what we've known all along. You can do your job or not, the only thing that matters to this president is 100% loyalty, not to the Constitution or the American people, but to him.
His supporters believed this reality show host was a successful businessman who would bring a different way of doing things. That part is true; the not true part is he was never a successful businessman. Most of his efforts ended in bankruptcy and without the infusion of Russian and Saudi money he would be broke. Without The Apprentice fame he would be broke.
He is only a success in his own mind. He was flailing financially when the salesman in him tapped into a large swath of Americans terrified immigrants were outpacing them. Conservatives put up with his ugliness to get their judicial choices but he's co-opted them, too. They have no choice now but to follow him over a cliff.
5
@Kathy
Among the list of fraudulent activities as a supposedly successful businessman, you forgot to mention major tax cheating. Trump was repeatedly and illegally bailed out by cash infusions from his father. The final tax cheating was perpetrated when Trump and his siblings settled his father's estate by fraudulently avoiding untold millions in estate tax payments.
I don't understand why the title suggests that you (the author) believe Sessions was guilty of betrayal. You are doing a disservice to those who only read headlines and don't already know that Sessions was acting with moral authority in his refusal to recuse himself at the behest of this President. Please don't further yet another unjust cause of this President by writing carelessly. Thank you.
7
In Trumps looking- glass world all things are said by him to be the reverse of what they actually are. He turns things around and sends them back reversed. He is reversed.. Too bad he can't be reversed back to normal. But he lives in a looking-glass world. The real world escapes him. He should go back to his own world and leave this one alone.
He thinks Sessions betrayed him, but actually he betrayed Sessions. Sessions did what the law required.
14
Regardless how much southern charm he may have exuded to staff and cops, Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions had exemplified such racism that MLKs widow had to testify against his character when he was being considered for a federal judgeship in the 80s (he didn’t get it)
Only an even bigger bigot, like DJT, would have given such a man the plum position as US AG.
Like a broken clock that’s right twice a day, Trump did the right thing when he fired this guy (albeit for the wrong reasons).
It’s the only thing our feckless president has done that I applaud.
Enjoy your retirement Mr. Sessions .
3
Liberals may not like it, in a bipartisan democracy the hardline Conservatives stand on immigration is also necessary to stem the flow of illegal immigrants and create a political context for law making that heeds to all perspectives justly.
The departure of Jeff Session, safeguards this crucial hardline but wholly legal and long standing conservative political process and demarcates it from the political elements who probably seek to throttle the Russia investigation.
His departure probable shall pave way for bipartisan consensus to emerge that makes sure Muller investigation does not get subverted.
Okay, so, do you have a secret staff of former tabloid headline writers who want to grab the intention of people in the checkout line?
It isn't lurid ENOUGH to do that( Sessions is the antithesis of lurid material), and completely backwards:
"Sessions Delivered for President Trump, only to be Axed for the Most Ethical Decision of his Career"
30
@cheryl The headline sounds about right. What’s the problem?
Sessions recusal is not a betrayal. It was legally required since he did not have the honor in him to withdraw when it was shown he is part of the El Trumpo/Russian Government conspiracy.
El Trumpo regards it as a betrayal because he imagines he is above the law and allowed to have an AG who protects him from the law. He probably figured that since Sessions was in on the conspiracy thing he'd be down with preventing it from being investigated.
Sessions is an odd duck. A life long parasite on the taxpayer he has used the authority he has gained by election to undermine and abuse the Constitution to persecute the defenseless for bigoted, racist and classist reasons
23
Yes, who wrote that headline, Donald Trump or S.H. Sanders? Sessions didn't "betray" anyone. His recusal was probably the only thing he's done right in decades. The NYT, and the rest of the media, need to stop spreading Donald Trump's nonsense and lies. The AG isn't supposed to serve the president.
48
@Robert F But this president thinks that the AG IS supposed to serve him, and not this nation-state.
2
Trump has never understood the role of the Attorney General, he still thinks his AG is Tom Hagen, The Godfather's fixer.
34
He understands it. He just wants to disrupt it for his own purposes
1
Betrayal? Is the NYTimes seriously arguing that Jeff Sessions betrayed Donald Trump? Sessions political views are repugnant to me, and I wouldn't have voted for him to be Mobile County dog catcher even though I now live in his state, but in recusing himself from matters relating to the Russia investigation, Sessions did exactly what his appointment as AG required him to do. He behaved honorably and within the law. To call it a betrayal is idiotic. Trump, who as we all know lives in his own twisted land of Topsy Turvy, may feel that way but the Times' editorial staff ought to know better.
39
@TimG Trump saw it as a betrayal; I don't think the headline meant anything else.
1
Are there are any more adjectives to describe this vindictive, narcissist who can only see his glorious image in a mirror and utter every morning just before he twiits: "magic mirror on the wall, who is fairest of them all? "
12
"Jeff Sessions Executed the Agenda of a President Who Could Not Look Past His Ethical Decision"
Fixed it for you.
Since when does doing the right thing constitute a betrayal? It was certainly not a betrayal of the law, or Justice Department rules, or legal ethics. That should matter.
Please stop normalizing Trump.
29
Just because Trump considered it a betrayal doesn't make it one. Sessions took his duty seriously of upholding the Constitution. Sessions recusal was not a betrayal, it was abiding by our norms. Why do we let the whims of a madman dictate how we discuss topics of the day?
30
I get the impression that the president feels like the law is something to be used, not followed. Whatever Mr. Sessions thinks of people with brown skin, at least he had enough respect for, and possibly fear of, America's laws to follow them. In that way, he is unlike his former boss, whose chief concern seems to be how he can get around laws that keep him from doing something he wants to do.
I'm not sorry to see Mr. Sessions go, but I'm afraid his replacement will be worse.
16
Selling out isn't cheap, right Mr. Sessions?
7
In the eyes of Trump Mr. Sessions decision to recuse himself might have been a betrayal but wasn't in the eyes of the Constitution or the rule of law.
14
@Seldoc I suspect he didn't do it to protect the Constitution but his own legal jeopardy. It's possible some of his Senate colleagues pointed out they might not be able to protect him since he lied under oath about meeting with a Russian during his confirmation hearings.
3
The thing I don't get is how Trump can blame the man -- like him or not -- for something that happened in the future, after his appointment. Was Mr. Sessions supposed to be prescient? I guess Trump thinks so. It's not the only crazy thought he has.
5
I strongly object to the use of the word "Betrayal" in the headline. It implies a factual truth that most people would accept as accurate.
A "betrayal' by Sessions only occurred in Trump's mind, and anything that that mans says or believes is hardly tied to reality. In actuality, Sessions betrayed no one when he appropriately recused himself from Mueller's investigation.
18
Rather depressing that doing what is necessary and proper is a betrayal.
15
Jeff Sessions did not betray Trump. His offense against Trump was that Sessions refused to betray the United States. There is a reason why so many people close to Trump are headed for prison or already serving time. Trump does not believe in the rule of law, and he is annoyed by those who do. When his minions face a choice between demands which violate the law and obeying the law, Trump wants them to break the law. Many of them do, and, when caught, they pay dearly. Sessions did not betray Trump. He broke lots of norms and violated the moral values of Americans. He was as racist as he could be, within the law. But he heeded the clear red line laid down by Department of Justice guidelines, and Trump will never forgive him for being law-abiding when Trump himself never lets the law get in the way of his cravings.
12
To be accurate the title should be "perceived betrayal."
Sessions was a vocal supporter of candidate Trump and campaigned with him. He advised that campaign. We have a law that no member of a campaign can participate - let alone oversee - a government investigation into that same campaign. For obvious reasons.
Sessions knew that he needed to recuse himself because of his contacts both with the Russian ambassador and with other campaign members during the campaign.
Trump perceives that as a betrayal because of course everything in his life only matters in how in relates to him "winning." But Sessions was just following the law here and good ethics advice.
This appointment of Whitaker is skirting accepted norms and is perhaps illegal. The statute says the DAG should now be AG after a resignation. Whitaker is a partisan, who has spoken publicly against Mueller investigation so he should also not have any role overseeing this particular investigation. But most importantly he has not been confirmed by the Senate, which is constitutionally required for the AG position.
17
During his confirmation hearings he could not ‘recall’ many events. I’ll bet he’ll recall this day (and the cheap insults hurled at him) vividly.
5
@RioConcho If he actually runs again for his old Senate seat, those hearings will make wonderful campaign ads for the opposition.
1
I bet he did not execute the president's agenda. Is the justice department larger or smaller than when he arrived. Did he attempt to change and improve his department, or did he keep things mostly the same? Apparently the president wants MJ not restricted by the feds when the states want it decriminalized? Very poor choice, bad execution.
Did ethics officials within DOJ have anything to do with recommending or convincing Sessions to recuse himself?
2
@Sam Song
Yes they did.
And he recused himself because he got caught lying about his own contacts with Russians while he was working for the El Trumpo campaign as a US Senator. He recused in March 2017 from anything to do with Russian involvement in the election before the Special Counsel was appointed May 2017 after El Trumpo fired Comey May 9, 2017
11
I have a suggestion for what Mr. Sessions can do next. Volunteer at a shelter for refugees. That way he can get a first-hand look at how the policies he chose to enforce as US AG affect real people, including unaccompanied minors, that is, children traveling alone. It's never too late to get humanized.
54
horrible headline. at least put "betrayal" in quotes since while POTUS may interpret things as he wishes, following DOJ established procedure shouldn't be characterized as such.
34
@Jrivers
Thanks for saying that. My thoughts exactly.
Mr. Sessions should realize that the President’s policies were being crafted with the same Presidential fairness and judgement exercised in how he himself was treated by the President.
16
I wonder what happens now, if he is subpoenaed to testify for Mueller's investigation.
15
Sessions is the worst kind of fascist. He hides behind an obsequious demeanor to carry out his hard-line fantasies, dreamt up throughout a career as a lackey in the party of greed and hate.
Worse, he claims to be a man of God who wouldn't give a second thought to separating young children from their parents. Heartless and shameless, justice was never his concern.
70
@Suzanne Moniz
What does any of that have to do with fascism? With its foundational principles?