Mr. Trump just can't wrap his head around the fact that the Justice Department is not a branch of his personal legal team.
Mr. Sessions was right to recuse himself. Mr. Trump is wrong to berate him about it, especially in public.
As Eric Holder said on NPR today, a president should not be involved in investigations by the Justice Department. The Justice Department serves the American people, not the American president.
1
Session's reputation, in the end, will remain largely unscathed because of his correct decision to recuse himself. Trump's is already in the gutter, he doesn't have much else to lose by being brazen at this point.
poor Mr. sessions. I feel so bad for him that he wanted so badly to serve this morally corrupt idiot who now occupies the white house and does lasting damage to our stature around the world, damaging our institutions, and making a mockery out of this office.
mr. sessions, who among various other outrageous positions he has, seems to think it is perfectly fine for asset forfeiture to be done on such a routine basis. for "mr. law and order" I'd love for him to point out where, exactly, this is a lawful action on the part of the government against it's citizenry.
this entire administration is a travesty.
poor Mr. sessions...
Mr. Goldsmith, a Harvard professor, posits that an "honest and innocent" President could conclude that it was a "nothing burger."
Harvard, how low have you dipped?
2
Dumb and nastier. Or vice versa.
1
Donald is making the argument that AG Sessions should have told the president he intended to recuse himself.
Where's the evidence for that? When he was nominated -- even during his confirmation hearings -- Mr. Sessions was denying any connection with Russian operatives.
He might well have continued in that vein had the media not uncovered his multiple contacts with Sergey Kislyak or his encouragement of the Papadopoulos-Russian connection with the campaign.
Donald is discrediting Sessions even as he berates him for doing the what the law required -- once he was reminded.
8
Trump is guilty on many counts - the most harmful aspect is that future Presidents have a precedent to misbehave in office.
For that reason alone Trump should be impeached and then tried in court for treason, sexual assault etc and sent to jail for life if found guilty.
9
Trump is just a sad,pathetic, angry person who each day skewers a new victim with his venom. Trump proves every day that he is unfit to be our president.
11
The main stream media needs to stop reporting every Trump tweet as if it’s consequential news. His daily sometimes hourly rants, when reflexively reported as they are now, dominate the information flow every day and take up all the oxygen in the room. As he elevates his persona as all-powerful, his every word triggering news hysteria, and relentlessly demeans all opposition and Americans outside his base, he’s solidifying real power among those responsive to authoritarianism and others who are increasingly afraid to push back. You are helping him become an effective dictator by amplifying his every tweet and giving him power to dominate the news cycle and national attention span.
10
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all pulled together and did not respond or react or report on Trump for an entire week. We'd all get a well-deserved rest, probably sleep better, probably drink less alcohol and from the lack of attention, Trump might just implode!
12
Perhaps Trump doesn't have to sit down with Mueller after all. He's just tweeted his "clear" intent for the third time that we know about in wanting to shut down "The Russian Witch [actually, in Trump's case it's "Warlock"] Hunt Hoax." Of course, the only "lives ruined" may be Mr. Trump and his family who've moved well beyond "collusion" to conspiracy with the other recent revelation of his coverup (by denying he authored) the coverup he wrote to protect Don Jr. conspiring with a real Russian (not a witch) in a successful Hunt for "dirt" on Hillary. And, that is not a Hoax, but "a high crime."
4
As I read that line, I wondered just whose lives were ruined? If he means Manafort, Flynn, etc. it is clear that Trump sympathizes with them. Might it be because he is guilty of many of the same things?? Why else would one say such a thing?
Hey tough guy - why don't you fire the AG? I guess the real world is different from TV.
5
This is not complicated. If Sessions or some other AG picked by Trump had not recused himself there would have been no special counsel. No collusion has been uncovered and the Russian intrusion into the election was known by Obama months before the election and a report prepared by the FBI, CIA and DNI prior to Obama's leaving office established that. The nation knew of that since the report was made public before Trump was inaugurated. What was needed was not a special counsel but acts by congress and the states to prevent its repetition.
Mr Sessions is pure evil but then so is his employer. Hey Jeff light up a doobie and chill out, you’re gonna be fired anytime now. And when you leave don’t forget to take your racism with you.
2
Thanks for the comedy relief. Each time I see Sessions I can't help but think of the Nazi character played by Henry Gibson in the Blues Brothers.
"...that Trump is so open and brazen about all this actually might make it harder for Mueller to show corrupt intent."
So his bragging about murdering on Fifth Ave would make it harder to prove criminal intent if he does it? Is this a joke?
8
What should really alarm Americans is not that Trump did this but that he is so ignorant and so out of control that he has no trouble stating publicly that he did do this. Doesn't the man realize that he is sewing off the very limb he is sitting on. How can we trust a man who is unable to protect himself in the most basic ways with the economic future of this country. There's a reason that all conservative media outlets except for one said do not vote for Trump. This is one of those reasons. The man is not smart, the man is not discerning, the man is not strategic, and in the complex world we live in that's a recipe for disaster.
5
Only Donald Trump could inspire me to acknowledge just a tiny stirring of sympathy for that prejudiced pixie Jeff Sessions. They are both so mean and bigoted. Actually, they deserve one another—a match made in heaven.
Donald, once again the victim—first of Barack, then Hillary, then Jeff Sessions, now Bob Mueller. I realize for many reasons, Sessions doesn’t fit with the other three, but he is nonetheless, driving Donald wild.
4
Sessions can take all the abuse that trump can hand out because he has his ultimate dream job and nothing could ever shake him from it. Sessions previously aspired to just be Grand Wizard. Now he has "trumped" that. From his current exalted perch he and Miller can rain down untold terror on all minorities. He is finally able to fulfill his lifelong ambition. He'll never voluntarily give it up.
7
Trump, the "oops, I did it again" but it's not my fault, president.
Sessions is just the distraction for Trump's base.
Sessions is happy being that distraction as long as he can keep satisfying his racist base.
Every time I hear Sessions speak I'm reminded of the "failure to communicate" line from an old movie. I can't listen to Trump so it's fortunate that he always prefaces his claims with a reference to the scandal he's ranting about. The scandal de jour, err, de huere. Turning him off is much easier when he begins his rants.
Will Trump justify beating his supporters with an actual trade war? He backs down all the time so I'm skeptical but with the election coming up he has to try and look tough so most likely the beatings will continue and the base seems to like them!
2
Cool Hand Luke, wasn't it? "What we have heah (drawl) is a failyuh to communicate."
A picture really is worth a thousand words.
Pouty faced Trump, willing hateful thoughts to Sessions.
Father Pence, the anointed hypocrite.
Sessions, the lost little elf.
Sleep well tonight knowing these men are looking out for absolutely no one but themselves. Sweet dreams.
9
If King Trump got so much Constitutional juice, why does he not stop whining and get to the firing? Could it be that he is a bully and a coward?
5
The questions remaining are simple:
Will the Republicans follow their constitutional duty and defend the United States rather than defend their own self interest better known as reelection?
Will the Democrats have the will and tenacity to present candidates for election that appeal to the majority of the voters or will they follow the path to failure believing anybody against Trump's policies is electable?
Sadly, I have little faith in either question being answered to my satisfaction.
As long as Sessions keeps quiet, Trump hurts the Trump brand. If he quits. If he breaks. Trump wins. Right?
This tweet is obstruction of justice on its face. All that saves Trump is that he is not under oath when he tweets.
All Mueller need do in any interview is ask Trump whether he wrote those words and meant them.
4
I'm having a hard time understanding why he keeps going after Sessions about recusal. The only thing Sessions can do is resign. He can't un-recuse himself. If he does resign and a Trump flunky gets confirmed by the senate as AG what will that person be able to creditably do? Fire Rosenstein, fire Mueller? That would be a clear case of obstruction even the Republicans in the senate can't hold their noses and pretend that would be okay. (Well maybe I'm giving them more credit than they deserve).
What happens to the indictments and upcoming trials? Do think all of the investigate work doesn't get leaked? I think the die is cast. Sessions stays, Trump vents without purpose and we get to find out if we still have a democracy worth supporting.
6
Trump will not fire Sessions because Sessions is responsible for forcibly and illegally tearing children from their parents who have legally reported to immigration to claim refugee/sanctuary status. Trump delights in this torture of brown children and their parents--and also delights in demonstrating how helpless his political opponents are to stop this ongoing atrocity.
It's all about priorities. Trump wants Sessions to end the "Russian thing", but he wants to be the sadist and abuser far more--and Sessions is one of his most effective enablers.
8
As a wanna be dictator, Trump does what he wants and expects all those that work for him to do his bidding. That includes the FBI and the Justice Department.
4
If the Fake President is innocent, he sure does have a funny way of showing it.
8
The fact that a bigot like Sessions is so popular with many republican members of Congress speaks volumes of what the GOP has become.
10
Trump Impeached! That’s all I want for Christmas . Is the GOP Congress finally seeing what is actually good for the Country?
4
To me, the answer is simple. It's all part of the con. Trump actually likes Sessions. After all, the AG is doing all the dirty work involved in Trump's anti immigrant policies. No, what Trump is saying here is: "Look, I have every right to get rid of this guy who betrayed me, believe me. But no, I'm not going to do it. That proves how great I am. Am I right? I'm just going to put up with this guy. But I'm not going to stop reminding everybody that I'm miffed, because all this witch hunt could have been avoided." So it goes. What amazes me, frankly, is that the media continues to cover these tweets.
8
I'm no fan of Jeff Sessions or Donald Trump, but Sessions did the right thing by recusing himself. The President has treated Sessions appallingly. I hope Sessions remains Attorney General until dragged kicking and screaming from his office.
The Republicans need to stand up to this President and not let his ignorance and petulance continue to govern our nation.
I a writing my legislative representatives that it is now finally time to do something about Trumps disregard for basic human ethics and disregard for law unless it suits him. Hasn't he ever heard of the Magna Carta which is the real beginning of democracy which basically says the "king" (leader ) must obey and repeat the same laws as any other?
1
Could it be that a Trump tweet to discredit a member of his team is a message to the base that he likes the work being done by that member? By focusing attention on that person in a negative way forces the public to look for the positive, which is what Trump wants. Regarding Sessions, he has probably done more of Trump's bidding than most of his cabinet. We wouldn't have known that if Trump had kept quiet.
Though an independent, a leaning democrat, some of my friends republicans do have more connections than I do and it really interesting to find that many of them dislikes and abhors our sitting president as much as I do. So much so that they also see his administration as a total failure with the worst one being Mr. Pruitt. It was mentioned that the reason he secured the used mattress from the hotel may be that some of his DNA may be found on it from a "heavy night" with a woman from the EPA. I'm not sure this is true, but there again you never know these days what anyone in the present administration may do, especially Mr. Pruitt.
3
This reminds me of the frog who is put in cold water and the heat is turned up. Boil, Con Don, boil.
Thanks without end to Investigator Mueller and all the other legal entities who are investigating this sorry excuse for a human being. He and his Robber Baron brethren need to be knocked down to size and if this investigation doesn't do it
WE THE PEOPLE will. They do NOT represent the vast majority of us.
10
If one were to accept the legal arguments of Trump's lawyers, then the tweet makes no sense. But it makes sense if the only purpose is to continue to use Sessions as one more scapegoat to garner sympathy for the witchhunt narrative. I'm not convinced the tweet is more damning evidence of obstruction, and I'm one liberal who's not banking on Mueller disclosing anything earth shattering. I just want this nightmare of a presidency to be over, and I plan to do my part to vote Trump, and the mealy mouthed Congressional Republicans who put up with him, out of office.
5
All Sessions wants to do is go after dark skinned people whether immigrants, undocumented or not as well as anyone born here. He probably doesn't fully believe that Trump is white. He knows that sometimes even among racists there are people who are hiding their real identities by being the most overtly fixated and hateful. Trump maybe thinks the same about Sessions.
3
When making his AG appointment, why would Trump think Sessions would not recuse himself? He would need to lie to his former Senate Republican colleagues, thus including them in the corruption. Sessions was a key member of the campaign with ability and access to information to know of any Russian interference. His recusal also tells me that there was Russian influence, we just don't know how much. Muller will soon tell us.
Another example of our President's stupidity!
7
To critics and to anyone who can read...
2
Trump is and embarrassment to our democracy and should be impeached for trying to obstruct justice. Even though he has not fired Sessions his blatant bullying of him in tweets is similar to someone yelling fire in a movie theater when there is no fire.
5
The whining, crying and complaining of Trump over spilt milk is really something to behold. Not only does he obsessively go over and over gain rueing the day Sessions recused himself, he has come out since then to whine -- did you see this? -- about Robert Mueller not having warned him about Manafort. In his continued disability to ever take personal responsibility for anything, he is now whining about how Bob Mueller should have warned him about Manafort. He is blaming the special prosecutor along with Sessions for not taking better care of him.
Maybe next he'll be asking to be diapered and bottle fed, and burped before being put to bed by the grownups. Nothing is ever his fault, it's always somebody else. Mueller who wasn't even appointed at the time Trump hired Manafort should he warned him against hiring him. He can't even keep things in proper temporal, historical sequence. His cognition is slipping and combined with his endless self pity he becoming an ever bigger whiner than before. Poor poor Donald. So much for his fake persona as a tough guy. Turns out the loud mouth is a big baby, asking Sessions and Mueller to take care of him. This guy is so lame, so pathetic. Finish the investigation. Charge him and lock up this loser. We are all tired of having him up in our face everyday, but until he's sent away he'll be begging for our attention on the daily basis he does now.
6
"Why is Trump mad at Sessions" (yet again)
"Why is Trump mad at...."? [fill in the blank with virtually any name you can think of]
REAL question is, or should be:
"Why is Trump mad?" [as in crazy], and "What can the nation do to protect itself from his mania?"
8
Trump is angry at his detestable little helper elf for refusing to obstruct justice on his behalf. Whether Sessions was motivated by ethics or self-interest (I suspect the latter), his decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation was the correct and obvious choice.
8
"Are we all in danger of frostbite here?"
1
Trump should be mad at himself for hiring Sessions in the first place since he must have known that legal challenges were coming and that there was an obvious conflict given Sessions' role in his campaign. Or perhaps he could just be mad at the GOP for confirming his selection of Sessions. Or he could be mad at the rules that Sessions followed when he recused himself to avoid the obvious conflict on interest. Or perhaps he could mad at himself for being born. But one thing's for sure. He's mad, and particularly mad because he can't blame Democrats for this.
5
Why doesn't Sessions quit? Is he waiting for President Pence? Is he pushing an agenda at the DOJ that he views as his legacy? I don't get it.
3
"Corrupt intent" may be a "high bar". But "high crimes and misdemeaners" provides a powerful, and redeeming instrument - Thanks, Founding Fathers.
7
Trump promised we’d all get tired of all the winning if he was elected.
Is everyone tired of all this whining yet?
7
Trump ran his political campaign the same way he ran his corrupt New York real estate empire. He cheated. He lied. He scammed. And he surrounded himself with others of similarly low character. And of course there's no honor among thieves which is one reason he's lambasting his Attorney General.
Trump also ran for the publicity and to ingratiate himself with Putin. He's not really a billionaire and desperately wanted a lucrative invite into Putin's corrupt world. But he didn't expect to win and is in too deep with too many character flaws to suddenly mend his ways.
Flawed as he is, Trump can see no honorable way out, so he's going to bluster and lie to the end. And apparently he's also going to feel sorry for himself and publicly blame others for his problems.
7
"Trump can see no honorable way out,"
He could NEVER see any honorable way, in any situation, ever. He has no concept of the meaning of the word. His actions have told us that since the beginning.
4
Robert Mueller speaks in court. HIs investigation does not address the press, it does not leak. Trump leaks, lies, tweets, bloviates ad infinitum. Please give me rule of law and some rest from this circus.
9
By 'free market' you actually mean 'unregulated market?'
1
Let's stop beating a dead horse. We've known how King DJT I feels about Sessions since the inception of the Mueller probe. He's a broken vinyl record when it comes to this issue.
Let's put the print and words into action - VOTE in November to flip the Congressional GOP majority!
6
Beauregard should have known when slavered all over trump that he had a 'tiger by the tail'. A 'mad' one too.
1
Move over Benedict Arnold, we are not long from replacing your name with Trump to serve as the symbol for treason in the American context. Traitor is, traitor does.
6
Trump has demonstrated on a consistent basis that he has no respect for the rule of law. If he were innocent as he claims he would have not expended so much time and energy and resources trying to silence others.
6
I don't know how Sessions can take all of this abuse other then he has been persuaded by colleagues in the senate to stay put in order to keep the investigation going. Other alternatives would lead to the president to fire Mueller through a surrogate of his choice that replaces Sessions.
I am not a lawyer, but...
The President is still a citizen, and, as such, is subject to the same legal code as all other citizens. The Constitution gives powers to the office, not the individual. In that sense, Mr. Trump should also recuse himself from this investigation, since he is clearly involved in the matter being investigated.
I fear in the end that the charge that should be brought is treason...that is what colluding with a foreign power to influence the government of the United States is.
4
The November 6 election is now on the radar. Trump is now readying his troops for the actions "power" filled actions he will take in the few weeks, few days, and few hours right before the election.
Fire Sessions?
Fire Mueller?
Pardon himself?
He will do what will bring his people to the polls. He's testing his ideas now. Some actions will be directed at the nation, some will be directed at a particular race. He saw how Comey's actions affected the election. He can use the same tactic himself - the stun-gun announcement.
3
I’m beginning to believe that in any country, at any given time, about 30-40% of the people think that a dictatorship would be a good thing.
A dictatorship would never be a good thing.
7
"An honest and innocent president could still conclude that an investigation like this was so without merit and so damaging to foreign policy that it should be ended, not out of self-interest."
There are two significant qualifiers in Mr. Goldsmith's statement. On personal traits, Trump is anything but 'honest' and 'innocent'. On policy front, the investigation is not impacting foreign policy as much as Trump's actions themselves have rendered any foreign policy initiatives fruitless.
4
Trump has never objected to the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election; he only objects to the investigation of possible unlawful collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. This investigation is about to enter its second year without producing evidence that unlawful collusion occurred. This distinguishes it from the Watergate investigation, which began with a crime; operatives paid by the Nixon reelection campaign were caught red-handed as they broke into Democratic National Committee headquarters to plant listening devices. Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election and the “possibility” that the Trump campaign unlawfully “colluded” with Russia. In announcing the appointment, Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein said, “My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. I have made no such determination.” The investigation into Russian meddling has produced indictments against 16 Russian nationals and three Russian companies, but the collusion investigation has produced no evidence that unlawful collusion occurred. In fact, not one has articulated what the Trump campaign may have done that constitutes unlawful collusion. Who wouldn’t resent being investigated for two years for an unspecified crime that may not have occurred? If Rosenstein still can’t produce evidence that collusion occurred, he should end the investigation.
" This investigation is about to enter its second year without producing evidence that unlawful collusion occurred." There will never be "status updates" of ongoing criminal investigations, nor should there ever be. And to be clear, this is not some burglary, but treason. There's no comparison to Watergate
6
Normally, law enforcement agencies say what crimes they are investigating. Investigating someone or an organization in hopes of discovering they committed a crime is unusual.
They did collude. The meeting at Trump Tower was set up based on a communication that the Russians wanted to help the Trump campaign (unlawful act under Us law) and the attorney was representing the Russian government and was going to provide dirt on HRC (something of value, a campaign contribution again unlawful for a foreign government to provide in a US election). Also I would guess she was going to provide stolen email; either Podestas, HRC's or from the DNC. Emphasis on stolen. I still think receiving stolen goods is a crime and would fit into the criminal aspect of conspiring to commit a crime. Ask the guys who went to jail for breaking into the Watergate DNC to steal files.
If they got nothing from the Russians it still was the attempt to collude and attempt at a conspiracy on the Trump campaign part. We don't know what they got at that meeting or subsequent to that meeting but we do know Junior his brother in law and campaign chair were ready to receive it.
3
I’m not sure I understand Mr. Goldsmith’s observation that Trump could justify ending the investigation into Russian interference into the election, saying it is without merit and it is damaging to foreign policy. I would posit that the investigation needs to continue to determine whether it has merit and that not investigating Russian interference would be more damaging to U.S. foreign policy.
18
If he didn't have Sessions, he would just blame somebody else, he's a crybaby and a bully.
27
If the over-all situation involving Trump's campaign were simply: 'and the truth shall set you free' - we would hear none of this & all he needs must do is let the investigation take its natural course. He is attempting to 'pre-arrange' the truth. Me thinks he doth obstruct too much!.:)
14
I can't stand the President. He looks guilty, acts guilty, smells guilty. I don't want him impeached for trying to obstruct the investigation. I want the investigation to get the facts. Did the Trump Presidential campaign collude with a foreign government to get elected. Did Trump knowingly give security clearance to Flynn who was an agent for a foreign government. Did he give security clearance to others who were colluding with the Russian government or any other foreign government to get elected including John Bolton who is tied at the hip with Cambridge Analytica.
While the President is clearly trying to obstruct as of now we have no evidence that Mueller's investigation has actually been impacted. The President and/or many of his key people may well have committed treason to help get him elected. This is the same President who is tariffing allies using his power on National defense while promising Kim US aid and comfort for negotiating nuclear arms reductions.
15
My fantasy is the FBI walks him out of the Oval Office in handcuffs.
5
I eagerly await the day on the not so distanr future when both of these guilty , old men are gone from office and our collective public conciousness over campaign fraud and obstruction and treason.
26
Group think is going to kill America:
"The fact that Trump is so open and brazen about all this actually might make it harder for Mueller to show corrupt intent, "
So if you yell, you're right? Ok!
It was nice while it lasted, America!
8
If my boss critiqued my work via Twitter, our board would fire him the next day.
19
Donald Trump is angry with Jeff Sessions because he is not acting like Roy Cohn, Michael Cohen and Marc Kasowitz in protecting him and his family business from hostile federal government process.
Jeff Sessions is behaving more like Elliot Richardson than John Mitchell and Richard Kleindienst. The Justice Department is not the legal department of the Trump Organization.
13
What’s that old saw: “If you have nothing to hide what are you afraid of.”
Also please don’t use “free market” so freely. Many of these “free marketers” don’t want the buyers to have all the information they need and want to ignore externatilities such as pollution.
16
Let's face it. All this noise surrounding Donald Trump (Giuliani, Conway, Sanders....) is no different than Donald Trump pleading the Fifth Amendment. And WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.
Don't we, Mr. President?
19
it's the standard Trump MO: he wants Sessions to be a stooge who will protect him, personally, like a Roy Cohn - someone with the insider knowledge,power, and steely chutzpah to do whatever it takes to insulate the President from the consequences of his own acts. so very New York... while Sessions, the Southerner, sees no personal advantage in falling on his sword for his liege.
14
I feel sure that Sessions wishes he were back in the Senate now.
I see his point. It is so annoying... everyday he cries "Will no-one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" but nothing happens.
15
Illegitimate President and Wannabe King
Too bad Sessions knows the law and trump does not. Every day trump demonstrates a complete lack of respect for our laws and is running the country like a mob boss with his gang of small "r" republicans. They lack the backbones to standup and demand the president obey our laws having sold themselves to the devil for a few pieces of gold. All the glitters is not gold, they need to fire the BUM and get back to the peoples work. I do not like Mr. Sessions, or his actions in the past and believe he represents the worst type of racist views held by a very small majority of Americans. The only difference now is these are not the views of a private citizen, but the chief law enforcement officer in the land
Remember trump (small "t ") was elected not by popular vote, but due to the Russians attacking our democracy at the polls and in the media. Unless we reverse course in the fall elections with an overwhelming political mandate we deserve what we get.
trump should be impeached, as he is in violation of the constitution, for not acting to protect the United States against foreign aggression and direct attacks on our infrastructure.
Voting is not a suggestion folks, our democratic institutions can only withstand this test if we get the #moremoneyme2's out of office. Term limits would also help to infuse some new energy into this Congress.
14
Excellent suggestions.
A normal president would welcome the investigation.
A normal president would uphold law of the land.
A normal president would not act so guilty.
4
Trump is now the founder of the; Pardon Me, Too movement with a growing membership.
We don't know yet how much Sessions might have been involved in the Russian influence scandal. Even if Sessions is just a very minor actor in this very bad play, it may explain his willingness to absorb Trump's constant jabs. If you are familiar with boxing, the weaker opponent clinches, holding on close so that the opponent can't do much damage.
That is the image I have of the Attorney General about now; hugging tight to the president, limiting the blows.
9
Goldsmith says "...I am not exactly sure at this point what the corrupt intent is. The fact that Trump is so open and brazen about all this actually might make it harder for Mueller to show corrupt intent, though we don’t know what Mueller knows.”
I guess Harvard Law has a pretty low bar for joining its faculty. Trump's intent has been made obvious by himself. If he was merely concerned about the investigation's impact on his foreign policy or whatever he would not have approached Comey "to let go" of the Flynn investigation, wouldn't have immediately fired Sally Yates, wouldn't have asked Comey about his "loyalty", and admitted to the Russian ambassador and NBC that the "Russian thing" was behind Comey's firing. These were all done before Mueller was appointed and months before it became obvious that Mueller's investigation was probing deep into Trump's swamp of corruption.
10
Sessions is a lawyer and Trump is an ignoramus about the law and many other subjects. So who is better qualified to understand the need for a recusal, Sessions or Trump? Trump's ignorance or deviousness or whatever it might be is getting tiresome.
8
Let's hope that Mr. Mueller is nearing the end of his investigation and will send his findings to the Justice Department (and to the public media) well before the November election. It is time for Mr Trump to own up to his bad behavior when he doesn't have the Congressional Republicans to back him up. Anyone who claims "No Collusion" and "witch hunt" as many times as Trump must be guilty of something. His Tweets, as this article said, simply continue to indict him, guilty or not.
7
Who would hire anyone to hang wallpaper if they knew in advance they only had one arm? Give Trump a break, any of us would be angry too if such a person showed up at the door the next day after we'd only talked to them on the phone with a roll tucked under that one arm, no matter how great a pattern they'd picked out was. It doesn't do any good unless it's hanging on the wall straight and even.
I'll pass in giving a critique of your paper-hanger analogy, and get right to the point. Trump nominated an experience attorney to be his Attorney General. Trump graduated from college and had lived in this country for decades as an adult when he hired Sessions. Anyone with any common intellect here knows that if your attorney general was part of your campaign he may not oversee an investigation of possible criminal activity within that campaign. Sessions properly recused himself. And this president knows that.
4
"So much time and money wasted, so many lives ruined … "
I find this the much more interesting line in this tweet? Who exactly is he referring to? The people he plans to pardon?
6
The more Trump bases on Sessions, the more Sessions will dig in his heels, backed by the code of honor the Senate has for its members, both past and present.
There is nothing Sessions would like more than to work under a president Pence, and they are biding their time following the old maxim: do not interrupt your enemy when he is making mistakes.
7
Trump's lawyers are just that. They are not trying to present an unbiased opinion of Presidential power. Their views on the subject are virtually meaningless in assessing whether or not Trump has untrammeled power to pardon himself (aside from impeachment) and others. Trump's words and actions are highly consistent with guilt. I wish Mueller would just get on and subpoena him. Trump is a pathological liar who can't keep track of his own lies and would be a prosecutor's dream witness. Let's get this to the SCOTUS asap.
7
Jeff Sessions has performed much better than many of us could have hoped for. Didn't like a lot of his votes in the Senate, but he is a paragon of honesty, upholding standards etc. in an otherwise despicable cabinet.
1
"An honest and innocent president could still conclude that an investigation like this was so without merit and so damaging to foreign policy that it should be ended, not out of self-interest."
Really?!
Russia interfered in our elections but we're not going to have a serious investigation of how it happened and who helped out?
It's damaging to "foreign policy"—with Russia, who did it? (Or with all the allies he's wrecking relations with?)
Sorry, but I don't see it. In some other, theoretical case, maybe, but NOT in this one. What kind of administration doesn't make a single move to find out what happened but obstructs at every turn instead?
7
If Donald Trump is not acting with corrupt intent he deserves an Academy Award: Best Portrayal of Guilt by an American Official. Ever. Step aside, Mr. Nixon.
13
Respectfully, given the absence of any evidence a year and a half into the hysteria, what the critics think about it being an admission of guilt is laughable. It is more of the position that since Trump was elected, he must be a criminal campaign. Revenge for Lock her Up and a waste of time and money. But, given the questions that Mueller apparently wants to ask, it looks like he is determined to find something on the president, whether it is a bologna charge of obstruction for firing Comey, something he had every right to do (so said Comey), asking him if he could find his way to taking it easy on Flynn, which he had every right to do - he could pardon Flynn if he wanted, or for Stormy Daniels, which seems to just be none of Mueller's business - how is that related to the Russia inquiry? Of course Trump wants it done.
The Rs who agreed to this investigation without limiting to actual interference by Russia, was a huge mistake. A few of them, maybe more, hate Trump too b/c of his campaign style and other behavior. They are not even (most of them - Sen. Graham is) screaming for a deeper investigation into FBI interference in the election - which seems pretty clear, at least by some highly placed employees.
This is not Watergate. It is Whitewater. Not Irangate, but the prolonged Benghazi investigation. I despised the Rs for the attempt to unseat Clinton in the '90s and I despise the Ds for attempt to unseat Trump. They two sides deserve each other, but the country doesn't.
You are way off. For example, Mueller is not investigating the Stormy Daniels situation. A lot of your other "facts" are untrue. This is a problem. People quote "facts" without doing research first. You are entitled to your opinion, but you look like foolish when you spread false information.
6
If Jack Goldsmiths argument was correct, that Trump could end the investigation because it was frivolous or might damage foreign relations, he would be capitulating to our most serious foreign adversary which would hardly fall under the banner of defending against foreign adversaries which the president is sworn to do. Mr. Goldsmiths timidity has always seemed strained beyond the breaking point. Trumps corrupt intent seems the easiest point to prove. He has never lifted a finger to defend this nation from a real adversary but instead spits his venom at our southern neighbors, Did Mexico try to pervert our election?
5
Trump, who is not an attorney, did not understand recusal issues for a potential attorney general who had worked on his campaign. Sessions, as a former US attorney, did. He failed to communicate this to Trump. I was once annoyed by a new employee who carefully failed to disclose some significant limitations prior to hire. I kept it to myself. Trump, unlike most politicians, thinks out-loud, a lot. It is odd.
Odd? Not in the context of the other cabinet appointments made by the traitor. NONE are qualified to hold the positions to which they were appointed. In that light, Sessions, who actually served this country in the past, no matter his multiple shortcomings, actually has real experience.
3
Mr. Trump is demonstrating to the world how guilty he is. Meanwhile getting rid of the Pruitt has fallen from the headlines while Pruitt continues to raid the cookie jar. Ivanka gets her trademarks, North Korea meeting looms. Mr. Trump leaves things in shambles and that is what he is doing to this country while the GOP sop up all the money.
When is there going to be more clear uproar from Democrats? Where is the uproar from the public?
6
If I were a member of a Board, and my executive director demeaned an employee like this in public, I'd be the first calling for the director to be fired. Too bad his fellow Republicans won't do the same. History will judge them much as it will judge Trump, and it will not be good.
7
Not mad at him for meeting with Russians.
Not mad at him for lying about it.
Mad at him for taking the decent and honorable and legally necessary step of recusing himself to avoid a clear conflict of interest.
5
How could it be acceptable to sanction possible treasonous acts?
2
Trump wants an attorney general that will obstruct justice. We want an attorney general that will seek justice. So far, neither of us will get what we want in an attorney general.
6
It’s amazing that we live in a day and age where we can call the president of the U.S. an unhinged lunatic.
Look, I get the legal argument for Trump: A president colludes with the hostile Russians, lies incessantly, fails to separate himself from his business interests which are intertwined with hostile Russia, bungles through the first year of his presidency by firing a record number of his administration; and then he blocks an investigation of him.
I get it: If we don’t like Trump, then the solution is, just don’t reelect him. But the problem with that is that the electoral process is based on having an educated electorate that is, for the most part, advised by a balanced press. Instead, today, we have a corrupt president who talks directly to Fox News, whose market is about 15 million in the swing states that can use the Electoral College leverage.
And any complaint that goes to the Supreme Court is addressed by a court that it stacked to Trump. Any legislation that is designed to address Trump’s power is curtailed by a Trump-worshipping Republican congress.
Allowing Trump to block investigations of him is pure idealism, that, if legal, is a flaw in our democracy that allows the democracy to end itself and be replaced by a fascist dictatorship.
Goldsmith, in his interpretation, is stating that an unstable president, with no legal training, can make a rational judgement about an investigation of him. This means that the Constitution allows its self-abrogation.
15
Charles,
Thanks for your extremely thoughtful comments. I really wonder what Thomas Jefferson et al would say if they returned from the dead and witnessed this train wreck.
A depressing response would be that, in the end, no number of checks and balances can stop a nation from committing political suicide if it's determined to do so. I think this November's election will go a long way toward determining the answer to our existential political question.
3
Not long ago, a Trump voter (family member) said he didn't understand why Trump could not see the reason for Sessions recusing himself.
He further said that he KNOWS Trump is innocent of any wrong doing, but he can't understand why Trump doesn't just let the process work out. It makes him seem guilty and liberals are loving it, he said.
When a Trump voter begins even for a bit to show any doubts about his presidential choice, it gives one hope that others will see the light at the end of then tunnel.
10
No Trump supporter, whether in person or on any comments board that I've read, has offered a decent answer to the question, "If he really has nothing to hide, why is he acting like he's got A LOT to hide?" If even Trump supporters are starting to ask themselves that question, that's a sign of at least some progress.
3
Donald Trump is in elected office because of at least five historical frauds:
1. The Birther Lie fraud
2. The 'Make America Great Again' fraud
3. The slave-state-concession Electoral College fraud
4. Republican-state voter suppression laws that suppressed enough votes to give him an Electoral College 'victory'
5. Kremlin assistance to the Trump campaign that effectively destabilized America through Trump's fake election
I'm certain I have left out several hundred other frauds, but Donald Trump is nothing more than a collection of fraudulent incidents, tax-evasions and scofflaw behaviors....just ask anybody who has done business with him.
And now he's defrauded the entire nation out of a Presidency.
Heckuva job, Republistan --- the newest Russian satellite republic.
D to go forward; R for reverse...into a total sewer of corruption, lying, greed, treason and moral turpitude.
108
And (6) -- James Comey's bizarre interpretation of ethics.
6
Precisely!!!
1
For chaste and pure, Socrates, come here to East Los Angeles, the Virgin Mary is painted on the side of practically every building here. That should calm your nerves and give you reassurance.
Jeff Sessions has no choice but to recuse himself. He could possibly redeem himself by helping our country get out from under POTUS. I don’t know what drives Sessions but to me it’s incredibly wrong to separate children from their parents period. We already spend way to much to incarcerate people especially non-violent drug users yet Sessions wants to throw the book at people.
It’s beyond crazy to have a president who does not understand the rule of law as evidenced by his treatment of the Attorney General.
13
Here is the "corrupt intent".
8
Trump will not fire Sessions and Sessions will not quit. They are at an impasse. If Trump did fire Sessions, all hell would break loose and Trump knows this very well. Sessions will hang in there as long as he wants.
5
Trump's treatment of Sessions and his open admission of his motives will damage Trump.Trump may have a solid base of 35-40% of the voters, but in my book that is not a majority and can only carry the elections if the rest of the qualified voters do not turn out in numbers.
I believe that this November there will be a record turnout and the politicians supporting Trump will be shown the door.
Trump was elected in a perfect storm. There were dissatisfied Republican and Democratic voters that wanted change for a number of different reasons and there was Russian interference along with a poorly run Democratic campaign.
It's different now. Most people understand what the result was - it's Trump and it ugly and scary.
I truly believe that starting this November things will be different.
6
What more does Mr. Mueller need than this latest tweet from President Guilty-As-Sin?
The dustbin of history will not have enough space in it to accommodate all the garbage from this "Administration".
23
Not only has Trump provided the most convincing evidence of obstruction of justice by his tweets and actions such as firing James Comey, lying about his role in writing the cover up statement of his son's, son-in-law's, and campaign manager's meeting with Russian agents during the campaign, he also publicly communicated with Putin, asking him to leak HRC's emails during the campaign. Trump's actions warrant removal from office.
15
"All but"? It IS an admission of guilt.
6
There is no doubt that Trump is the most combative president ever elected. He lives by the rule of 10 eyes for an eye. ANY one who says ONE word of criticism, or the slightest disagreement with his gut feelings, is excoriated, raked over hot coals, and demeaned.
A clear sign of an insecure president, whose response is commensurate with how quickly his fragile ego is wounded.
27
I just finished reading Mr. Bruni's nasty article about Bill Clinton, and making comparisons to Trump. Every day we read about more lies and corruption in the Trump administration while this GOP Congress remains mostly quiet and complicit. Can you imagine how the Republicans would be responding if the stuff that is going on now in this administration had been either Clinton or Obama at the helm?
24
Comparing Clinton to Trump is like comparing a speeding ticket to an aggravated felony.
9
A childish president for a childish country. Who says he doesn't represent America?
23
Sorry Rocky - I resent that overgeneralized insult. There's nothing childish about the way I live my life or the way my children live their adult lives. I'd say the same about most of my friends and colleagues. Yes Trump is very childish and so are many Americans who want simple answers and who blame everyone else for their problems as many children do. But don't forget - a majority of voters did not vote for Trump.
1
Innocent men do not clamor against investigations, unless...
20
Keep it up, Mr. Trump. You’re doing a great job of digging your own way into prison. Only a guilty person would rail so much against those who are following the law — Sessions had no choice but to recuse himself and that’s not easy for me to say because I generally have no use for Mr. Sessions as attorney general. His despicable decision to separate innocent children from their parents at the border is a human rights violation — no other way to look at it. However, once, and probably only once, Mr. Sessions correctly did his job by refusing himself in the Russian investigation. So, Mr. Trump, keep telling untruths, keep railing against the man you picked for attorney general, and keep watching Fox News. You wouldn’t know real news if you saw it.
21
Sessions is either a masochist or so intent on separating migrants and asylum seekers from their children he is willing to put up with any number of Trump's tantrums. I'm all for him being a whipping boy -- and would gladly wield the lash myself -- not because of his recusal from the Russia investigation but because he is guilty of crimes against humanity and should be prosecuted by the very Justice Department he is in charge of.
15
Simple, Trump wanted Sessions to do the dirty illegal stuff of obstruction. Trump doesn't want his fingerprints all over this obstruction thing. Rather Sessions goes to jail than me, said the unfit man.
13
Trump is angry at Sessions because the latter refused to join the former's criminal enterprise. Sessions' recusal obviously infuriated the felon-in-chief, who is fuming mad. This can't be healthy for Trump's circulatory system, or for the nation in general.
8
I suspect that if Jeff Sessions didn't have the dirt on Trump he would have been gone a long time ago.
26
Good for trump then that he is so forgetful :-)!
Trump is mad at Sessions for the same core reason that Trump does and says anything: Trump is a malignant narcissist.
Sessions followed ethical rules and guidelines. In Trump's mind, rules, laws, and ethics have no application to Trump. Rather, these things only exist to constrain the behavior of other people.
In Trump's mind, the only reality that exists is: What does he want? How can he get what he wants right now? Anything that gets in the way -- be it the law of the land, or proscriptions against racketeering, or laws against sexual assault, or fundamental tenets of basic human decency dictating that you not brag about your own daughter's "great body" you sick so-and-so -- none of that has anything to do with stopping Trump from getting his way.
Trump is mad because Sessions didn't violate ethical rules to protect Trump. That is only a sin in the mind of a moral monster. And he's the President.
10
Sessions isn't ethical. He's lied and is probably just as guilty as Trump is. Sessions is just trying to save his own hide.
3
I don't think Trump will fire Sessions because Sessions has something bigt on Trump; Something that he will gladly "fall on his sword" with his last shred of integrity to take down Trump.
8
How much more public humiliation can Sessions take? Imagine what a whip lashing he gets behind closed doors. He will forever regret signing on as one the first supporters of his cruel and condescending boss.
5
lie down with dogs...
Sessions supported Trump because he recognized in him the best opportunity for a President sympatheic to his racist ideology.
Cameron Smith has the right read.
“What’s happening here is you have a president saying, ‘I can do what I want to do.’ Well, are you going to do it or not? The answer is no because he does not have the political cover.”
If we take the Trump memo at face value, the check on the president isn't a legal question. The president's authoritative assertions would doubtfully pass muster in a court of law. However, they've never been tested because the first check on a president is strictly political. Congress has the authority to determine what the president can and cannot do within the confines of the Constitution. With the proper political will, Congress could impeach a president for no reason at all.
Trump has obviously provided ample reasons already. The Mueller investigation is almost a side note at this point. He'll submit a report eventually but the decision ultimately rests with Congress. Midterms are unlikely to alter the math much either. Congress is an extension of the public will. Republican Senators obviously aren't coming down off the fence until the political cost to them is greater than enabling Trump. We haven't met that threshold yet even with a Democratic wave.
The encouraging part about Sessions though is we do see the president politically constrained. I'm not sure what private conversations took place. However, "red-lines" have clearly been established. Whatever Trump might say, he's weaker than he wants you to believe.
12
Despite their protestations, the repubs are using the Mueller investigation AS cover. They will not be pushed to action, no matter how egregious the offenses, as long as they keep saying, "We have to see the final report." They have put their constitutional duties and responsibilities "om hold". Just today, Ryan came out with another "too little, too late" comment regarding the "liegate" fraudulent claim, in which he said, "“Chairman Gowdy’s initial assessment is accurate, but we have more digging to do,”. More digging to do?!? Right. In other words (we once termed "plain English"), they (repubs) will do NOTHING until after the November midterms or the release of a Mueller report, whichever comes first, but with clear emphasis on the report. This is not "governing", this is refusal to carry out the duties and responsibilities they swore to conduct. This is a congress of cowards, and Ryan has the "leading from behind" act down cold. Disgusting, bordering on treasonous.
2
"....the president may have something to hide." Yes, that is precisely what is going on. He (Trump himself) clearly crossed some lines in seeking Russian info to help his campaign. I'm sure that Mueller already has a closed case, testimony from multiple players, that Trump himself was fully aware of and encouraging just that. After all, Mr. Guliani is making the case openly that "everybody does this (digs up dirt on an opponent) so what's the big deal?" Well, it is a very big deal. I have been saying for well over a year that the end game on "collusion" will be a weak "we (I) didn't do anything wrong," that incontrovertible evidence including from Russians of exactly what happened will be produced by Mueller, and Trump will be found guilty and resign.
10
There is no doubt at all that Trump has tried in very public ways to obstruct justice. He has made it very clear (e.g., his latest tweet) that he has had the intention to obstruct justice. This part of it is clear. Did he actually commit a crime (other than obstruction of justice)? There is much evidence that casts suspicion, and the American people deserve to know.
23
I'd actually be amazed if he hasn't committed crimes, particularly financial crimes. As to collusion... He may have maintained the cover of plausible deniability.
If in fact Trump is not guilty of conspiracy than his goal to shut down the investigation as a waste of time would -perhaps- make the notion that he is NOT obstructing justice palatable. What is 100% clear is that his associates DID attempt to coordinate with Russian agents. His own son coordinated with Russian agents to tilt the election. The obvious conclusion is that he would want to stop the investigation in order to protect his son. Whether you can PROVE that he is obstructing justice requires more information than we have. Whether it appears likely that he IS obstructing justice is clear. Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves.
8
The president and his cabinet make Nixon look like goody two-shoes in comparison! What did we do to deserve this?
10
not enough people voted.
10
Joyce: "We" don't deserve this - it was that dang minority that deserves this!
2
don't forget- it was not only turnout and division on the Democratic side, it was where the Trump vote was concentrated: in overrepresented, rural, and MidWestern states, resulting in the distortion of an Electoral College win.
in hindsight, I'm reconsidering how I feel about the Civil War.
Sessions knows where the bodies are buried. If Trump fires him Sessions and Mueller would have a sit down and the discussion would be about Russian collusion. Trump would not survive and he knows it.
22
Shouldn't it be the obligation of our head of Justice to tell Mueller what he knows of illegal moves anyway? If he knows and keeps silent isn't he an accomplice after the fact?
3
Sessions is holding onto that "get out of jail" card, until just the right time to play it.
Why is the bar so high to prove obstruction when the bar is so low for everything else this President touches? Didn't Sessions have to recuse himself, not only, because he participated in the Trump campaign but also because he lied, under oath, when Al Franken asked if he ever met with Russians? Weren't the "lives ruined" in Trump's tweet because they lied about contact with Russians not because they met with Russians? Never mind acting like patriots or even elected representatives sworn to uphold the laws set forth in the constitution, when are the Republicans going act like citizens of this once great nation? So many questions but even more questionable characters. Tune in tomorrow if your stomach can handle it.
32
Trump’s tweet, like the firing of Comey, is another unforced error by Trump.
Trump’s lawyers aren’t afraid of perjury, they are afraid that the willfully ignorant Trump will tell the truth.
48
Trump will never do anything that he might be held accountable for.
10
It is an admission of guilt. What else?
14
Once the 2018 election is over
Trump may feel free to fire Sessions, that is unless a huge Democratic sweep happens. In that case he will be kissing Sessions feet urging him to stay.
9
Sometimes elite scholars enjoy tying themselves into elaborate knots of logic and possibility because it makes solving the puzzle more fun. But seriously, the question of whether or not Trump is acting guilty because he's guilty, or because he's an "innocent president" concerned about damage a meritless investigation will have on our country's interests is about as simple as it gets. We've seen this guy for years. We know who he is. It takes some courage to admit that we've given him this much power over us, but the truth is staring us in the face.
74
McCabe begging for immunity.
That’s the lead
2
I thought Sessions recused himself because he was caught lying about meeting with Russians during the campaign.
34
Trump like those lie for him and cove his behind. He is made at Jeff Session because Session cannot protect him.
4
Collusion? He read or heard the word somewhere. The issue isn't collusion.
The issue is treason. It's one of the two enumerated crimes that appear at Article II, Section 4 of the United States Constitution as constituting specific grounds for impeachment. The other is bribery. Bribery's partner is extortion.
From everything we have learned and read and that has been disclosed all three of those crimes have been committed and some are ongoing. Every favorable action by a foreign nation with regard to any and every business interest of everyone in that family constitutes extortion and bribery, bribery and extortion and then, in the very fact that those crimes are being committed, they constitute, day in and day out, treason that comes atop the treason that occurred not in colluding with but in conspiring with a foreign power to influence and change the course of an American presidential election.
The right words here do not include collusion. The right words here are treason, bribery, extortion and, of course, obstruction.
162
Thank you for your clarity.
1
Trump epitomizes the old saw that anyone can become President of the United States. Unfortunately, we used to think that it meant that if you worked hard you could get anywhere. We never thought that it meant that an uneducated, thoughtless, selfish, corrupt plebian completely unsuited for the poisition could also be elected.
55
What makes this doubly interesting is Trump's cowardice when it comes to firing Sessions. This implies that Sessions has something on Trump -- perhaps the same blackmail material possessed by the Russians -- and Trump does not dare go too far.
32
I heard an interview with Sessions on NPR the day before the election. It was nauseating to hear him fawn all over Trump.
I hope Sessions spends the rest of his life regretting his decision to become Trump's lapdog.
52
I have no sympathy for Jefferson Davis Beauregard Sessions III.
Having made that clear, the Attorney General is in a Catch-22, something that he created in his greedy zealousness in 2016 when he met—twice—with Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassdor. He thought the contacts either innocent or guilty and his surreptitious stepping around the meetings suggests that he knew that contact with a foreign government—especially on a presidential campaign—would be certain to enlist the interest of America’s intelligence agencies and, yes, President Obama’s F.B.I. If Sessions was innocent, why, one asks, did he lie—twice—about it?
Donald Trump doesn’t want an attorney general whose credentials and reputation for integrity are beyond the strictest review. He desires a Roy Cohn-style manipulator, a guy whose fortunes are made in the shady side of the street.
Sessions isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer—far from it—and his necessary, forced recusal was his grim acknowledgement that he had no choice in the matter. That his boss is less than pleased with the recusal is his problem. It’s not only a “personal” problem, it’s also both a legal and Constitutional problem with political, moral and governmental ramifications.
It’s more than obvious that AG Sessions is on the outside of an administration in which he was supposed to have the president’s daily ear.
Now, all Sessions gets is a daily earful. Pardon me if my well of sympathy is running on empty (thank you, Jackson Browne).
51
Sessions does not work for Trump, he is guided (supposed to be) by the Constitution.
25
Trump maybe right about the fact that he didn't use Russia to win the election, however the fact that he constantly talks about shutting down the investigation makes one question why is that so important if he has nothing to hide.
Since he has business dealings all over the world it has to make you wonder if he might have been working with the Russians to launder money for them or some other criminal activity which would make him guilty of a crime that would have prevented him from running for president should that be found out.
49
". . . it has to make you wonder if he might have been working with the Russians to launder money for them . . . ." Isn't that (at the least) what those Trump Tower condo deals were all about, but which has faded from public reporting consequent to the rest of the brown muck POTUS generates?
6
Trump Tower was built with illegal gotten Russian gains. For one example. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-history-of-donald-trumps-busin...
Should Trump need to replace Sessions, Kate McKinnon is available for at least the next few months.
33
Wonderful. She will do a great job, and folks will barely notice because her impression is that good.
12
I was hoping Ms. McKinnon would replace Betsy DeVos.
Except folks would notice as the new Betsy would give a one word answer to a yes-or-no question.
Traditionally, presidents allowed the Justice Department to discharge its duties while presidents tended to matters foreign and domestic. The only obvious hands-on interference by a president was Nixon’s ham-handed meddling with the DOJ during the Watergate affair when his dictatorial interference signaled his own guilt. Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre put the noose around his own neck.
This president’s pique at his AG is a running open sore that won’t heal. He holds Sessions responsible for all things related to Flynn, Manafort, Page, Papadopoulis, Cohen and Daniels and the snowballing revelations about the investigation that brings matters not just to the White House but inside the Oval Office itself. In a rare display of backbone, the Senate Republicans have warned the president to lay off one of their own, lest he serve out this term without an AG. Chastened, the president backed down, but not without another broadside at his AG. Sessions is suffering a public death by a thousand cuts from his scornful and dismissive boss. His Alabama Senate seat, now held by Doug Jones, never looked more inviting.
38
Why are you putting on the front page a story about a tweet that confirms a sentiment that Trump has repeatedly expressed? Don't keep feeding the beast.
69
I completely agree, but since 45 never gives press conferences, or actually talks to the Public in public, this is all we have of his "words" and "thoughts". Thus I guess we react AS IF he was talking. Not really talking though, huh.
10
What should really trouble Americans is the Senate Republicans’ defiant stance towards the president about his threat to fire AG Sessions. In a rare display of fortitude and backbone, the Republican Senators read the riot act to this president, warning him of damaging political fallout if he cashiers Sessions. By flexing their muscles, they served notice to the president that he cannot do whatever he pleases and that are rules of law and boundaries of common decency.
If the Republican Senate had taken this attitude towards the Mueller investigation, the FBI and intelligence agencies there’s no way the president would have attempted a naked power grab of American government or trying to interpret the Constitution for his own selfish purposes. Congressional Republicans have to understand that country and flag are far more important than appeals to their base.
127
Senate GOP have said they will NOT confirm a new AG if Sessions has fired, so that route is closed, hence, his frustration with Sessions. That he is his own worst enemy is something he can't admit, as Trump is unable to admit error.
27
I would hardly credit Republicans with "a rare display of fortitude and backbone" when their only reason for standing up to Trump was their fear of "damaging political fallout."
Damaging the people, the nation, and the planet remain perfectly acceptable to these craven sycophants. Like Trump, they're far more interested in ruling than in governing.
51
Nice job writing this early pick! Senate Republicans are rallying behind Sessions because they see him as one of their own. They can't make Trump stop griping about Sessions, but they can threaten not to confirm a new Attorney General.
After their dirty trick of not giving President Obama's Supreme Court nominee a hearing, it's a bit satisfying to see Trump threatened similarly.
17
Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind.
--William Shakespeare
179
When I first glanced at the article, I thought the title read "Mad House Memo." After my second cup of coffee, I read the article. It would appear my initial, under-caffeinated glance was all too accurate.
The White House has become a mad house. And no amount of drink, caffeinated or alcoholic, will change that fact.
Please vote this November. Our best hope is to immobilize 45 and minimize the damage.
132
In watching this dragged-out fiasco, one must ask the extremely simple question... why has Trump refused to cooperate fully with Mueller and get the investigation completed so as to remove it as a distraction from his presidency?
The only two answers I can come up with are that he is ignorantly pigheaded or that he is guilty as sin.
Actually there's a third possibility; he is both.
242
There's a fourth possibility. A clinical or sub-clinical condition of a narcissistic personality (disorder). True narcissists are extremely thin-skinned and combative about criticism and accusations. That includes any suggestion that an accomplishment wasn't of their doing. Narcissists see themselves as successful, unbelievable, super-smart, attractive etc. and are dismissive of others.
These thoughts and feelings pervade the mind most importantly on a subconscious level.
2
There is a fourth possibility, although even slimmer: Trump likes distractions. It could be all his outrage is an act to maintain the Mueller investigation as a focus of media/national attention as he goes about wrecking the presidency, the government and the nation.
4
Other questions which point to the possibility of conspiracy with the Russians are: Why isn't Trump, as the president, doing anything to protect our country from another attack by Putin and his government?
Why does he refuse to criticize Putin or impose sanctions against the Russians?
And why all the meetings with Russians followed by lies about doing so?
5
Mr. Trump should either fire Jeff Sessions or shut his mouth. By not taking action, Mr. Trump's incessant whining and moaning about his attorney-general only demonstrates his weakness and inability to control his own administration.
150
I'm sure Trump is trying to make life so uncomfortable for Sessions that the AGOTUS will decide he doesn't need this and will quit, saving Trump the trouble that would come with firing him.
15
DT's running off at the mouth is nothing more than cowardice and deflection. He's the strangest, and the weakest, "Precedent" we've had in our long history.
10
Joseph: Trump is a master bully. He knows Jeff Sessions' position as Attorney General is his ultimate glory and will accept, accommodate every slur hurled by Donald Trump. Jeff Sessions is as much a power-hungry megalomaniac as Trump. Sessions is too in to himself to bravely resign.He wants to make the U.S. Department of Justice in his "own image" just as much as Donald Trump wants to make the Presidency- in his: I do not feel one ounce of pity for Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III.
20
It's obvious why Trump is angry at Sessions. Trump is used to having the lawyers he "hires" do whatever is necessary to get him out of tight situations. Oh, you say, but Sessions isn't his personal lawyer? Well, NEWSFLASH, Trump doesn't really understand how gov't works. He's running the country like he would his business. Unfortunately, that's what his voters believe they hired him to do. He is CEO in chief, and there is no contradiction between dictatorial behavior and being a CEO. Unlike what some people claim, you can be a tyrant and run a successful business.
I don't care if Trump's intent is malicious or not. I don't care if there is technically a case for collusion or cover up or not. Trump's entire career is a case study on the difference between legal and ethical, and what we need to see is how his business was conducted. We need to see his TAX returns. The man declared bankruptcy 6 times, and used all kinds of tricks for avoiding paying taxes.
Al Capone was prosecuted for tax evasion. Trump's vaunted successes came at other people's expense, and if the press would give as much unrelenting coverage to all his sketchy wheeling and dealing as into his tweets, we would be better off.
184
"Unlike what some people claim, you can be a tyrant and run a successful business." Most certainly true---However, in Trump's case, multiple bankruptcies would negate this conclusion. Now, he is bankrupting the US for his personal gain and the illicit gain of his co-grifters.
21
With so many leaks happening in this administration, where, oh where, is the leaker who can give us his tax returns??
13
@DebbieR: Amen. We have been saturated by sophomoric Tweets parading-as-Headline too long: It's space filler. We need "unrelenting" coverage on his long history of shady business practices and pounding questions on his Taxes: Media can analyse Tweets but not offer the same about THE TAXES. Media; Do. Your. Job.
11
Any competent vetting of Sessions would have quickly shown that recusing himself wasn't a choice, it was regulation. But Trump chooses people based on loyalty, looks and how they sound on TV. Competence is the opposite of this administration, both in whom they choose and how they choose them.
67
Just elaborating on Larryman's thoughts. Trump and his transition team were also incompetent and lazy. They should have concluded that recusing himself would be necessary before the appt. Trump always wants to blame others for his own mistakes. Trump and his team were not prepared for the transition as they were lazy , disorganized, under manned and had the wrong people. They did not think they were going to win and Trump and his circle always underestimated how hard being President is. For 99% of the salaried positions in corporate America he would have never been hired or if hired then fired in a week for incompetence and insubordination.
2
Trump always plays the victim, the aggrieved one. Never will he admit error nor back down from a statement revealed.
3
I think the un that works best is "unserious "
Initially, I thought Sessions might do well to resign from working with such a manipulative President.
Now, however, it's clear that by enduring Trump's abuse and holding his position, Sessions is actually doing our country a service. The investigation continues.
Sessions may well see the day Trump is ousted from office, at which point all of Trump's abusive texting would just be the prattle of a lunatic.
113
You think. Until you see the indictments come down on the corrupt officials from Obama's admin.
If Obama officials did anything illegal they should be indicted.
If Trump and his cronies did anything illegal they should be indicted. Oh wait, five members of the Trump administration have already been indicted and all but Manafort have pleaded guilty....
Remember this conversation when Trump leaves office, is indicted on 20 charges of money laundering and obstruction, and runs off to Russia to live with Putin...
POTUS doth protest too much!
Though a liberal Democrat, I was initially patriotic enough to hope that the president of the United States of America did not, himself, engage in a conspiracy to allow Russia to influence or interfere in our elections. One outcome of Mueller's investigation that I previously considered highly probable is that Trump, in his ignorance and unpreparedness, and guided by the shady people he consorted with from his casino days, did not get involved enough with campaign hiring and these bad actors (Manafort, Papadopoulos, Carter Page, etc.) slipped through without proper vetting. So, his campaign might be guilty, but he might only have been oblivious and therefore "not guilty."
Trump's behavior, actions, tweets and rhetoric have all but washed away that hope for me. He carries on like a very guilty person with no hope that any serious investigation will exonerate him.
91
I don't see any guilt in Trump's actions. I actually can't believe the energy he has and how hard he works. He has a lot of common sense. I guess he can use it because he is not a conflicted politician. Now in Comey and Brennan, I do see guilt.