Jeff Sessions official picture.
As you may know there has been trouble brewing between President Donald Trump and his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions. Last week Trump publicly bashed Sessions in a New York Times article saying that he never would have hired him if he knew that he was going to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. Trump has continued to sporadically criticize Sessions including a pair of new tweets this morning.
Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - "quietly working to boost Clinton." So where is the investigation A.G. @seanhannity— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2017
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails & DNC server) & Intel leakers!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2017
This is a fairly shocking turn around for the president because Jeff Sessions had been one of his first and most loyal allies and was a huge help for him during his campaign. Before the inauguration, Sessions was largely seen as one of Trump's best political friends and huge asset. But now rumors are flying and there is a chance that Sessions could resign or get fired. For right now Sessions seems like he wants to stay but who knows where this is heading?
So what is going on here? I think there are a couple of possibilities. The first is that this is some kind of 3-d chess move to mislead the media and get them to cover something other then the Russia conspiracy theory. I have noticed that Trump often does exactly that. Someone will leak that someone in his cabinet is unhappy and threatening to quit and then nothing comes of it. That could mean that Sessions is in on it and knows that his job is actually secure.
This public spat also would have an advantage for Trump. It gives cover for Sessions to act freely on issues such as the Russia investigation. If Trump and Sessions were getting along it would make it harder for him to act on Robert Muller, the special consul investigating Russian links to the election. This gives Sessions cover in case he decides to fire Muller or other people accused of leaking in the Justice Department. It's very clear that Trump wants Muller gone and he can get rid of him for cause at any point, but he also knows that it would go much better for him if Sessions was the one to pull the plug on the phony Russia investigation.
At first I thought that was the more likely possibility, but as this spat goes on I think that the more likely explanation is that Trump really is upset with Sessions. The fact that this dispute is so public and headline news makes me think that it's a little too on the nose to be anything other than what it appears to be.
Plus, I do think that Trump has a reason to be upset. The recusal from the Russia investigation was a huge mistake by Sessions and one that gave some credibility to what would have otherwise been regarded as a conspiracy theory. I am guessing that the Russia story would have been completely dead if Sessions had simply drawn a line and said, "Hell no, I did nothing wrong". There would be no special prosecutor, no further leaks and no media headlines and the Democrats wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it other than gnash their teeth and deal with it. But he did what so many Republicans do when under unfounded and unethical attacks by the Democrats. He backed down, despite the obvious downsides in doing so.
Even without that Sessions has been a bit of a disappointment as Attorney General. I know I thought that we were going to get a pit bull who would tear into the various political scandals that tarred the 2016 election, but instead we got a very quiet toy poodle who hasn't gone after any of the major players. I fully expected that Hillary Clinton, at the very least, would be under a microscope at this point. This is a sentiment that I have heard elsewhere, though Sessions always had his defenders that said "just wait, he will come through". But my desire to wait for results is growing thin, and apparently the same is true for our president.
In Sessions defense, it's possible that there is a lot going on behind the scenes and he could be working very hard to prosecute the criminals in the Democratic Party, the previous administration and so on. But he isn't making his case to the public and, apparently, the President himself.
This is not a good thing for his job security. As many pundits and experts noted after Trump was elected, there was likely to be a high turnover rate in the Trump administration. Trump is running his presidency like he ran his business and people that don't measure up, like James Comey and Sean Spicer, end up by the wayside. If Sessions can't prove to Trump that he's an asset he's as good as gone.
The problem Trump has is that firing Sessions has consequences. A lot of people still like and admire Jeff Sessions, myself included. He was an amazing senator and still commands the loyalty of a lot of people on the right. Indeed, the conservative places I hang out online are more divided on this issue then I have ever seen, baring the Trump administration's bombing of the Syrian airbase in response to the chemical attack. If Trump does fire Sessions, he's going to make a lot of his fans upset.
Trump also has to worry about finding a replacement. The short list I have heard is Rudy Guiliani and Ted Cruz, both of which have problems. Guiliani is very qualified for the role, but would never pass confirmation. Cruz is qualified as well and the Senate would confirm him just to get rid of him, but he's a political enemy of Trump. Neither of those are good choices and after that there aren't many other good options.
I am hoping that this whole situation is a minor bump that will be smoothed over in time. Sessions may end up moving in the direction Trump wants him too and I hope that everything works out. If it doesn't though, I have to say that I am disappointed in the whole situation. I like Jeff Sessions but I also understand that he hasn't lived up to his promise and has been a disappointment. If he has to go then so be it.
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