Tag: Jeff Sessions

Trump: I wish I didn’t pick Jeff Sessions as attorney general

The following article was posted on the Axios website May 30, 2018:

In a string of tweets on Wednesday morning, President Trump stated that he wished he picked someone else other than Jeff Sessions to be his attorney general after quoting an appearance by Rep. Trey Gowdy on CBS’ “This Morning.”

Rep. Trey Gowdy, “I don’t think so, I think what the President is doing is expressing frustration that Attorney General Sessions should have shared these reasons for recusal before he took the job, not afterward. If I were the President and I picked someone to be the country’s chief law enforcement officer, and they told me later, ‘oh by the way I’m not going to be able to participate in the most important case in the office, I would be frustrated too…and that’s how I read that – Senator Sessions, why didn’t you tell me before I picked you. There are lots of really good lawyers in the country, he could have picked somebody else!” And I wish I did!
— President Trump’s three Wednesday morning tweets

Continue reading “Trump: I wish I didn’t pick Jeff Sessions as attorney general”

Trump Asked Sessions to Retain Control of Russia Inquiry After His Recusal

The following article by Michael S. Schmidt and Julie Hirschfeld Davis was posted on the New York Times website May 29, 2018:

Attorney General Sessions announced in March 2017 that he was recusing himself from oversight of the Russia investigation and any other campaign-related matters. Credit: Doug Mills, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — By the time Attorney General Jeff Sessions arrived at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for dinner one Saturday evening in March 2017, he had been receiving the presidential silent treatment for two days. Mr. Sessions had flown to Florida because Mr. Trump was refusing to take his calls about a pressing decision on his travel ban.

When they met, Mr. Trump was ready to talk — but not about the travel ban. His grievance was with Mr. Sessions: The president objected to his decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. Mr. Trump, who had told aides that he needed a loyalist overseeing the inquiry, berated Mr. Sessions and told him he should reverse his decision, an unusual and potentially inappropriate request. Continue reading “Trump Asked Sessions to Retain Control of Russia Inquiry After His Recusal”

Sessions told White House that Rosenstein’s firing could prompt his departure, too

The following article by Sari Horwitz, Rosalind S. Helderman, Josh Dawsey and Matt Zapotosky was posted on the Washington Post website April 20, 2018:

Credit: Screengrab

Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently told the White House he might have to leave his job if President Trump fired his deputy, Rod J. Rosenstein, who oversees the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the exchange.

Sessions made his position known in a phone call to White House counsel Donald McGahn last weekend, as Trump’s fury at Rosenstein peaked after the deputy attorney general approved the FBI’s raid April 9 on the president’s personal attorney Michael Cohen. Continue reading “Sessions told White House that Rosenstein’s firing could prompt his departure, too”

Mystery surrounds Sessions appointee to FBI investigation

The following article by Katie Bo Williams was posted on the Hill website April 6, 2018:

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Questions surround the work of U.S. Attorney John Huber, who is playing a key role in one of the multiple investigations surrounding President Trumpand the Justice Department.

Known as a no-nonsense prosecutor whose primary experience is fighting violent crime, the U.S. attorney for Utah is an appointee of President Obama whose job was saved by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) when Trump asked state attorneys to resign so that he could field a new slate of professionals.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions quietly tapped Huber — apparently last fall — to work in tandem with the Justice Department’s inspector general to determine whether conservative allegations of abuse at the FBI and the Justice Department merit investigation.  Continue reading “Mystery surrounds Sessions appointee to FBI investigation”

Jeffrey Toobin to his former professor Alan Dershowitz: ‘What’s happened to you?’

The following article by Derek Hawkins was posted on the Washington Post website March 22, 2018:

Back in June 2017, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh spent many minutes on his radio show extolling Alan Dershowitz, the renowned defense lawyer and Harvard Law School professor, for taking “100 percent Trumpist” positions on the Trump administration’s legal tangles.

“I don’t know what has happened to Professor Dershowitz,” Limbaugh said of the famed civil libertarian. “But whatever it is, I like it.” Continue reading “Jeffrey Toobin to his former professor Alan Dershowitz: ‘What’s happened to you?’”

Three of Mueller’s witnesses say Jeff Sessions lied to Congress

The following article by Tommy Christopher was posted on the ShareBlue Media website March 18, 2018:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has a lot to answer for, and almost no one on his side.

Trump spent his weekend assailing special counsel Robert Mueller. But the investigation just ramped up again as three witnesses claim Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied to Congress.

In November, Sessions testified that he “pushed back” against former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos’ proposal for the campaign to work with the Russians. But in the same breath, he also denied even remembering that the meeting with Papadopoulos took place.

And in a new report from Reuters, three witnesses who have spoken to either Mueller’s team or congressional investigators challenged Sessions’ claims. Continue reading “Three of Mueller’s witnesses say Jeff Sessions lied to Congress”

ICE spokesman resigns, citing fabrications by agency chief, Sessions about California immigrant arrests

The following article by Meagan Flynn and Avi Selk was posted on the Washington Post website March 13, 2018:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions scolded Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who warned the city of a possible ICE raid last month. (Reuters)

A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has resigned over what he described as “false” and “misleading” statements made by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and ICE acting director Thomas D. Homan.

James Schwab worked out of the agency’s San Francisco office until he abruptly quit last week. He said he had been told to “deflect” questions about the Oakland, Calif., mayor’s interference with an ICE raid last month and to refer reporters to statements from Sessions and Homan that suggested that hundreds of “criminals” (“criminal aliens,” Homan called them) escaped capture in Northern California because the mayor tipped them off. Continue reading “ICE spokesman resigns, citing fabrications by agency chief, Sessions about California immigrant arrests”

Sessions invoking secession sets his critics up to revisit concerns about the AG’s history on race

The following article by Eugene Scott was posted on the Washington Post website March 8, 2018:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions scolded Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who warned the city of a possible ICE raid last month. (Reuters)

While attacking his political rivals in California on Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a bizarre comparison that left some questioning the former senator from Alabama’s recollection of American history.

He was speaking before law enforcement officials at the California Peace Officers Association’s annual gathering, a day after suing California over sanctuary city laws that he said violated the Constitution, obstructed immigration enforcement and put officers in danger. Continue reading “Sessions invoking secession sets his critics up to revisit concerns about the AG’s history on race”

Mueller investigation examining Trump’s apparent efforts to oust Sessions in July

The following article by Devlin Barrett, Josh Dawsey and Rosalind S. Helderman was posted on the Washington Post website February 28, 2018:

Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III is investigating President Trump’s efforts to belittle and potentially drive out Attorney General Jeff Sessions. (Reuters)

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has been investigating a period of time last summer when President Trump seemed determined to drive Attorney General Jeff Sessions from his job, according to people familiar with the matter who said that a key area of interest for the inquiry is whether those efforts were part of a months-long pattern of attempted obstruction of justice.

In recent months, Mueller’s team has questioned witnesses in detail about Trump’s private comments and state of mind in late July and early August of last year, around the time he issued a series of tweets belittling his “beleaguered” attorney general, these people said. The thrust of the questions was to determine whether the president’s goal was to oust Sessions in order to pick a replacement who would exercise control over the investigation into possible coordination between Russia and Trump associates during the 2016 election, these people said. Continue reading “Mueller investigation examining Trump’s apparent efforts to oust Sessions in July”

Trump lashes out at Sessions over alleged surveillance abuses 1:43 Trump calls Sessions’ su

The following article by Matt Zapotosky and Karoun Demirjian was posted on the Washington Post website February 28, 2018:

President Trump on Feb. 28 criticized hi attorney general for his decision to have the Justice Dept. inspector general investigate alleged surveillance abuse. (Reuters)

President Trump on Wednesday lashed out again at his attorney general, questioning why the man he picked as the country’s top law enforcement official was relying on the Justice Department’s inspector general to review alleged surveillance abuses.

In a Twitter message that took some liberties with the facts, Trump wrote, “Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!” Continue reading “Trump lashes out at Sessions over alleged surveillance abuses 1:43 Trump calls Sessions’ su”