On a recent June afternoon, after a long day of running for the Senate, Jeff Sessions retired to a corner booth at a Ruby Tuesday in the south Alabama town of …
Nov. 7, 2018: Sessions resigns as Attorney General. Sessions resigned at the request of the President on Nov. 7, submitting his resignation in an undated letter, saying he was “honored” to …
Nov 09, 2018 · What Happened This Week: L ess than 24 hours after U.S. midterm elections wrapped up, Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at the request of President Donald Trump. Sessions’ chief of staff...
Nov 08, 2018 · President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday, replacing the head of the Department of Justice with his chief of staff Matthew G. Whitaker. "At your request, I am submitting my resignation," Sessions wrote in …
Nov 08, 2018 · Ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions left the Justice Department tonight while staff, including political appointees, waved goodbye. He exited through the department’s courtyard to applause....
Matthew Whitaker | |
---|---|
Preceded by | Jeff Sessions |
Succeeded by | William Barr |
Chief of Staff to the United States Attorney General | |
In office September 22, 2017 – November 7, 2018 |
Jeffrey A. Rosen | |
---|---|
Preceded by | William Barr |
Succeeded by | Monty Wilkinson (acting) |
38th United States Deputy Attorney General | |
In office May 22, 2019 – December 23, 2020 |
William Barr | |
---|---|
President | George H. W. Bush |
Preceded by | Donald B. Ayer |
Succeeded by | George J. Terwilliger III |
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel |
In part because of his loyalty during the campaign, President-elect Trump nominated Sessions to be attorney general. In a statement, Trump called Sessions a “world-class legal mind” and said he is “greatly admired by legal scholars and virtually everyone who knows him.”
Taking the stage with Trump at an Alabama rally, then-Senator Sessions became the first sitting senator to endorse the controversial candidate. “I told Donald Trump this isn’t a campaign,” Sessions told the crowd. “This is a movement.”
L ess than 24 hours after U.S. midterm elections wrapped up, Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at the request of President Donald Trump. Sessions’ chief of staff Matthew Whitaker was asked to take the helm of the Justice Department until a new Attorney General is confirmed by the Senate. Cue the political firestorm.
Given his role in the Trump campaign, Sessions had recused himself from overseeing the special counsel’s investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election, leaving oversight of the Mueller investigation to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
The Democrats will scream about “obstruction of justice,” but there’s not much they can do about it until January when the next Congress gets sworn in — and even then, their options are limited.
That Donald Trump is now in a stronger position because a loyalist is ready to take the reins of the Mueller investigation. If you don’t think Mueller expected a move like this from Trump post-midterms, you don’t know Robert Mueller. For Trump, the danger remains, it just changes shape.
This op-ed Whitaker wrote for CNN back in August 2017, before he joined the Trump administration. It’s the closest to an unvarnished opinion on the Mueller Investigation from Whitaker that we’re likely to get.
Democrats winning back the House isn’t entirely bad for Trump. He now has a concrete enemy in Congress to do battle with, and he gets to make the Mueller investigation a partisan fight between him and Congressional Democrats, which is where he thrives.
I enjoyed those 12 hours of downtime we got from US politics on Wednesday morning. Really rejuvenating.
Sessions also sent more judges and prosecutors to the southern border to help with processing illegal border crossers. AP. In his resignation letter, Sessions described restoring and upholding the "rule of law" as his most important legacy as attorney general.
Sessions parlayed that support to become attorney general, a role he held at the state level in Alabama. The president's priorities and Sessions' mirrored each other. Both tough on immigration, the opioid crisis, and crime, both men have a pro-law enforcement perspective.
Jeff Sessions' former chief of staff, Matt Whitaker, now the acting attorney general, has in the past publicly criticized the Special Counsel's probe. Alex Wong/Getty Images, FILE.
Whitaker in a statement called Sessions as a dedicated public servant and said he is committed to leading the Justice Department with the "highest ethical standards.". "It is a true honor that the President has confidence in my ability to lead the Department of Justice as Acting Attorney General. I am committed to leading a fair Department with ...
Rosenstein soon appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller to oversee the Russia probe, angering the president. Win McNamee/Getty Images.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions waits to speak at the Eighth Judicial District Conference, Aug. 17, 2018, in Des Moines, Iowa. Following Sessions' resignation, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Whitaker to recuse himself from the probe. "Given his previous comments advocating defunding and imposing limitations on ...
Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2018. Sessions was the first sitting U.S. senator to endorse then-candidate Trump.
Attorney General Sessions has been a dedicated public servant for over 40 years. It has been a privilege to work under his leadership. He is a man of integrity who has served this nation well.”. share with Facebook.
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions wanted to try to stay until the end of the week, but White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told him no. Kelly was very firm it had to be today , according to administration officials.
The insider described Sessions being “at peace” with the decision he made on recusal and having no regrets about taking the job as attorney general. Sessions hopes that he will be remembered for upholding the “integrity and core responsibilities of the Department of Justice,” the source said.
Sessions wanted to stay until the end of the week. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions wanted to try to stay until the end of the week, but White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told him no. Kelly was very firm it had to be today, according to administration officials.
The resignation letter submitted by Sessions today is not the old resignation letter that the former attorney general previously offered and President Trump rejected, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN. There is no secret meaning to the fact that the letter is undated, the source says, adding, things were simply moving fast.
While Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will no longer oversee the Russia investigation, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions privately believed that Rosenstein has handled the investigation properly after it was dropped “right in his lap,” according to a source familiar with Sessions’ thinking.
Jeff Sessions, once one of President Trump’s most loyal and trusted advisers before infuriating Trump over his recusal from the Russia investigation, has resigned as attorney general at the request of the president. “At your request, I am submitting my resignation,” Sessions wrote in a Wednesday letter to Trump.
In March 2017, shortly after taking office, Sessions removed himself from the Russia investigation, citing his involvement as a high-profile surrogate and adviser to Trump’s campaign. The investigation into the Russian government’s attempted meddling in the election has dogged the president since he took office.
Sources told Fox News that Trump did not call Sessions, but rather White House Chief of Staff John Kelly informed him of the president’s request that he resign. Sessions is expected to leave the Justice Department by the end of the day, and Whitaker is expected to take over immediately.
Sessions' departure from the Justice Department was not unexpected, as the president has signaled that there would be changes to his administration after the midterms. But no one faced more rumors of an imminent dismissal than Sessions. For more than a year, Trump has repeatedly lambasted Sessions over his recusal, ...
In March 2017, shortly after taking office, Sessions removed himself from the Russia investigation, citing his involvement as a high-profile surrogate and adviser to Trump’s campaign. Jeff Sessions resigns at attorney general by Fox News on Scribd. Scribd. of 1.
Trump and his aides have denied any collusion with the Russians. Sources told Fox News Whitaker will now be overseeing the Russia investigation.
It’s unclear if Special Counsel Robert Mueller was informed before the Sessions announcement. Democrats expressed alarm after the announcement. Upon hearing the news of Sessions’ resignation, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters that “protecting Mueller and his investigation is paramount.”.
He was confirmed and sworn in as Attorney General in February 2017. In his confirmation hearings, Sessions stated under oath that he did not have contact with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential campaign and that he was unaware of any contact between Trump campaign members and Russian officials.
Trump often hinted he wanted to fire Sessions, perhaps after the November 2018 elections. Sessions told associates he did not intend to resign, but on November 7, 2018, he submitted a letter of resignation to Chief of Staff John Kelly at President Trump's request.
Sessions was elected Attorney General of Alabama in November 1994, unseating incumbent Democrat Jimmy Evans with 57% of the vote. The harsh criticism he had received from Senator Edward Kennedy, who called him a "throw-back to a shameful era" and a "disgrace", was considered to have won him the support of Alabama conservatives.
Trump would later state in an August 22, 2018 interview with Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt that the only reason he nominated Sessions was because Sessions was an original supporter during his presidential campaign. The nomination engendered support and opposition from various groups and individuals. He was introduced by Senator Susan Collins from Maine who said, "He's a decent individual with a strong commitment to the rule of law. He's a leader of integrity. I think the attacks against him are not well founded and are unfair." More than 1,400 law school professors wrote a letter urging the Senate to reject the nomination. A group of black pastors rallied in support of Sessions in advance of his confirmation hearing; his nomination was supported by Gerald A. Reynolds, an African American former chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Six NAACP activists, including NAACP President Cornell William Brooks, were arrested at a January 2017 sit-in protesting the nomination.
On April 24, 2017 , Sessions traveled to an ethics lawyers' conference to assure them the department would continue prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, regardless of Trump's comments that the law is a "horrible law" and that "the world is laughing at us".
On December 21, 2017, Sessions rescinded 200 pages of guidance documents.
On April 3, 2017 , Sessions announced that he intended to review consent decrees in which local law enforcement agencies had agreed to Department oversight. U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar then denied Sessions's request to delay a new consent decree with the Baltimore Police Department.
It is a fact that a complaint against Jeff Sessions allegedly co-signed by close to 2,000 attorneys was submitted to the Alabama State Bar Disciplinary Committee by an anti-Trump activist group called Lawyers for Good Government.
A filing by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on 9 March 2017 argued for Sessions’ disbarment on the same grounds: “False testimony made under oath is one of the most serious ethical offenses a lawyer can make and one any state bar should investigate vigorously,” said ACLU National Political Director Faiz Shakir.
In each case, it could take anywhere from six to 18 months from the date of filing for a judgment to be rendered.
Former attorney general Jeff Sessions failed in his campaign against political newcomer Tommy Tuberville for the chance to reclaim his Senate seat on July 14. (The Washington Post) By . Amber Phillips.
And Sessions in return tried to relentlessly hammer home the two men’s tough-on-immigration rhetoric and policies.
Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump, choosing him over other candidates like his Senate colleague Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). Trump was just a few months into his campaign when Sessions stood with him onstage, giving the candidate a boost of legitimacy from Washington. When Trump won the White House, Sessions was rewarded by being chosen as ...