Nov 08, 2018 · President Donald J. Trump announced his intention to nominate Mr. Sessions on November 18, 2016, and he was sworn in as the 84th Attorney General of the United States by Michael R. Pence on February 9, 2017.
Mar 30, 2018 · Former Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama was the U.S. attorney general appointed by President Donald Trump from February 2017 until November 2018.
Nov 07, 2018 · The president tweeted that Matthew Whitaker, chief of staff to Sessions, will become the acting attorney general. Whitaker, according to …
Nov 07, 2018 · Sessions' exit, a resignation forced by Trump, was expected for weeks amid Trump's attacks over his attorney general's decision to recuse himself from the Justice Department’s inquiry into ...
Nov 08, 2018 · President Donald Trump shakes the hand of Jeff Sessions after he was sworn in as the new U.S. Attorney General in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb. 9, 2017. Federal law makes clear that a ...
On June 13, 2017, Attorney General Sessions testified before a Senate Intelligence Committee, and said in his opening statement: "The suggestion that I participated in any collusion or that I was aware of any collusion with the Russian government to hurt this country, which I have served with honor for 35 years, or to undermine the integrity of our democratic process, is an appalling and detestable lie."
Following a wave of Democratic opposition and protests from civil and human rights organizations, Sessions was confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate in February 2017.
Trump also openly wondered why Sessions wasn't investigating 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, for actions that included the Clinton Foundation's ties to the 2010 sale of a uranium company to a Russian nuclear agency. The calls to investigate Clinton were echoed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, who twice wrote to the DOJ to request the appointment of another special counsel for the matter.
Throughout his congressional service, Sessions was noted for his conservative focus on maintaining a strong military and law enforcement, limiting the role of government, cracking down on illegal immigration and being a budget hawk.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called on Sessions to resign. "There cannot be even the scintilla of doubt about the impartiality and fairness of the attorney general, the top law enforcement official of the land," Schumer said.
Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III was born on December 24, 1946, in Selma, Alabama, the son of a general store owner, and grew up in the rural town of Hybart. Nicknamed "Buddy," he was very active in the Boy Scouts, and eventually became an Eagle Scout in 1964.
The Justice Department said Sessions had met Kislyak at his office as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. His prior meeting with the Russian ambassador was with a group of other ambassadors after a Heritage Foundation speech.
Sessions -- who bonded with Trump over their populist views on trade and immigration -- became the first sitting senator to endorse Trump in February 2016 when he announced his support of the New York businessman’s then-underdog campaign. Video.
Fox News' John Roberts and Chad Pergram contributed to this report. Alex Pappas is a senior politics editor at FoxNews.com.
Before he took a job at the Justice Department, Whitaker wrote an op-ed saying Mueller “is dangerously close to crossing” a “red line” in the Russia probe if he looked at Trump or his family’s finances.
A look at the resignation from Attorney General of Jeff Sessions from the Trump Administration and the Attorney General's growing tension with President Trump, including his recusal from the Russia investigation.
In March 2017, Sessions announced his plans to recuse himself after reports surfaced detailing undisclosed conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the campaign. Sessions has said he was acting in his capacity as a Republican senator from Alabama.
Trump won Alabama. Sessions went on to become one of Trump ’s most outspoken and prominent surrogates during the campaign. A number of Sessions’ top staffers – including Rick Dearborn and Stephen Miller – took senior White House roles.
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.
Sessions’ tenure began back in early 2017. During his confirmation hearings, Sessions testified incorrectly under oath that he had had no contacts with Russian officials during his active role in the 2016 Trump campaign. When it became public that he had met with the Russian ambassador, he claimed he had not lied.
Sessions enthusiastically waged the war on drugs, much to the chagrin of those who considered that war a proven failure.
Even though Sessions was one of Trump's earliest supporters, the president has been laser-focused on targeting Sessions, going as far as to appearing to completely disassociate Sessions with the administration.
Sessions' ouster immediately moves oversight of the ongoing investigation to interim successor Whitaker, who once called for the inquiry to be dramatically scaled back.
Whitaker, a former football player in Iowa who rose there to become a federal prosecutor and chief of staff at the Justice Department, had been considered for a variety of jobs in the Trump administration.
In a resignation letter sent to the president, Sessions thanked Trump "for the opportunity" to be attorney general. He also listed what he considered his accomplishments during his tenure.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed to protect Mueller, saying it would create a constitutional crisis if Session’s departure were a prelude to ending, or greatly limiting, Mueller’s investigation.
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.
15, 2017. Rep. Jerry Nadler , the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, also called for accountability.
Last modified on Wed 6 Jan 2021 18.55 EST. Jeff Sessions , Donald Trump’s former attorney general, has lost the Republican nomination in Alabama for his old Senate seat, after enduring months of attacks from the president. His loss to Tommy Tuberville, a former college football coach, most likely marks an end to Sessions’ long political career.
Tommy Tuberville, Auburn University’s former football coach. Photograph: Joe Songer/AP. Familiar to Alabamians from his decade as Auburn University’s head football coach, Tuberville, 65, is now positioned for a robust challenge against the Democratic senator Doug Jones.
Sessions recused himself from overseeing the Justice Department investigation in March 2017, after revelations that he had failed to report encounters with Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak of Russia during the 2016 campaign.
Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, who could become the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said that any interference with the Mueller investigation “would cause a constitutional crisis and undermine the rule of law.”.
WASHINGTON — President Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday, replacing him with a loyalist who has echoed the president’s complaints about the special counsel investigation into Russia’s election interference and will now take charge of the inquiry.
After a roller-coaster tenure as attorney general, Jeff Sessions was forced to resign. He’s been on the president’s hit list ever since he recused himself from the Russia investigation shortly after taking office. “I should not be involved investigating a campaign I had a role in.”. As recently as August, Trump went after Sessions, ...