Trump forces Sessions out
Attorney general told to resign; Rosenstein removed from oversight of Mueller probe
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned on Wednesday at President Donald Trump’s request, ending the tenure of a beleaguered loyalist whose relationship with the president was ruined when Sessions recused himself from control of the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.
In a letter to Trump, Sessions wrote he had been “honored to serve as Attorney General” and had “worked to implement the law enforcement agenda based on the rule of law that formed a central part of your campaign for the presidency.” Trump tweeted that Sessions would be replaced on an acting basis by Matthew Whitaker, who had been serving as Sessions’ chief of staff.
“We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well!” Trump tweeted. “A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date.”
A Justice Department official said Whitaker would assume authority over
“Congress must ... ensure that the Department of Justice safeguards the integrity of the Mueller investigation.” Rep. Elijah Cummings
the special counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election — though his role will be subject to the normal review process for conflicts. Because Sessions was recused, the special counsel probe had been overseen by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who also has had strained relations with Trump, but is considered safe in his position for the moment. Rosenstein went to the White House Wednesday afternoon for what an official said was a pre-scheduled meeting.
Though Sessions’ removal was long expected, the installation of Whitaker sparked fears that the president might be trying to exert control over the special counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller.
A legal commentator before he came into the Justice Department, Whitaker had mused publicly about how a Sessions replacement might reduce Mueller’s budget “so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt.” He also wrote in a September 2017 column that Mueller had “come up to a red line in the Russia 2016 election-meddling investigation that he is dangerously close to crossing,” after CNN reported that the special counsel could be looking into Trump and his associates’ financial ties to Russia.
Democrats and others issued statements Wednesday urging that Mueller be left do to his work and vowing to investigate whether Sessions’s ouster was meant to interfere with the special counsel. Come January, Democrats will have subpoena power, having retaken the House in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Key members of the Maryland congressional delegation decried any attempt to interfere with Mueller’s investigation. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Baltimore, poised to become chairman of the powerful Oversight and Government Reform Committee with the Democrats taking control of the House, called for an investigation into Sessions’ firing and for Whitaker to recuse himself from overseeing the probe.
“There are many, many reasons to remove Attorney General Sessions — from Then-Iowa Republican senatorial candidate and former U.S. attorney Matt Whitaker watches before a live televised debate in Johnston, Iowa, in 2014. He has been chosen to be acting U.S. attorney general. his failure to disclose his communications with the Russians to his inhumane policy of separating children from their parents at the border—but one reason that is not acceptable is to interfere with or obstruct the Mueller investigation,” Cummings said in a statement.
“President Trump waited until just hours after the midterm elections to make this move, which had been rumored for months. Congress must now investigate the real reason for this termination, confirm that [Whitaker] is recused from all aspects of the special counsel’s probe, and ensure that the Department of Justice safeguards the integrity of the Mueller investigation.”
Sen. Ben Cardin, like Cummings reelected on Tuesday, said Rosenstein needs to continue overseeing the Mueller probe because Whitaker has already made “inflammatory comments on how to limit the scope of the investigation and cut off resources.”
“Under the current oversight of Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation must continue until a thorough conclusion can be reached,” Cardin said in a statement. “The president must stop trying to impede its progress.
“Upon completion, the special counsel should make a full report to Congress and the American people that would disclose any misconduct by President Trump, his administration, or campaign officials,” he said. “No one under our Constitution – not even President Trump – is above the law, and Congress cannot allow the president to obstruct the special counsel’s investigation.”
Both officials are well acquainted with Rosenstein, who had been U.S. attorney for Maryland in Baltimore for 12 years when he was nominated last year by Trump to the number-two job in the Justice Department. As the chief federal prosecutor in Baltimore, he was known for working with local law enforcement agencies to take down major criminal enterprises, including the Black Guerrilla Family that had taken over the city jail and the members of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force who had been robbing drug dealers and other citizens and falsifying police reports.
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement, “No one is above the law and any effort to interfere with the Special Counsel’s investigation would be a gross abuse of power by the President. While the President may have the authority to replace the Attorney General, this must not be the first step in an attempt to impede, obstruct or end the Mueller investigation.”
Senator-elect Mitt Romney, R-Utah, tweeted that it was “imperative” Mueller’s work be allowed to continue unimpeded.
A spokesman for the special counsel’s office declined to comment.
A person close to Sessions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be frank, said the attorney general shared the president’s frustration with the pace of the Russia inquiry and wished that it had been completed. But Sessions also thought that by staying in the job, he had protected the investigation’s integrity, the person said. In the long run, Sessions is convinced that the country will be better served by the investigation proceeding naturally, as the findings will be more credible to the American public, the person said.
Justice Department officials had been bracing for Sessions’ ouster. He told confidants earlier this week that he expected Trump to fire him or push him out soon after the midterm elections, and friends urged him to quit and consider running again for a Senate seat in Alabama. Still, some senior leaders at the Justice Department were shocked Wednesday.
Sessions received a phone call Wednesday morning from White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, before the president held a news conference to discuss the midterm election results, telling him the president wanted Sessions to resign, an administration official said.
Sessions sought to stay on the job at least until the end of the week, according to people familiar with the discussion. Kelly firmly rejected that suggestion, insisting Wednesday would be his last day, the people said. Sessions canceled meetings and scheduled one for later in the day, where he would say goodbye to his staff.
Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney who ran an unsuccessful campaign for a Senate seat in Iowa, played college football at the University of Iowa. In 2014, he chaired the campaign of Sam Clovis, a Republican candidate for Iowa state treasurer. That might present another potential ethics complication for Whitaker’s supervision of the special counsel; Clovis went on to work as a Trump campaign adviser and has become a witness in Mueller’s investigation.
Justice Department officials said Whitaker will follow the regular process for reviewing possible ethical conflicts as he assumes the new job of the nation’s top law enforcement official. That process involves Justice Department ethics lawyers reviewing an official’s past work to see if there are any financial or personal conflicts that preclude them from being involved in specific cases.