Can Trump fire Sessions? Yes, but it would be huge
Attorney general in a tight spot over recusal in Russia inquiry
President Trump’s attacks on Jeff Sessions left many in Washington wondering whether Trump might fire his attorney general.
In an interview Wednesday with The New York Times, the president slammed Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation, saying he believed this action led to the appointment of a special counsel.
As the investigation into possible collusion between Trump associates and Russians seeking to influence the election continues to dog his term, Trump said he would not have nominated Sessions in the first place had he known Sessions would step aside. Sessions insists he’s staying put. He said Thursday that he would serve in his position for “as long as that is appropriate.”
As speculation continues about Trump’s next moves, here are five things to know:
CAN THE PRESIDENT FIRE HIS ATTORNEY GENERAL?
Yes. Just as the president appoints the attorney general, subject to Senate approval, he can also dismiss him.
But that doesn’t mean he should. Firing an attorney general would almost certainly come with tremendous political blowback and accusations of interference with law enforcement matters.
HAS SOMEONE IN THAT POST EVER BEEN FIRED BEFORE?
No. While past presidents have clashed with their top law enforcement officials — which in one case led to a resignation — a president has never directly fired his attorney general.
Trump made headlines when he dismissed acting Attorney General Sally Yates for directing the Justice Department not to defend the president’s temporary travel ban. But that was the exception, not the rule. And she was only in that temporary position for 10 days.
WHAT HAVE OTHER PRESIDENTS DONE AS TENSIONS ROSE?
One of the most consequential clashes occurred between President Nixon and Attorney General Elliot Richardson.
After Richardson appointed a special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, to investigate the break- in of the Democratic National Committee’s offices at the Watergate Hotel, Cox subpoenaed tapes of key White House conversations.
Instead of turning them over, Nixon ordered Richardson to fire Cox. Richardson refused and resigned. So did his deputy. The Saturday Night Massacre, as it was called, was a key development in Nixon’s eventual resignation.
WHAT ABOUT IN MORE RECENT ADMINISTRATIONS?
During the George W. Bush administration, there was a hospital room showdown between Attorney General John D. Ashcroft and top Bush aides. Andrew Card, Bush’s chief of staff, and White House Counsel Albert Gonzales wanted Ashcroft to reauthorize Bush’s domestic surveillance program, which the Justice Department had just determined was illegal. Ashcroft was laying in bed in an intensive care unit after his gallbladder was removed.
Then- FBI Director Robert Mueller — who is now the special counsel investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election — and then- Deputy Attorney General James Comey raced with sirens blaring to the hospital to get there before the White House aides. They succeeded, and Ashcroft refused to sign the papers that Gonzales and Card brought.
IS IT JUST REPUBLICANS WHO HAVE THESE SORTS OF PROBLEMS?
Nope. Janet Reno, the second- longestserving attorney general in history, was President Clinton’s third choice for the job and was never a confidante. Reno tried to maintain her independence from the White House as she was thrust into a nearly unending series of tests.
Republicans were infuriated when Reno rejected a recommendation to appoint a special counsel to look at the campaign fundraising activities of Vice President Gore, the 2000 Democratic presidential nominee.
But Reno did authorize an independent investigation of a failed Clinton land deal in Arkansas. That led to an investigation into Clinton’s relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. As a result, Hillary Clinton never forgave Reno, according to The Washington Post.