SESSIONS
tumultuous tenure, when he stepped aside from the Mueller investigation.
Trump blamed the decision to recuse for the appointment of Mueller, who took over the Russia investigation and began examining whether Trump’s hectoring of Sessions was part of a broader effort to stymie the probe.
Sessions walked out of the Justice Department for the last time Wednesday evening to applause from more than 150 employees who gathered in a courtyard.
As he left, Sessions appeared emotional and said “Thank you” and “God bless” before hopping into a waiting SUV.
He also shook hands with Whitaker, who told Sessions: “It’s been an honor, sir.”
Trump had repeatedly been talked out of firing Sessions until after the midterms but told confidants in recent weeks that he wanted Sessions out as soon as possible after the elections, according to a Republican close to the White House.
White House chief of staff John Kelly called Sessions before the president’s news conference Wednesday and asked for his resignation. Sessions’ undated resignation letter was then sent to the White House.
Asked whether Whitaker would assume control over Mueller’s investigation, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Flores said Whitaker would be “in charge of all matters under the purview of the Department of Justice.” The Justice Department did not announce a departure for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller and has closely overseen his work.
Whitaker once opined about a scenario in which Trump could fire Sessions and then appoint an acting attorney general who could stifle the funding of Mueller’s probe. In that scenario, Mueller’s budget could be reduced “so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt,” Whitaker said during a July 2017 interview with CNN.
In an op-ed for CNN, Whitaker wrote: “Mueller has come up to a red line in the Russia 2016 electionmeddling investigation that he is dangerously close to crossing.”
Democrats, including House leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate leader Chuck Schumer, immediately called for Whitaker to recuse himself from the investigation, citing his public comments.
Ohio Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown said Wednesday that the firing should not be allowed to affect Mueller’s investigation.
Democrat Brown said the “FBI, Justice Department and special counsel must be allowed to do their jobs without political interference.” Portman spokeswoman Emily Benavides said the Republican “has said consistently he supports the Mueller investigation and hopes we will see the results soon.”
Trump’s relentless attacks on Sessions came even though the Alabama Republican was the first U.S. senator to endorse Trump and despite the fact that his crime-fighting agenda and priorities — particularly his hawkish immigration enforcement policies — largely mirrored the president’s.
But the relationship was irreparably damaged in March 2017 when Sessions, acknowledging previously undisclosed meetings with the Russian ambassador and citing his work as a campaign aide, recused himself from the Russia investigation.
Trump repeatedly lamented that he would have never selected Sessions if he had known the attorney general would recuse himself. The recusal left the investigation in the hands of Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller two months later after Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey.
The rift lingered, and Sessions, despite praising the president’s agenda and hewing to his priorities, never managed to return to Trump’s good graces.
The deteriorating relationship became a soap-opera stalemate for the administration. Trump belittled Sessions but, perhaps following the advice of aides, didn’t fire him. Sessions, for his part, proved determined to remain in the position until dismissed. A logjam broke when GOP senators who had backed Sessions signaled a willingness to consider a new attorney general.
Sessions, who may have expected his ouster, was spotted by reporters giving some of his grandchildren a tour of the White House over the weekend. He did not respond when asked why he was there.