Sessions is unlikely hero of Russia probe
He’s running Justice by the book despite pressure
One of us is a supporter of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and a former aide to him. The other has been a critic of many of his positions. Yet we agree that thanks to his leadership, the Justice Department has operated as it should when it comes to the Trump-Russia investigation and its offshoots.
Last week was one of the most remarkable in the department’s history. It began with the risk of mass firings by President Trump to thwart the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. It ended with Congress demanding and immediately leaking heretofore sacrosanct investigative documents (the “Comey memos”) and reports that Sessions warned the White House he would resign should Trump attempt to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (who oversees the Mueller investigation).
We are relieved — and a little amazed — that the Justice Department endured these challenges. Sessions, Rosenstein and Mueller still have their jobs despite the reported presidential threats.
With the day-to-day chaos of news cycles, it’s easy to lose sight of the Justice Department’s consistency over the past year regarding the Russia probe.
It begins with Sessions’ recusal from matters related to the Trump campaign. That wasn’t a close call from a legal and ethical standpoint. Sessions surely knew he would face presidential rage. Yet he did it anyhow, a decision that remains the original sin in Trump’s eyes, both because Sessions failed to protect him and because that recusal opened the door to a special counsel.
In Mueller, Rosenstein chose an eminently qualified special counsel and set a clear goal — to investigate “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump.” The appointment also authorized Mueller “to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation” that he believes are “necessary and appropriate.” And Mueller has done so without fear or favor.
Nor has Mueller overreached. For in- stance, instead of investigating Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, he referred the matter to federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York U.S. attorney’s office. They determined not only that enough evidence existed for a search warrant, but also that it necessitated a search of an attorney’s office for privileged information.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, meanwhile, issued a report that justified the firing of Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. Agree or disagree, it is further evidence that Justice is investigating claims of corruption and misconduct and acting accordingly.
And when Republicans in Congress have pressured Sessions to appoint additional special counsels to investigate a wide range of matters, he has reminded the legislative branch of the “extraordinary conditions” necessary to warrant such appointments. And Sessions enlisted U.S. Attorney John Huber — an Obama appointee renominated by Trump — to help Horowitz determine whether misconduct allegations at Justice merit further investigation.
We have no way of predicting whether this trend will continue. The top leadership of the Justice Department might not make it through this week. The president could try to fire or pardon his way out of any exposure in the Russia or Cohen investigations. Or House Republican leaders may devise some new test for Rosenstein and the department that they cannot pass.
Even so, we take some hope in the pattern. America’s answer to the passionate discord of political ideology is a shared faith in the rule of law. When our personal viewpoints clash, the dispassionate enforcement of our laws steadies our republic. For whatever disagreements we may have on policy preferences, we must applaud Sessions, Rosenstein, Mueller and the Justice Department for taking a practical approach to the law in spite of tremendous political pressure to do it violence.