SESSIONS DREW LINE AT CLINTON INQUIRY
Trump’s push to dig into rival raises ethical questions
If President Trump listened to the broadcast of Jeff Sessions’ contentious Senate confirmation hearing in January, he’d have heard the reason his attorney general has resisted his demands this week for an investigation into Hillary Clinton.
“This country does not punish its political enemies,” Sessions told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He acknowledged that his own critical remarks about Clinton during the 2016 presidential election would disqualify him from launching such an inquiry.
“I believe the proper thing for me to do would be to recuse myself from any questions involving those kind of investigations that involve Secretary Clinton,” Sessions said.
Since Trump first publicly expressed frustration with his attorney general last week — specifically over Sessions’ decision in March to recuse himself from overseeing the widening investigation into alleged Russian interference in last year’s election — Sessions has said very little.
But the attorney general’s remarks months ago underscore the minefield of potential conflicts of interest inherent in Trump’s request to investigate a political opponent, regardless of the independence of the Justice Department.
Trump’s insistence that Sessions reopen the inquiry into Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of State represents a troubling attempt to manipulate the criminal justice system, lawmakers and former federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
“Prosecutorial decisions should be based on applying facts to the law without hint of political motivation,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R- S. C., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “To do otherwise is to run away from the long- standing American tradition of separating the law from politics, regardless of party.”
Others saw even more serious implications in Trump’s disparaging comments about Sessions, coupled with the calls for a renewed Clinton investigation.
“Tomake a demand like this in public, while implying that the attorney general’s job is in jeopardy, almost feels like an attempt at blackmail,” said Patrick Cotter, who has prosecuted high- profile organized crime figures.
“I’m no fan of Attorney General Sessions, but I believe the president is threatening his own attorney general,” Cotter said. “He’s essentially telling Sessions, ‘ If you want to keep your job, you better start an investigation of Hillary Clinton.’ ”
Trump fired off a series of tweets Tuesdaymorning criticizing Sessions for taking “a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes.” He questioned why Sessions did not pursue reports from early this year that officials in Ukraine sought to interfere in the election.
At a White House news conference, Trump reasserted his “disappointment” with Sessions’ recusal from the inquiry into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians who allegedly sought to influence the election.
Trump refused to answer questions about whether he intended to dismiss the attorney general. “Time will tell,” Trump said.
Yet Trump’s renewed focus on prosecuting Clinton — after spending a halfyear in office — is notable also because it represents a departure from his own post- election statements in which he expressed little interest in pursuing further inquiries into his defeated campaign foe.
Less than two weeks after the election, Trump told the New York Times that he did not want to hurt the Clintons. Then- FBI Director James Comey, who was abruptly dismissed by Trump in May, closed the Clinton investigation just days before the November election without recommending criminal charges.
“I really don’t ( want charges),” Trump said then. “She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways.”