Category: *CNN (banned)

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Jeff Sessions’ Resignation: “Not Unexpected”

Jeff Sessions has resigned as U.S. Attorney General, at the request of Donald Trump, effective November 7, 2018. As head of the Justice Department, Sessions has been seen as an impediment to Trump’s attempts to end the Justice Department’s investigation of the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia. Sessions took continual public criticism from Trump, and many have felt it was just a matter of time before Sessions would be gone – either by firing or by resignation.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, told Vox magazine, “This was not unexpected. Sessions tolerated more abuse from Trump than any Cabinet member should have to endure. Yet, he soldiered on out of a sense of duty.”

Trump’s Ongoing Scorn of Sessions

Trump’s ongoing public scorn of Jeff Sessions largely stems from Sessions’ recusing himself from the Trump-Russia investigation, due to his own associations with Moscow. It should be noted that several Former Justice Department officials praised Sessions at the time for doing so.

“I’m confident I made the right decision,” Sessions told Tucker Carlson of Fox News. “The decision is consistent with the rule of law. And an attorney general who doesn’t follow the law is not very effective in leading the Department of Justice.”

Trump, however, has publicly derided Jeff Sessions for his recusal from the probe. Trump has told Fox News. “I put in an attorney general who never took control of the Justice Department. Even my enemies say that ‘Jeff Sessions should have told you that he was going to recuse himself and then you wouldn’t have put him in.’”

Trump told the New York Times, “Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job, and I would have picked somebody else.”

Trump’s Attempts to Force Sessions’ Resignation

Following Jeff Sessions’ recusal from the Trump-Russia probe, special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to lead the investigation. Mueller’s appointment has led to multiple indictments of Trump cronies, and this has fueled Donald Trump’s ire at Jeff Sessions, too, for not preventing Mueller’s actions.

Trump’s apparent attempts in 2017 via Twitter taunts to force Jeff Sessions to resign are under investigation by Robert Mueller as a possible effort to obstruct the Russia investigation. If these allegations are found to be true, Trump could face criminal charges.

Removal of Barriers to Squelching the Trump-Russia Probe

Jeff Sessions’ resignation removes the barrier to eliminating Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is the only one with the power to fire Robert Mueller. If Rosenstein were removed, Trump could order his replacement to fire Mueller, thus possibly ending the Russia investigation.

Jeff Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump during his run for the presidency. He may also be Donald Trump’s biggest and most consistent promoter of Trump’s agenda. Sessions’ forced resignation makes it apparent that, even greater than a desire for loyalty is Donald Trump’s desire to squelch the Trump-Russia probe.

Trey Gowdy: Sessions was a ‘dead man walking’ for months | Fox News [2018-11-07]

Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired | CNN [2018-11-07]

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Trump Says Media Partly Responsible for Package Bombs

Chris Cuomo takes on Sarah Sanders over bomb response | CNN [2018-10-25]

White House on suspicious packages: Media has role to play | Fox News [2018-10-25]

After package bombs were discovered to have been mailed to at least 12 high-profile Democrats, Donald Trump wasted no time in declaring that the media and its “fake news” – not his divisive rhetoric – were at least partly responsible.

The package bombs were all uncovered within a span of 48 hours, and all of the intended recipients are outspoken critics of Donald Trump. The list included former President Barack Obama, Former Vice President Joe Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, billionaire donor George Soros, congresswomen Maxine Waters, Former CIA Director John Brennan (via CNN), Former Attorney General Eric Holder, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Cory Booker, Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Actor Robert De Niro, and billionaire Tom Steyer. The devices were mailed using former Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’ address as the return address. Included with the package bomb mailed to CNN was an envelope containing a white powder substance.

Regarding the package bomb mailings, Trump tweeted on October 25, “A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News. It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!”

In response to Trump’s statement, CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker, stated, “There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media. The President, and especially the White House Press Secretary, should understand their words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that.”

Some Trump supporters continue to find it impossible to believe that their president’s continual inflammatory rhetoric and actions could be a factor in the current level of animosity and division among Americans. In fact, they appear to find more feasible the idea that maybe the package bombs were part of an elaborate Democrat “false flag” scheme to gain support in the upcoming midterm elections.

The FBI has, however, linked Trump supporter Cesar Altieri Sayoc to the creation and mailing of the package bombs. A latent fingerprint on one of the packages, and DNA evidence from at least two of them point to Sayoc as a suspect.

It’s true that one Trump supporter’s possible attempts to do harm to prominent Democrats with package bombs does not make Donald Trump directly responsible. But Trump’s constant stirring of the malignant anti-Democrat pot does place some of the responsibility on him, for encouraging behavior toward his critics that is divisive at best, and potentially lethal at worst.

Donald Trump’s attempts to drop part of the blame for the package bombs at the feet of the Democrats – and his supporters’ willingness to go along with that assessment – demonstrate a notion that willful blindness and continual gaslighting are what will Make America Great Again.

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