Sessions lied in the hearing to confirm him as Attorney General as he volunteered that he had not met with Russians during the election season. Sessions served as a surrogate for Donald Trump as a primary in the Trump presidential campaign, during which time, Sessions met with Russian Ambassador Kislyak in July and September. If this were a “normal” Presidency, we would expect that the president would encourage Sessions to recuse himself in any examination of the campaign. Any President who cared to have his administration trusted would be eager to display that his chosen Attorney General projected integrity in all his dealings. Instead, Trump is seething. Trump is irate that Jefferson Beauregard Sessions recused himself from issues related to the investigation of the influence of Russians on the 2016 Presidential elections. We have to ask why.
As the Devil’s advocate (Trump’s advocate), Trump needs Attorney General Sessions to obstruct any comprehensive investigation into Russia’s hack into the DNC computer system and email leaks to WikiLeaks. His election has already been illegitimated and additional information is becoming available about Russia’s blackmail, social media trolling, fake news, and illegal contributions to undermine democratic elections. Trump’s public pretense that Democratic cries of foul about a “Russian invasion” is a sign that Democrats are blinded by disbelief that they didn’t win in November. If that were the case, he would want to refute this falsehood and not suffer additional damage from a weakened Attorney General.
Alternatively (or in addition to), It may be Trump, Ivanka, Jared, and the Steves (Bannon and Miller) have kept their many ties to Russian oligarchs and government officials hidden because of their participation in corrupt and illegal business practices. It seems that Trump has laundered money from Russian criminals, Iranian guards, and Vladimir Putin himself. They are rightly convinced that a full investigation of their activities would dispel the illusion that they are negotiating with the Russians for world peace and lead to their criminal prosecutions.
However, neither of these explanations holds water. If the Democrats are sore losers, or if the Trumpetts are engaged in the quest for world peace, the administration would welcome scrutiny and would be eager now to reveal all – to shame the Democrats and to delight their base. Instead, Trump is seething, and the press is drip-drip-dripping details each day. Why are they lying about their connections with Russians at a time when there is widespread acceptance of the idea that Russia invaded our country by contaminating our election process?
Last Thursday, for example, Sessions acknowledged “inadvertently” misleading the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, on Monday, after spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago with Trump, Sessions amended his testimony by asserting in a written statement that he had told the truth when he said he hadn’t met with Russians. He justified this last lie to cover his first lie by saying that he did not meet with Russians as part of the campaign but as a member of the Senate (although the meeting was at the Republican Convention and his travel was not paid for by the government). After being caught in such a clear lie, many have called for Sessions to resign. But, Sessions has no intention of resigning because Trump (and Bannon) need him. (Sessions is not just a loyal Trump employee; he and Steve Bannon have long strategized how to restrict immigration, curtail voting access, and to clamp down on inner cities for the glory of white supremacy and the old South.)
Trump and his posse have engaged in wrong doing and are now being run down by the media and intelligence community. They hope that the lies they tell, will at least buy them some time so that they public will forget. They may be right unless the new stories based on leaks are buttressed by facts uncovered by public investigations.
As the Devil’s advocate (Trump’s advocate), Trump needs Attorney General Sessions to obstruct any comprehensive investigation into Russia’s hack into the DNC computer system and email leaks to WikiLeaks. His election has already been illegitimated and additional information is becoming available about Russia’s blackmail, social media trolling, fake news, and illegal contributions to undermine democratic elections. Trump’s public pretense that Democratic cries of foul about a “Russian invasion” is a sign that Democrats are blinded by disbelief that they didn’t win in November. If that were the case, he would want to refute this falsehood and not suffer additional damage from a weakened Attorney General.
Alternatively (or in addition to), It may be Trump, Ivanka, Jared, and the Steves (Bannon and Miller) have kept their many ties to Russian oligarchs and government officials hidden because of their participation in corrupt and illegal business practices. It seems that Trump has laundered money from Russian criminals, Iranian guards, and Vladimir Putin himself. They are rightly convinced that a full investigation of their activities would dispel the illusion that they are negotiating with the Russians for world peace and lead to their criminal prosecutions.
However, neither of these explanations holds water. If the Democrats are sore losers, or if the Trumpetts are engaged in the quest for world peace, the administration would welcome scrutiny and would be eager now to reveal all – to shame the Democrats and to delight their base. Instead, Trump is seething, and the press is drip-drip-dripping details each day. Why are they lying about their connections with Russians at a time when there is widespread acceptance of the idea that Russia invaded our country by contaminating our election process?
Last Thursday, for example, Sessions acknowledged “inadvertently” misleading the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, on Monday, after spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago with Trump, Sessions amended his testimony by asserting in a written statement that he had told the truth when he said he hadn’t met with Russians. He justified this last lie to cover his first lie by saying that he did not meet with Russians as part of the campaign but as a member of the Senate (although the meeting was at the Republican Convention and his travel was not paid for by the government). After being caught in such a clear lie, many have called for Sessions to resign. But, Sessions has no intention of resigning because Trump (and Bannon) need him. (Sessions is not just a loyal Trump employee; he and Steve Bannon have long strategized how to restrict immigration, curtail voting access, and to clamp down on inner cities for the glory of white supremacy and the old South.)
Trump and his posse have engaged in wrong doing and are now being run down by the media and intelligence community. They hope that the lies they tell, will at least buy them some time so that they public will forget. They may be right unless the new stories based on leaks are buttressed by facts uncovered by public investigations.
Washington Post diagram