Tag: Jeff Sessions

Contributor Post Created with Sketch. Presidential Chaos

 

The Trump White House is in a perpetual state of dysfunction and chaos. Trump kicked off the past week with a series of attacks on Jeff Sessions, his Attorney General and long-time loyalist, for recusing himself from the ongoing investigation of Russia’s interference with the 2016 election. There are tricky arguments, pro and con, on whether Sessions should have removed himself the investigation. But nothing can excuse Trump’s barrage of immature and abusive tweets against a key member of his own team. The upshot is an impasse in which Sessions cannot resign and Trump dare not fire him.

The President followed his Sessions tirade with an ill-considered tweet haphazardly announcing a ban on transgender people serving in the military, which everyone from a blindsided James Mattis on down regarded as a gratuitous insult to many transgender soldiers who have served with distinction. His tweet of course carries no legal consequence, but it puts everyone in government in limbo until the President either issues that foolish order or is, once again, talked off the ledge by his few remaining sensible advisors.

Then Trump appointed the pugnacious and vulgar Anthony Scaramucci as his communications director, who gave a profanity-laced interview with the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza before being ousted from his role at the urging of Trump’s new Chief of Staff, John Kelly. Still, Scaramucci’s appointment was a major disruption. It set in motion the resignation of Trump’s beleaguered Press Secretary Sean Spicer and the sacking of Reince Priebus as Chief of Staff. We can expect more speeches like Trump’s over-the-top political diatribe at the Boy Scouts jamboree, which prompted Michael Surbaugh, the Scout’s CEO, to issue an apology to the boy scouts and their families for the President’s misbehavior.

Bill is joined by Brian Kennedy, president of the American Strategy Group, and the two discuss the latest news regarding the GOP’s attempt to repeal Obamacare. They also debate whether or not Attorney General Jeff Sessions should resign and if Pres. Trump is handling the situation properly. Then Steve Wynn, the Finance Chair of the RNC, joins Bill to discuss the RNC’s record fundraising haul and how the party plans to build on its majorities in Congress.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America applaud Republicans for backing Attorney General Jeff Session even in the midst of President’s Trumps invective against him, including the warning from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley that there is no time left in 2017 to consider another person as attorney general. They express their continuing disgust as six Senate Republicans who voted to repeal Obamacare in 2015 refused to do so now. And they fume as former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor admits Republicans never believed they could repeal Obamacare if they took back control of Congress but used voter anger and expectations to win elections. Finally, rumors are swirling that former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer might join the cast of the ABC reality show, Dancing With the Stars.

Promoted from the Ricochet Member Feed by Editors Created with Sketch. Sessions Should Amend His Recusal

 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Photo credit: Mark Reinstein / Shutterstock.com
Trump critics are right: The attorney general and deputy attorney general are not the President’s personal lawyers. However, this fact does not relieve them of the duty to comply with federal law. According to Andy McCarthy, there is an off-ramp to the whole Trump-Sessions public humiliation show. It’s pretty simple, Trump can simply instruct the AG to amend his recusal so that it conforms to the letter of the law. According to the Special Counsel law (excerpted below), a special counsel will be appointed if there is a criminal investigation. The current investigation is a counter-intelligence investigation, which, according to McCarthy, by law cannot have a crime as its focus.

The Attorney General, or in cases in which the Attorney General is recused, the Acting Attorney General, will appoint a Special Counsel when he or she determines that criminal investigation of a person or matter is warranted and — (a) That investigation or prosecution of that person or matter by a United States Attorney’s Office or litigating Division of the Department of Justice would present a conflict of interest for the Department or other extraordinary circumstances; and (b) That under the circumstances, it would be in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to assume responsibility for the matter.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America welcome Arizona Sen. John McCain back to Capitol Hill despite the grim diagnosis he received last week, and are happy that Republicans now have a full roster as the health care debate continues. They also bemoan President Trump’s continued use of Twitter to attack Attorney General Jeff Sessions for being “weak” in failing to investigate Hillary Clinton over her emails and alleged collusion with Ukraine during the 2016 campaign. And they analyze a surprising new Michigan poll showing rock star Kid Rock leading incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America start with an appetizer by cheering the U.S. Navy’s use of a new laser weapon meant to target small watercraft and drones. They also praise the Trump administration for its success in halting hundreds of regulations that would stifle job growth and business expansion. They also address the tragic news that Arizona Sen. John McCain is diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, and they express disgust at the tasteless and nasty reactions from both sides of the political spectrum. And they sigh over President Trump griping to the media about his frustrations over Attorney General Jeff Sessions recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

Rich, Charlie, and Michael Brendan Dougherty discuss the death of the Senate healthcare bill and Jeff Sessions’s unfortunate penchant for civil asset forfeiture.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America endure three bad martinis today as two more GOP Senators bail on the plan to overhaul Obamacare and a new effort to vote on a clean repeal is already in grave danger of failing. They criticize President Trump for keeping Obama’s infamous Iran Nuclear Deal without giving his advisers enough time to develop a new policy. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is another source of disappointment today as he declares his intention to increase the use of civil asset forfeiture, which allows the federal government to seize the property of suspected criminals — without charging them with a crime.

Promoted from the Ricochet Member Feed by Editors Created with Sketch. AG Sessions Visits Memphis to Deliver a Strong Message

 

Last Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions came to Memphis to talk crime, drugs, and violence, all of which are as abundant here as the barbecue. Last year, Memphis experienced a 43 percent spike in homicides, prompting Sessions to remind one and all that, “these aren’t just numbers:”

These are people, our citizens whose safety and lives are at stake everyday. They are people like the residents in Sycamore Lake Apartments here in northeast Memphis. Last week, two men were shot there and killed during a drug deal, according to the local detectives who worked the case. Tragically, this is not an uncommon thing there; since 2014, seven people, including a soon-to-be-mother and her unborn baby were murdered in just that apartment complex.

The Attorney General went on to pledge that “every lawful tool” would be employed to “take the most violent offenders off our streets.” Highlighting a link between illegal drugs and violent crime, Sessions added, “If you are a gang member, know this. You think you are targeting us. Well, we are targeting you. We will devastate your networks. We will starve you revenue sources, deplete your ranks, and seize your profits.”

Heather Mac Donald joins Brian Anderson to discuss the state of policing today, the “Ferguson Effect,” former FBI director James Comey’s defense of proactive policing, and the recent protests against conservative speakers on college campuses.

Since the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014, public discussion about police and the criminal justice system has reached a fever pitch: activists claim that policing is inherently racist and discriminatory, while supporters say that public pressure has caused officers to disengage from proactive policing.

Richard Epstein reacts to the news that Jim Comey has been fired as FBI director, grapples with the ensuing criticisms of the Trump Administration, and looks back at Comey’s legacy as head of the Bureau.

Promoted from the Ricochet Member Feed by Editors Created with Sketch. Moscow Madness: The MSM Makes Russia Great Again

 

I have to tell you, I was very disappointed when you didn’t show up for my performance at the 2017 Mensa Worldwide Olympics competition at the beautiful Salton Sea Hyatt hard by the majestic peaks of the Chocolate Mountain Naval Aerial Gunnery Range.

As usual, I brought home a gold medal in the Mensa Pentathalon, taking first in my signature events, the modem toss and the stacked-server high jump, and racking up a new personal best, second place in the Oxford English Dictionary clean and jerk.

Recommended by Ricochet Members Created with Sketch. A Safe Space Within Stereotypes

 

There would be no welcome basket or friendly note in the mailbox. No plainly dressed, well-intentioned grandmother with fresh cookies. Still, someone needed to welcome the new neighbors in person, and certainly no later than a week after their arrival.

I did not hear them knock which was probably why they opted to break-in. I was awakened by the smashed glass 15 feet from where I was sleeping.

Member Post

 

This morning after talking with a couple of elder liberal academics (one being my boss)), I decided to check Twitter to see what was going on politically. Then, I stumbled on a Twitter ‘moment’ (https://twitter.com/i/moments/829166461503553536)that shared information about Sen. Warren being silenced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and an old letter written by Coretta […]

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Promoted from the Ricochet Member Feed by Editors Created with Sketch. Show Me The Money

 

Senator Beauregard Sessions had just been sworn in when the man next to me jumped up and started screaming.

Up until that point, the man had seemed like any normal American, awaiting testimony in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room in his freshly ironed KKK white gown and hood, which he told me was the late Democrat West Virginia Senator Robert C. Byrd’s signature “Kleagle” model.

Promoted from the Ricochet Member Feed by Editors Created with Sketch. Sailing the Magnanimous Sea

 

At night, Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam’s showroom hosts illusionists, concerto pianists, song and dance acts, and run-of-the-mill cruise entertainment. But it was during the day the real stage action occurred as the “O.N.T.P.’s of the Caribbean” (Original NeverTrump Pirates) sat on panels discussing what historically may have been the craziest election cycle of our lifetimes. The Weekly Standard’s post-election cruise included an impressive collection of conservative writers, editors, pundits, politicos, and a few non-Weekly Standard surprises.

Richard Epstein looks at the legal and policy controversies emanating from the office of the president-elect.

Member Post

 

President-Elect Donald J. Trump Selects U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Source: https://www.greatagain.gov/news/president-elect-donald-j-trump-selects-us-senator-jeff-sessions-attorney-general-lt-gen-michael.html Preview Open

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Contributor Post Created with Sketch. Trump Taps Sessions for Attorney General

 

675px-jeff_sessions_official_portraitVia the NY Times:

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump has selected Senator Jeff Sessions, a conservative from Alabama who became a close adviser after endorsing him early in his campaign, to be the attorney general of the United States, according to officials close to the transition. Mr. Sessions was also under consideration for secretary of defense, creating debate within the Trump transition team over which job he should fill. Mr. Sessions, a former prosecutor elected to the Senate in 1996, serves on the Judiciary Committee and has opposed immigration reform as well as bipartisan proposals to cut mandatory minimum prison sentences.

Member Post

 

What if the delegate revolt against trump succeeds. The delegates vote and trump receives an incredibly small margin of the delegate votes and instead Senator Jefferson Sessions of Alabama is voted in by the margin of 55% as the nominee. How would you feel? Is his nomination good for the party and with independents? Would […]

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