Whining Sessions

Whining Sessions:  Attorney General Sessions chief reason for testifying at yesterday’s Senate Intelligence Committee meeting was to clear his name from the “detestable” accusation that he had colluded with any Russians.  He came out swinging, forcefully pushing back at the “appalling” lies.  The outrage part of his testimony was convincing but his defense was significantly weakened when he preceded every answer about his possible interaction with Russians with the “to the best of my knowledge” or “I don’t remember” qualifier.  Asked about his alleged third meeting with Russian Ambassador Kislyak at the Mayflower Hotel event, he went from saying that he didn’t know if Kislyak was there to he probably was there and we might have said hello, but if they did, he doesn’t really remember.  Asked about the terms of his recusal, Sessions said that it was limited only to the campaign and the associated Russian investigation.  He defended his involvement in former FBI Director Comey’s firing by sticking with the narrative that Comey had been fired due to his mishandling of the Clinton email investigation, his poor management skills and FBI discontent.  Sessions refused to acknowledge Trump’s admission that the “nutjob” Comey had been fired because of the Russia investigation since that would mean that he had violated the rules of his recusal.  Beyond the firing rationale, much of what Sessions said was consistent with Comey’s testimony.  He didn’t admit to making eye contact with Comey when Comey tried to non-verbally communicate his panic at being left alone with Trump, but he confirmed Comey’s account about everyone else being escorted out of the room.  He also admitted that Comey had approached him with his concerns about having direct conversations with Trump, but he seemed to put the blame for the Trump calls and meetings on Comey, who “should have known better” than to answer the phone and accept a dinner invitation. 

Most notably, while he said that he believed that the Russians had interfered in the 2016 elections and were a continuing threat, Sessions said that he only knew that because of what he’s read in the papers and that, despite being a member of the national security council, he had never been to a meeting or had a conversation with Trump about the Russian threat.  His remarks provide further evidence that Trump isn’t concerned about Putin’s interference.  Sessions frustrated the Senate panel by refusing to answer any questions that would have forced him to relay the content of any of his conversations with Trump even though Trump has not exerted executive privilege, yet.  Sessions’ excuse for being cagey was that he was just following “normal” Judiciary Department practice, but he couldn’t cite any written procedure to justify his actions.  The Democrats on the committee attacked his silence and use of “preemptive” privilege as evasive and possibly illegal.  To summarize, little new was learned in the hearing, Session’s questionable refusals to answer any Trump related questions raised more suspicions, the lack of concern about Russia is bizarre, and California Democrat Senator Kemala Harris got dissed again for being a Black woman who asks tough questions.   

Busy Russian Bots:  Yesterday Bloomberg reported that Russian cyber hacks on the US electoral system were far wider that previously known.  The Russians have made inroads into databases in as many as thirty-nine states.  Their actions spurred Obama to make a “red phone” call to Putin warning him off further intervention.  Despite Kremlin denials, it’s clear that the Russians are waging war on our electoral process.  Nevertheless, as indicated by Sessions and Comey, the risk doesn’t seem to concern Trump who remains more focused on his own electoral college victory, his weekend golf scores, and the possibility of lifting Russian sanctions.                             

Mueller Trial Balloon:   Special Counsel Mueller isn’t going anywhere, at least for now.  Trump buddy Chris Ruddy’s statement that Trump was considering firing Mueller unleashed a firestorm of protest across party lines and Chief of Staff Priebus and White House Counsel McGahn, among others, have warned Trump that firing Mueller would backfire bigly and wouldn’t eliminate the threat of the investigation.  With Sessions busy trying to exonerate himself at the Intelligence Committee hearing, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein stood in for him at a previously scheduled Appropriations Committee hearing.  When asked about Mueller’s longevity, Rosenstein, who is the only one with the direct authority to fire Mueller, said that he wouldn’t, even if he was threatened with dismissal.  Asked a similar question during his Intelligence Committee testimony, the squirrely Sessions was less committal but his authority over Mueller is limited by his Russia recusal.  The alt-right crowd is still pushing for Mueller’s dismissal, calling out his recent legal hires for being unrepentant “Democrats,” but at least for now Trump will not be firing him.  The Saturday Night Massacre is on hold.  

Trumpcare Update:  Trump is off on the road talking about workforce development but before he left he met with Republican Senate leadership to discuss the state of Trumpcare.  Supposedly he told them that they should throw some more money at their bill because the House version, which he celebrated with that big White House lawn frat party, was too “mean.”  Having produced a good “sound bite” for press consumption, Trump jumped on Air Force One and the Senators went back to eviscerating health care.  Senator McConnell is still trying to get his secret bill to the Congressional Budget Office for scoring by the end of the week in order to be ready for a vote before the July Fourth recess. Republican Senators are so stressed that yesterday Republican Senator Shelby, head of the Senate Rules Committee, tried to restrict press access to prevent them from interviewing Senators in the Senate hallways. Push back was fast and furious and the restriction was almost immediately lifted.