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from the will-no-one-rid-me-of-this-turbulent-priest^W-Attorney-General? dept.
We had two Soylentils submit stories about Attorney General Jeff Sessions:
Trump fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46132348
"US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been fired by President Donald Trump.
[...] Mr Trump said Mr Sessions will be temporarily replaced by his chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, who has criticised the Russia inquiry.
[...] In a resignation letter, Mr Sessions - a former Alabama senator who was an early supporter of Mr Trump - made clear the decision to go was not his own.
[...] The president cannot directly fire the special counsel, whose investigation Mr Trump has repeatedly decried as a witch hunt. But Mr Sessions' replacement will have the power to fire Mr Mueller or end the inquiry.
[...] Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he looks forward to 'working with President Trump to find a confirmable, worthy successor so that we can start a new chapter at the Department of Justice'.
Mr Graham, of South Carolina, had said last year there would be 'holy hell to pay' if Mr Sessions was ever fired."
[...] House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said: "It is impossible to read Attorney General Sessions' firing as anything other than another blatant attempt by President Trump to undermine & end Special Counsel Mueller's investigation."
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions Resigns
Jeff Sessions is out. The new Acting Attorney General is Matthew G. Whitaker:
President Donald Trump on Wednesday fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "At your request I am submitting my resignation," Sessions wrote in a letter to White House chief of staff John Kelly.
Matthew Whitaker will take over as acting attorney general, the President said. Whitaker is expected to take charge of the Russia investigation and special counsel Robert Mueller from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Whitaker has been openly critical of Mueller and the investigation and Democrats immediately called on him to recuse himself, just as Sessions had.
See also: New acting A.G. criticized Mueller probe several times
What does Jeff Sessions's firing mean for Mueller and the Trump-Russia inquiry?
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Washington State Will Resist Federal Crackdown on Cannabis
DoJ Reverses Plans to Reduce the Use of Private Prisons
New Attorney General Claims Legal Weed Drives Violent Crime; Statistics be Damned
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Jeff Sessions Reboots the Drug War
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President Trump Backed Off from Ordering Special Counsel Mueller Fired
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(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @03:53PM (4 children)
"Sessions made the calculation that avoiding the whole Mueller affair was his best path, attempting to preserve job viability with both parties."
Why do you think that was his main concern?
Sessions certainly has not admitted as much and you, yourself, admit that his actions are inconsistent with that goal. IIRC his stated position was something along the lines of [1] not being willing to compromise his professional ethics and [2] trusting that his subordinates don't need to be micromanaged.
"I've never understood the view that because folks don't like the president he can't actually use his legal authority (and arguably obligation) to staff with more appropriate (from his view) personnel."
The main answer is that people who don't like Trump will be appalled at his actions no matter what.
Another answer is that the president should be held to a higher moral standard for their behavior instead of just what they can legally get away with.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by slinches on Thursday November 08 2018, @04:50PM (3 children)
When was the last time that was actually true rather than just the facade of it? Certainly every president in the last 30 years has only given lip service to the notion that Presidents should be held to the highest ethical standards.
It's not an excuse, but lifting the veil of pretense doesn't really change what's going on, just who is aware of it.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 08 2018, @05:27PM (2 children)
The opposition party typically takes great pleasure in pointing out these questionably ethical decisions and it probably contributes to the motivation of the opposition party to vote and discourages the encombant party from voting.
The lack of support and general distaste for Trump and Clinton, within their own party, had more to do with their character and less to do with their policies. While I wouldn't consider this accountability adequate (as it doesn't outweigh party tribalism), it still counts for something.
Nevertheless, I'd say it is reasonable to try to impose higher ethical standards (beyond just what is legal) on the behavior of elected leaders.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday November 08 2018, @05:37PM
What would we peons have to talk about then? Just weather and sports? Please, give that idea a break - or six. Just shatter it, alright?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by slinches on Thursday November 08 2018, @05:55PM
I agree with that. I was just pointing out that the lack of accountability (from both party members and the voting public in general) has been an issue for a long time. Maybe by dropping that pretense and exposing the ugliness of the process openly, the Trump administration will unintentionally make it clear how unacceptable this sort of behavior really is. I'm hoping it will help the electorate be able to respect genuine honesty and integrity that will override the tribalistic party loyalties and we can get some politicians into office who are actually good people.
Though, for that to happen, we will need some help from the media and non-political public figures to stop the escalation of the conflicts that are feeding the divisive nature of current political discourse.