In bombshell political news, the Justice Department has revealed that Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied under oath during his Senate confirmation hearings — by not disclosing two conversations he had with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 campaign.
Sessions’ statement last night declared that he has “never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign”, which seems like an obvious attempt at misdirection. When Sessions lied under oath, he literally said that he “did not have communications with the Russians.”
Some members of Congress have called on Sessions to resign from the investigation into Russian interference during the presidential elections. But that’s not nearly enough — all of the House Judiciary Democrats today called for an investigation of the Attorney General. And ultimately, Sessions should resign.
Jeff Sessions and the Rule of Law
Sessions has long painted himself as a defender of the rule of law — that’s the reason he gave for supporting the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in the ’90s: “No one is above the law.” It’s what he cited in an op-ed that he co-wrote last year when he asked for a special prosecutor after Bill Clinton met with Loretta Lynch on a tarmac —
Because of our grave concern for integrity in government we ask for a special counsel. When a high public official is accused of serious wrongdoing and there is a sufficient factual predicate to investigate, it is imperative the investigation be thorough, with dispatch and without partisanship.
Rule of law is a theme for Sessions. Do a google search of “Sessions” and “rule of law” and you’ll see lots of articles from conservative publications noting that’s why he should be Attorney General. In his farewell address to the Senate, Sessions said:
I have an interest in the rule of law. I want to thank those of you who supported me and had confidence in moving this forward. I want to thank President Donald Trump. He believes in the rule of law.
Sessions Thinks All Immigrants Are Lawbreakers — But That He is Not
Rule of law is also why he has signed onto Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy — because Sessions believes that every single undocumented immigrant is a lawbreaker who deserves to be deported, regardless of circumstance. He thinks that’s true of asylum seekers, even children, who flee their home countries and enter the US without papers. He thinks immigrants should self-deport, even if they have been living and working in the US for years. And he thinks that DREAMers — whom even Trump is afraid to touch — should have no right to legally live or work in the only country most have ever called home.
Sessions thinks all immigrants are lawbreakers. But Sessions lied under oath, and is now a lawbreaker. Where should that leave him?
