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The Trump administration, in the eyes of many, is guilty of one scandal and indiscretion after another. The latest controversy involves the Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, long held in disdain by liberals for his poor record on Civil Rights, who had denied under oath speaking with the Russians during the 2016 campaign, but recently admitted that he’d spoken to a Russian government operative during that time frame. As a result, in a press conference on Thursday, Sessions recused himself from the Justice Department investigations into the Trump campaign’s controversial Russian dealings.
The question now is, what should we do about this revelation? Sessions’ recusal is clearly warranted, but is it enough? Nancy Pelosi and other prominent democrats have called for Sessions to resign, or be removed from office, since he apparently lied under oath. Indeed, the recent developments are of great concern, and Pelosi and others are right to raise the alarm and investigate further. But calling for his ouster is premature. Often, when we see smoke, there is a fire, but we should remember, that’s not always the case. We need to establish the facts, and a time line of what actually unfolded, in order to make prudent choices.
It is paramount that we learn everything that happened, and make level-headed decisions based on evidence. It is critical that we make this process as bipartisan as possible (a genuine challenge in these divided times) and leave no doubt in the minds of reasonable Americans that justice, not partisan revenge, was the true goal. The guilty should be punished, but we must not forget, in our zeal to do justice, that due process is the key to making fair and reliable decisions that best serve our democracy, and the American People.
The American People deserve to know exactly what happened, who is responsible, and for what reasons these events transpired. If Attorney General Jeff Sessions transgressed, then we should understand the circumstances, and the extent of his transgression(s) in order to act appropriately. And the only way to achieve that goal is via a thorough investigation. After all the facts are gathered, weighed for relevance and assessed by legal experts, we will be able to determine, with reasonable confidence, the correct course of action.
Photo: By DonkeyHotey (Jeff Sessions – Caricature) CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
President Elect Donald Trump has chosen, much to the chagrin of liberal voices in government and across the nation, Senator Jeff Sessions (R) of Alabama, for Attorney General. Concerns over Session’s commitment to civil rights mount as old accusations of racism come to the fore.
The 69-year-old politician, currently serving his fourth term as a Senator, is a strong Trump advocate who has both praised and advised the President Elect on the campaign trail. And so the appointment is consistent with the Trump ethos, which puts a premium on loyalty. Session’s support was particularly important, since, as an established Republican Party apparatchik, his voice was useful in convincing others within the Republican Establishment to back the controversial outsider candidate. He also advised Trump to choose Mike Pence as his running mate. And Sessions is also a strong advocate of Trump’s controversial campaign proposal to ban on all Muslim’s entering the United States, which has angered many people the world over.
A trained lawyer, Senator Sessions has served on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and previously served as US attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, and as Alabama attorney general. As a staunch conservative, which comes as no surprise, he was one of President Obama’s biggest critics, and did his best to obstruct the outgoing President’s appointment’s and policies in the Senate.
In the past the Senator has spoken negatively about the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, and has called the ACLU and NAACP “un American” organizations. Staffers have reported that he’s used racially inappropriate remarks, and made positive comments about the KKK. This is a major issue since the Attorney General, as the nations “top cop,” is charged with enforcing civil rights legislation. Many fear the Trump Administration won’t work to preserve and protect civil rights, and the appointment of Sessions to this key cabinet position does nothing to assuage their concerns.
Learn about Trump’s Attorney General Pick (CNN)
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