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Originally Posted by Maggy J
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This is rather expected because of the fact that the Senate will increase it's Republican majority in a few months time. If the GOP pick up only say a couple seats in November, expect Sessions to stick it out until 2020.
Lindsay Graham was saying that if Sessions would go, all hell would break lose on the Hill:
(This was a while ago though).
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a7863741.html
Quote:
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has declared that if Donald Trump fires his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, “there will be holy hell to pay”.
Over the past week, the President has verbally attacked Mr Sessions, making clear that he is angry with the Attorney General for recusing himself from a probe into possible ties between Trump campaign advisers and the Russian government.
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Now, Graham says:
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/08/23/o...ons/index.html
(Title is a loaded piece from CNN)
Quote:
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For those waiting for a profile in courage to emerge from Republicans in Congress after President Donald Trump was implicated by his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts, stop holding your breath. Sen. Lindsey Graham, formerly one of Trump's harshest critics, just paved the way for the post-midterm election fate of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, telling reporters on Capitol Hill that Trump is "entitled to an attorney general he has faith in."
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If Trump were to appoint someone else, they would have to go through the same issues on Russia at confirmation...unless they agreed to avoid clamping down on the investigation from Mueller. (Wouldn't matter even if they didn't it is down to Rosenstein).
Now if the nominee were to say no, the larger majority in the Senate would give Graham some scope to vote no, and the nominee still be confirmed. Though at this point, I doubt that he even cares ; he has come round to Trump some, as have most of his detractors. He showed loyalty to Sessions as Sessions was a Senate colleague but even he realizes the bigger picture at large which is getting a high court nominee confirmed.
A President under impeachment cannot pardon himself but it would muddy the waters if one tried to nominate someone to the SC. Got kind of messy when LBJ appointed Abe Fortiss and he was just his chief of staff. Graham understands that RBG could well die soon and that is a fact not to be overlooked.
Rosenstein can still carry on his work, but were Trump to fire
him that would warrant and immediate charge of obstruction of justice from Mueller. The Dems would not push it for now but on the off chance they totally mess up 2020 they would likely commence with impeachment proceedings after. (Like Lewinsky after Dole failed in 96 etc).
For now, Trump is totally fine and so long as he sits tight / only fires Sessions he is good as Rosenstein is the one who heads / oversees Mueller's probe. Firing him would be the disaster that Trump needs to avoid.
(Bear in mind btw, Sessions own seat went to a Democrat so that was a likely "salt in wound" moment for Trump...not that it was Sessions fault as he was hatch act barred from even endorsing anyone).
The numbers are razor tight in the Senate and McCain making it through June means that the seat in AZ stays with the GOP through 2020 but now those other contentious races like in AZ (the other seat which Flake is vacating) become all the tighter due to the Roy Moore idiocy.
I said some nasty things about Sessions...for someone as opposed to it as me, I sure ate a bunch of humble pie. He is a good man. If Trump fires him, he has held his head high through this entire spectacle that has gone on at Justice ; he is not a vindictive man either. Which is why, for the sake of his boss (Trump), Sessions has stayed in place this long and taken the crap that he has.