A Putin for all Sessions

[Symmetry]

So- the Attorney General can't tell the whole truth about his contacts with Russia.

How long do you think it'll be before Sean Spicer gives him the kiss of death- a "we have full confidence in the man" press conference?

[Symmetry]

Not a good sign for whoever voted "never" without replying, but Sessions has just recused himself from overseeing investigations into ties between the Trump regime and Russia.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/jeff-sessions-russia-recuse/518457/

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday he would recuse himself from overseeing the federal investigation into alleged Russian interference in the presidential election, citing the advice of his staff.

“I believe those recommendations are right and just,” he said. “Therefore I have recused myself from matters with the Trump campaign.”

The move comes less than 24 hours after The Washington Post revealed Sessions had spoken with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, on two separate occasions during the campaign. That appeared to contradict assertions made by Sessions to the Senate Judiciary Committee twice during the confirmation process.

Still, the question remains- how long before he resigns?

And can anyone think of a better pun for this thread?

[saxitoxin]

Why on Earth would Sessions resign? You only resign if you're in danger of being removed. You seem to forget that we control every single gear and lever of every branch of government.

Sessions can talk with Russia, Sessions can have sex with a corpse on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial if he wants. There is no process that exists whereby 43% of the Congress can remove someone serving at the pleasure of the President.

Nancy Pelosi's braying is as irrelevant as Estonia's eastern border.

[BoganGod]

Why on Earth would Sessions resign? You only resign if you're in danger of being removed. You seem to forget that we control every single gear and lever of every branch of government.

Sessions can talk with Russia, Sessions can have sex with a corpse on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial if he wants. There is no process that exists whereby 43% of the Congress can remove someone serving at the pleasure of the President.

Nancy Pelosi's braying is as irrelevant as Estonia's eastern border.

Nancy Pelosi looks enough like a man with full blown aids to float DSOIV's boat. That is the only interest on his/her/zee's part.

[Symmetry]

Why on Earth would Sessions resign? You only resign if you're in danger of being removed. You seem to forget that we control every single gear and lever of every branch of government.

Sessions can talk with Russia, Sessions can have sex with a corpse on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial if he wants. There is no process that exists whereby 43% of the Congress can remove someone serving at the pleasure of the President.

Nancy Pelosi's braying is as irrelevant as Estonia's eastern border.

He's already had to recuse himself from matters regarding the Trump campaign and the Russians. He's basically admitted that he can't be impartial about this. As more allegations emerge, it's questionable if he can even do his job.

And, of course, there's the Trump factor. He's another open wound on Trump's legitimacy.

Already it's emerging that the head of the EPA probably lied to congress, and Pence has his own e-mail scandal.

If you think that the Republicans in congress and the senate will tolerate 4 years of this stuff, I can only admire your optimism.

[thegreekdog]

I would look forward to Sessions's resignation if I thought his replacement would be any better. I don't look forward to having an overly conservative racist drug war czar replace the overly conservative racist drug war czar.

In any event, just because...

(1) Sessions does not appear to have actually lied. He answered the question (did you talk about the campaign with the Russians) honestly with a "no."
(2) Team Blue! Some 20+ years ago the Team Blue president lied under oath. When Team Blue starts demanding resignation and jail time for Sessions, I start wondering about hypocrisy.

[Symmetry]

I would look forward to Sessions's resignation if I thought his replacement would be any better. I don't look forward to having an overly conservative racist drug war czar replace the overly conservative racist drug war czar.

In any event, just because...

(1) Sessions does not appear to have actually lied. He answered the question (did you talk about the campaign with the Russians) honestly with a "no."
(2) Team Blue! Some 20+ years ago the Team Blue president lied under oath. When Team Blue starts demanding resignation and jail time for Sessions, I start wondering about hypocrisy.

His answers were a bit more ambiguous than that, and his cover up is hella suspicious.

“I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and I did not have communications with the Russians, and I’m unable to comment on it.”

Of course, he did have communications with the Russians.

[saxitoxin]

He's already had to recuse himself from matters regarding the Trump campaign and the Russians. He's basically admitted that he can't be impartial about this.

Big deal. Holder recused himself from investigations, too - as recently as 2013. A recusal is a PR tactic so you don't have to deal with the media on topic XYZ, so you can say "I don't know, I'm recused from that matter" to every question you don't want to answer.

If that's the "ah-ha!" straw you're grasping at, you may still be holding onto it ten years from now when Sessions has finished a full appointment as AG and is holding an emeritus professorship in public policy at Harvard Law, lecturing one day a semester.

And that's fine if that's what's going to get you through the next eight years.

And, of course, there's the Trump factor. He's another open wound on Trump's legitimacy.

Whomever controls the Army and Police is legitimate by virtue of the fact that he has actual power. Not theoretical or legalistic power, but actual, raw power. The Army voted for Trump by a 3:1 margin, and several federal police unions (like the Border Patrol) endorsed him.

Trump's party controls both houses of congress, all state governorships, and Trump appoints every judge of every court. Trump is the government.

If you think that the Republicans in congress and the senate will tolerate 4 years of this stuff, I can only admire your optimism.

If you think a Republican congressman is going to vote his own party out of power you're remarkably innocent. It's cute.

The USOIC statute was repealed after the Starr inquiry into Bill Clinton. With Session's recusal, that means the investigation won't be handled by an independent prosecutor but by Acting Deputy Attorney-General Dana Boente (the Trump team-player whom Trump picked to replace Sally Yates after he shit-canned her for insubordination). So good luck with the "investigation!" It will go exactly like we need it to go.

[Symmetry]

Sessions is no longer willing to talk about his relations with Russia:

Jeff Sessions to answer Russia questions in writing

The US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, will reply in writing to Senate Democrats’ questions about his meetings with Russia’s ambassador last year, the justice department said on Friday, after a top Republican turned down Democrats’ request for a public hearing.

Nine Democratic senators wrote asking the Senate judiciary committee chairman, Chuck Grassley, to call Sessions before his panel to explain his failure until this week to disclose his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Analysis Is Russia connection destined to be Trump administration's Watergate?
As more details emerge of meetings with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and TV hosts have a field day, the scandal seems unlikely to disappear soon

The letter came a day after Sessions removed himself from any investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the election.

Grassley replied that he had no plans for a hearing.

Instead, Sessions would submit written answers on Monday to questions in the letter, such as why he did not come forward sooner to detail his communications with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian envoy, justice department spokesman Peter Carr said.

On Thursday, Sessions said he met Kislyak in his Senate office two months before the election as well as at an event with other ambassadors at the Republican national convention.

During the Senate confirmation process to become attorney general, Sessions denied contact with Russian officials during the campaign. Sessions told reporters he had done nothing wrong by failing to disclose the contact with Kislyak.

[saxitoxin]

Big deal. Holder recused himself from investigations, too - as recently as 2013. A recusal is a PR tactic so you don't have to deal with the media on topic XYZ, so you can say "I don't know, I'm recused from that matter" to every question you don't want to answer.

Sessions is no longer willing to talk about his relations with Russia:

Jeff Sessions to answer Russia questions in writing

nailed it

[mookiemcgee]

the investigation won't be handled by an independent prosecutor but by Acting Deputy Attorney-General Dana Boente (the Trump team-player whom Trump picked to replace Sally Yates after he shit-canned her for insubordination). So good luck with the "investigation!" It will go exactly like we need it to go.

Are you sure about this? Genuine question, I thought I read the likelihood a special prosecutor would be named was very high.

[saxitoxin]

the investigation won't be handled by an independent prosecutor but by Acting Deputy Attorney-General Dana Boente (the Trump team-player whom Trump picked to replace Sally Yates after he shit-canned her for insubordination). So good luck with the "investigation!" It will go exactly like we need it to go.

Are you sure about this? Genuine question, I thought I read the likelihood a special prosecutor would be named was very high.

Well unless I missed something, there's no process to name any "special prosecutor" - the independent counsel statute expired. The Democratic Party, now deprived of every lever of power, have been blurring the lines between their wet dreams and what they can actually do. I suspect, like Symm, you're reading the wet dream transcripts they're desperately releasing.

[riskllama]

that doesn't sound fair, just or smart.

[saxitoxin]

that doesn't sound fair, just or smart.

President Trump's mission is just, therefore, anything he does is ipso facto just.

[riskllama]

i notice you glossed over "smart", saxi. llama wins this thread.

[Symmetry]

This made me laugh- Roger Stone, one of Trump's campaign advisors under suspicion of having Russian contacts, revealed that he had a backdoor communication channel to Julian Assange and Wikileaks.

But that's not really the fun part (although his twitter meltdown and subsequent deletion are amusing).

Apparently the guy has Richard Nixon's face tattoed on his back.

[saxitoxin]

Roger Stone, one of Trump's campaign advisors under suspicion of having Russian contacts

You still can't seem to answer what the big deal is about having Russian contacts.

You are starting from the a priori assumption that Russian contacts are bad.

- France was America's ally, then it became its enemy, then it became its ally again.
- Russia was America's enemy, now it will be America's ally.

Changes happen and alliances are transient. You seem upset that the world you knew is now changing and this change is irreversible. And that's understandable. Nostalgia and whatever.

But you're going to have to learn to live with what is coming because, pretty soon, continental Europe will be squeezed from both sides, like its between a vise, squeezed until it implodes into a pile of bloodied jelly. And there's nothing anyone can do to stop it. We win.

[riskllama]

who is this "we" you keep referring to???

[Symmetry]

I mostly just think it's hilarious that the guy might have a tramp stamp of Nixon's face.

There's no real big deal about having Russian contacts, but lying about, or covering up, having Russian contacts is a big deal. Especially when there are allegations that the Trump campaign was aided by the Russian government.

[saxitoxin]

There's no real big deal about having Russian contacts, but lying about, or covering up, having Russian contacts is a big deal. Especially when there are allegations that the Trump campaign was aided by the Russian government.

What's wrong with being aided by the Russian government? Clinton was aided by the Ukrainian government.

The only difference is our friends are winners who will now be rewarded. Clinton's friends are losers who will now be punished. There may not be a Ukraine in four years. But that's the risk you take when you choose to play at the high stakes table.

[saxitoxin]

Clinton was in contact with unnamed "foreign leaders" who offered to help her campaign -

https://sites.duke.edu/lawfire/2017/01/ ... ave-tried/

[Symmetry]

There's no real big deal about having Russian contacts, but lying about, or covering up, having Russian contacts is a big deal. Especially when there are allegations that the Trump campaign was aided by the Russian government.

What's wrong with being aided by the Russian government? Clinton was aided by the Ukrainian government.

The only difference is our friends are winners who will now be rewarded. Clinton's friends are losers who will now be punished. There may not be a Ukraine in four years. But that's the risk you take when you choose to play at the high stakes table.

Hmm- you've moved from "what's wrong with having Russian contacts" to "What's wrong with being aided by the Russian government?"

Are you saying that Trump's campaign was aided by Russia?

[saxitoxin]

There's no real big deal about having Russian contacts, but lying about, or covering up, having Russian contacts is a big deal. Especially when there are allegations that the Trump campaign was aided by the Russian government.

What's wrong with being aided by the Russian government? Clinton was aided by the Ukrainian government.

The only difference is our friends are winners who will now be rewarded. Clinton's friends are losers who will now be punished. There may not be a Ukraine in four years. But that's the risk you take when you choose to play at the high stakes table.

Hmm- you've moved from "what's wrong with having Russian contacts" to "What's wrong with being aided by the Russian government?"

Are you saying that Trump's campaign was aided by Russia?

How would I know?

If they were, though, I'd have no problem with it.

I don't care how the sausage is made as long as we get breakfast.

[Symmetry]

There's no real big deal about having Russian contacts, but lying about, or covering up, having Russian contacts is a big deal. Especially when there are allegations that the Trump campaign was aided by the Russian government.

What's wrong with being aided by the Russian government? Clinton was aided by the Ukrainian government.

The only difference is our friends are winners who will now be rewarded. Clinton's friends are losers who will now be punished. There may not be a Ukraine in four years. But that's the risk you take when you choose to play at the high stakes table.

Hmm- you've moved from "what's wrong with having Russian contacts" to "What's wrong with being aided by the Russian government?"

Are you saying that Trump's campaign was aided by Russia?

How would I know?

If they were, though, I'd have no problem with it.

I don't care how the sausage is made as long as we get breakfast.

So you would have no problem with an independent investigation?

[saxitoxin]

There's no real big deal about having Russian contacts, but lying about, or covering up, having Russian contacts is a big deal. Especially when there are allegations that the Trump campaign was aided by the Russian government.

What's wrong with being aided by the Russian government? Clinton was aided by the Ukrainian government.

The only difference is our friends are winners who will now be rewarded. Clinton's friends are losers who will now be punished. There may not be a Ukraine in four years. But that's the risk you take when you choose to play at the high stakes table.

Hmm- you've moved from "what's wrong with having Russian contacts" to "What's wrong with being aided by the Russian government?"

Are you saying that Trump's campaign was aided by Russia?

How would I know?

If they were, though, I'd have no problem with it.

I don't care how the sausage is made as long as we get breakfast.

So you would have no problem with an independent investigation?

Sure, as much as I have a problem with unicorns.

As you've been told, the procedure for independent investigations expired 18 years ago so talking about an independent investigation is as lucid as talking about appointing a unicorn as said independent investigator.

Do you wanna live in reality or in a Castle of Delusions? You need to face the fact that the world you love has now come to an end and will be remade into something that, for you, will be a permanent nightmare. It's important you come to face this fact instead of pretending there is some magical lever, or unicorn, or special prosecutor, you can pull to turn it all back. Because those things don't exist.