Donald Trump fires Jeff Sessions; Whitaker is Acting Attorney General

"Since the day I had the honor to swear in as Attorney General of the United States, I have come to work at the Department of Justice every day, determined to do my duty and to serve my country, "said Sessions in a seven-paragraph letter. "I have done my best to support the basic legal processes that form the foundation of justice."

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw the investigation of special advocate Robert Mueller in Russia, was at the White House Wednesday afternoon for a meeting.

More: Who is Matthew Whitaker? Football star Hawkeye and federal prosecutor become Acting Attorney General

More: Read the letter of resignation from Jeff Sessions: "Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. President"

The departure of Sessions, one of Trump's most fervent supporters during the 2016 campaign, had been waiting for weeks.

Focusing on the laser's decision of Sessions to recuse itself from the investigation of Russia, Trump hailed it during interviews, tweets and press conferences as "besieged," often expressing "the disappointment" of his attorney general.

In September, Trump pushed his critics to another level when he disassociated Sessions from the administration, including the Attorney General's efforts to control the border.

"I do not have a Attorney General. It's very sad, "said Trump in an interview with Hill.TV. "I'm not happy at the border, I'm not happy about many things, not just about that."

In recent weeks, Trump called the sessions "shameful" for asking the Inspector General of the Department of Justice – not prosecutors – to review allegations of abuse of supervision by Republicans regarding the monitoring of a former Trump campaign assistant.

The recusal of the March 2017 sessions for failing to disclose the election year meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak – and the dismissal of the FBI director by James Comey by Trump in May 2017 – led the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller to the Special Council of the Department of Justice. extensive investigation of Russia.

The appointment of Mueller and the extension of the investigation to a thorough review of the Trump family's finances and possible obstruction of justice fueled the President's attacks on the Attorney General.

Trump's regular Twitter attacks against his own Ministry of Justice and Attorney General have raised public concern that the president is trying to control the investigation of Russia further.

With Sessions out, Trump could appoint a no-conflict Attorney General in Russia, thus allowing a possible resumption of the investigation that he calls a "witch hunt".

"I think you have to ask yourself who benefits from the withdrawal of Sessions," said Jimmy Gurule, former Deputy Attorney General of President George H. W. Buisson. "And the answer is President Trump."

Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who served under the presidency of George W. Bush, attributed to Sessions the "maintenance of unusual equanimity and dignity" while conscientiously applying Trump's agenda on various issues, including immigration and the repression of violent crimes.

"He has done all this under tremendous pressure, and we know what it is," Mukasey told US TODAY, citing the president's fierce criticism. "I can not imagine how he was able to do that."

Mukasey, a Sessions confidant hung in the fifth floor of the Attorney General's conference room, described the atmosphere created by Trump's public attacks as "psychological drama".

Rather than go to face Trump's attacks, Mukasey said: "The sessions have remained at the bar of the sprawling agency" for the welfare of the department ".

"For him, it's amazing," said Mukasey.

In July 2017, Trump told the New York Times that he would never have named the former Alabama senator when he knew that the sessions would disqualify themselves to oversee the event. 39, investigation of Russia.

He repeated this phrase at a press conference at Rose Garden the following week. "If he wanted to recuse himself, he should have told me before taking office, and I would have simply chosen someone else," Trump said. "So, I think it's a bad thing, not for the president, but for the presidency."

The president called his own attorney general "besieged", accusing him of not investigating former political opponent Hillary Clinton and questioned the importance of his initial loyalty during the campaign.

Related:

As tension mounted in the months following his decision to disqualify, Sessions proposed to the president to resign, but this request was not accepted.

Shares of Sessions were called into question after its controversial confirmation hearing in January 2017.

During the interrogation, Sessions did not reveal at least two interviews with Kislyak in 2016 and a third interview which the Attorney General said he did not remember.

The meetings with Kislyak, revealed for the first time by the Washington Post, resulted in Sessions' decision to disqualify itself.

The sessions indicated that he had not discussed any issues related to the campaign and Trump's policy with the Russian ambassador. On July 21, the Post reported, on the basis of US intercepts of Kislyak's contacts with Moscow, that the ambassador had stated that the sessions had engaged in extensive discussions on issues related to the campaign and to politics.

The sessions did not publicly address the report.

California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the highest Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the sessions to testify before the committee on the content of the report.

The Republicans rallied to the Sessions camp after Trump's first rebuke.

Former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, said the Attorney General's loyalty to the President was unshakeable, after supporting Trump, even when audio tapes revealed in October 2016 the brutal story of his treatment of women by Trump.

Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the sessions were "essential" to promoting the Conservative program of the Trump campaign.

As early as January, House Freedom caucus leaders Mark Meadows (North Carolina) and Jim Jordan (Ohio) called for the resignation of the Attorney General. Congress members, citing the recusation of Sessions following the investigation of Russia, claimed that the Attorney General could no longer properly manage the department and the FBI. Gingrich and Grassley recently reported that their support for sessions was decreasing.

Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S, another former Senate colleague and supporter, said the Trump-Sessions relationship was "irreparable", fueling speculation that Graham might be running for the job. He denied any interest in the job.

The criticisms were made even as the sessions aggressively pursued the resolutely conservative program that Trump had presented during the campaign.

He drew attention to the peaks of violent crime; ordered an in-depth review of police agreements punishing agencies in difficulty; canceled a series of civil rights actions dating back to the Obama era, including a challenge by the Department of Justice to a controversial law on voter identification in Texas; and threatened with so-called sanctuary cities to shelter undocumented immigrants. In January, the Attorney General paved the way for tougher enforcement of marijuana by reversing the previous government's non-interference policy with respect to state laws authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. and recreational.

The sessions spurred the president's immigration enforcement policy, which is central to Trump's successful campaign.

Announcing a new set of requirements for cities to remain eligible for millions of dollars in federal grants, Sessions said jurisdictions should provide federal immigration authorities with access to all detention centers so to determine the status of alleged undocumented immigrants.

The crackdown drew the attention of defenders of immigration and human rights, but aroused the applause of his conservative colleagues.

"I have complete confidence in the Attorney General," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, in September.

Related:

Read or share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/07/jeff-sessions-resigns-attorney-general-trump/512600001/