Sessions Out

Embattled Jeff Sessions out. Do we presume a replacement will be confirmed during a lame duck session? Mueller probably has things he wants to move on post-election - it would be nice to know who is boss is.

But forget about Russia - Sessions was aboutthe last man standing in opposition to marijuana reform:

Bucking a bipartisan trend to support less harsh tactics for drug offenders, Sessions instructed federal prosecutors to file the most serious charges possible, and to seek the death penalty when appropriate. He moved to pull back on the department’s work on reforming abusive police departments.

And while not exactly declaring war on states with legal marijuana — still an illegal drug under federal law — Sessions made clear he was eager to roll back the growth of the cannabis industry.

I think we can do better.

TWEETING: From the boss:

We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well....

Well, "Acting" AG.

Comments

[JimNorCal]

Second!

[mike in houston]

Education

Whitaker graduated with a Master of Business Administration, Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa. While at Iowa, Whitaker played tight end for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team, appearing in Iowa's Rose Bowl game in 1991

[Pinandpuller]

Did he release it for Hannity's show?

[anonamom]

Geez----what's with TM?? Did her retire like Althouse did?

You misunderestimate 4D theory. It can be twisted to fit any fact. Just wait.

That is what 4D is---flexible. Very flexible.
Not subjected to the usual rules.
Right???

The Sessions resignation sure changes the subject from the MSM's "Big Win."

[Pinandpuller]

President Avenatti is looking at the first Shariattorney Vizir Sheikh Ellison.

[henry]

As an aside, I didn't like a single bit of his deregulation as it was ham handed and gave the NGAs more power than ever, I didn't like his civil asset forfeiture, i didn't like his push for encryption back doors. Thus don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya Jeff.

Whatever he did or didn't do around his recusal and the toxic sedition of DOJ and FBI staff is a mystery punctuated by the total lack of indictments.

[jimmyk]

The other thing about the Sessions resignation is that with the Senate now 54-46, Trump should be able to get an AG of his choosing. The previous Senate with the 51 including Flake/McCain/Murkowski/Collins would have been tricky.

[Miss Marple]

anonamom,

He sure knows how to handle the news cycle, unlike any president I have ever seen.

First he stepped all over Pelosi's press conference by having his go on for over 90 minutes, and then he releases the "resignation" announcement after her press conference is over.

Pretty amazing, actually.

[henry]

hmmm:

MarketWatch @MarketWatch

Dow jumps by more than 500 points as Sessions resigns as Attorney General amid Mueller probe on.mktw.net/2DsH6OE

[Pinandpuller]

Attorney General Steadman Brown indicted ten of the nation's top cattle producers today in an unprecedented sweep...

[jjm]

Oh, my -- the recently elated Democrats and mainstream media, plus Acosta, are going to be changing their Depends. Frequently.

[Miss Marple]

Heather R. Higgins
‏Verified account @TheHRH
59m59 minutes ago

Good point by Rush Limbaugh: Media manufactured, promoted #FakeNews stories of blue wave, many GOP members fell for it and retired, creating many open seats which account for Dems now taking House.
=====================================

I don't know that this its true. I think it more likely they left because they thought investigations of their actions was imminent.

[Pinandpuller]

So where does Whole Lotta Rosie go from here?

According to a Reddit headline Don Jr is expecting to be indicted by Herr Mueller.

[maryrose]

Henry:
I appreciate your comments and thank you for your Election updates.

[Miss Marple]

zerohedge
‏ @zerohedge
28m28 minutes ago

*ROD ROSENSTEIN TO REMAIN IN PLACE AS DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
*WHITAKER SAID TO TAKE OVER MUELLER PROBE: U.S. OFFICIAL

==================

No sources, so don't know if this is true.

[henry]

China, latest try at stealing all IP in the universe is exposed: all US internet traffic routed through China.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/11/strange-snafu-misroutes-domestic-us-internet-traffic-through-china-telecom/?fbclid=IwAR3PA6tCPn-MTGHViNYEemDFJJ9d9cG5rfKZf6T9bYlINHMAGphyOFzSCRY

[Dave (in MA)]

Marketwatch is being a little dishonest as almost all of the increase was between the open and when the Sessions news broke.

[jimmyk]

Dow jumps by more than 500 points as Sessions resigns

I think it was up about 225 right at the opening in response to the election, and it has continued to climb through the day. It seems happier than you, henry. :)

[maryrose]

Eric Holder weighs in hypocritically as he has never accepted full responsibility for Fast and Furious or the Marc Rich pardon.

[Miss Marple]

In 2016, we were elected to change Washington. President Trump’s been doing that! House Republicans need to demonstrate the same intensity to #DoWhatWeSaidhttps://t.co/XTTGfRNg1h

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) November 7, 2018

Link goes to a story from The Hill saying he will challenge McCarthy.

Personally, I think they should hold the election of minority leader now and not wait until January.

[Pinandpuller]

Murller getting fitted for his snaffle bit.

[maryrose]

Jimmyk:
On the former thread I stated that I find your comments quite hilarious.

[Captain Hate]

Willowed

All of a sudden StealthJeff isn't such a good handle.

Time for RG to show up. Confession is good for the soul.

[Barbara]

From the last thread:

Notice: no leaks. Porchlight

Excellent point, Porchlight.

[Miss Marple]

Nationalist Pet Lover
🇺🇸
🐾
‏ @petluvers4Trump
2h2 hours ago

My wife is health-conscious. She eats no carbs, sodium or fat. She lives on vegetables and protein.

She watched @realDonaldTrump presser whole I was working. She got so upset with the way he was treated, she called me and made me order a pizza for her!

#FakeNews strikes again.

[henry]

jimmyk, i completely happy about Sessions getting kicked to the curb (or resigning-- all the same)

[Eye Doctor .]

Tommy boy

Is Sessions still working with Trump to set a trap for the Deep State? LOL

[jimmyk]

maryrose, you get elite membership in the fan club for that. It's a bit lonely there, though.

Dave beat me to it, but the Dow has gone up about another 75 points since the Sessions announcement.

[narciso]

There was a guess in the bezos back in september

[Captain Hate]

In defense of henry, if Red Squaw's money man, Cordray, was our new governor thanks in large part to the egocentric actions of Johnnycakes Katshit, I'd be feeling pretty damn miserable.

[Porchlight]

Yeah, I saw some speculation, but that's not really the same as a leak.

[Pinandpuller]

Any of you guys gotten stem cell injections? It's come to my town but I'm not quite sure I'm ready to be a Beta tester.

[Eye Doctor .]

Tommy boy

Wasn't it Sessions who appointed Huber?

[maryrose]

Rosenstein reporting to the WH.
Show your work and turn in your badges.

[jimmyk]

And so it begins:

(((Rep. Nadler)))
‏Verified account @RepJerryNadler

(((Rep. Nadler))) Retweeted Donald J. Trump

Americans must have answers immediately as to the reasoning behind @realDonaldTrump removing Jeff Sessions from @TheJusticeDept. Why is the President making this change and who has authority over Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation? We will be holding people accountable.

Taranto points out that back in 2017 Nadler was demanding Sessions's resignation.

https://twitter.com/jamestaranto/status/1060269070090731531

[James D.]

I am thrilled that Sessions is out.

Now the new guy needs to go after the Dem/Deep State traitors with sharp knives and blowtorches.

Time for the reckoning to start. Or really, far, far past time.

[Clarice Feldman]

I love this president.

[Captain Hate]

Sometimes the simplest explanation is best:

I'm not surprised. Trump has made it clear for months he wanted to make a change and unless he was playing some 4th dimensional head fake, which he wasn't, Sessions was done.

I do not agree that Sessions didn't have to recuse himself, he was a potential target of the investigation and there is no way he could oversee his own investigation. And if he had fought it it would have caused a shitstorm as big as the collusion issue if not bigger.

But I can understand why Trump felt he was being abandoned. It was a no-win situation for both of them. But no, I don't think he was sleeping for the last two years and he's actually accomplished quite a bit in areas like immigration, MS-13, human trafficking, etc. He just lost Trump's confidence because of the recusal.

Probably best to bring someone new in with a clean slate. I'm not at all convinced anything different is going to happen.
Posted by: JackStraw at November 07, 2018 03:23 PM (/tuJf)

[Dave (in MA)]

Upchuck questions the timing and demands that Whitaker recuses himself.

[maryrose]

This is the second time our new governor Mike DeWine has beaten Cordray like a drum.
At the Pancake breakfast I got to shake the hand of the now newly elected Mike DeWine as well as our new AG, Secretary Of State, Auditor, Treasurer and the entire Republican administration.
DeWine is about as tall as me so that is why President Trump looked so tall standing next to him.
Anthony Gonzalez is s great NewCongressman who I campaigned for and went door to door with literature.
Very happy with his victory.
We were there with his campaign from its beginning.
Whitaker looks like a straight shooter.
Blumenthal says This is a Break the Glass moment.

[maryrose]

JamesD:
I agree 100 percent.

[maryrose]

I especially like our President stepping on the Dem House victory.

[Extraneus]

Nadler can send out a subpoena in January, then after a few hearing reschedulings, maybe start asking questions in April or so. Answers might take a while longer.

Eff him.

[Pinandpuller]

Other than Gingrich I can't think of a single time Republicans in charge didn't underreach.

[JimNorCal]

Way to go, maryrose!

[lyle]

If Trump nominates Jersey Fat Boy, I’m done.

[Eye Doctor .]

Make Louie Gohmert AG

[Barbara]

I don't recall the vote numbers, but Sessions was barely confirmed after the democrats called their colleague every vile name in the book. Then they blasted him into incoherence at that Senate hearing.

Now, he's untouchable? Come on guys. That argument is going nowhere.

[Captain Hate]

I doubt that we're ever going to know the true story on what Sessions did or didn't know about in office, but it's looking more like he was clueless, or at least badly misinformed, about the level of rot in his department. Too bad because this puts a huge cloud over his last two years that, if innocent, he has no way of getting away from.

[maryrose]

JimNorCal:
My daughter attended his victory party in Strongsville last night.

[maryrose]

Barbara:
Good point.

[Captain Hate]

lyle, it won't be Fat RINO Bastard because I don't think DJT trusts him. Did he even last a week with the transition team?

[maryrose]

I have a foolproof plan to handle any Dem subpoenas .
Refuse to show up.
Or plead the 5th.
Worked for Simpson,Pagliano, Lerner et al.

[lyle]

Hope not, CH. I’d bring up the saw about not trusting him as far as I could throw him but...we’ll, you know. 😉

[Miss Marple]

Captain Hate,

It sure was a short time on the transition team. Plus, he has been pretty quiet since then, hasn't he?

[daddy]

I'm a million comments behind, but just woke and listened to Hannity for a few seconds. He had on Lindsay Graham and Hannity said that Chuck Schumer has called for Acting Atty General Whitaker to recuse himself. Lindsay Graham laughed that off, replying, "I don't know why he'd have to do that, Whitaker wasn't part of the Campaign."

What a morning apparently I missed. Landed about 06:30 AM and laid in bed in and out of sleep listening to Rush. Sounds like a day when the Media and the Dems decided to continue to push their patented ugliness. Glad Sessions is gone. It sounds to me like Lindsay Graham is eager to fight as much as Trump is willing to fight.

[Extraneus]

I imagine Trump will be quite careful with the AG selection. :-)

Dems could still filibuster, though.

[maryrose]

Every news station is leading with Sessions...

[Extraneus]

Dow and S&P up 2.1%

NASDAQ up 2.6%

[maryrose]

Daddy:
I am thrilled about Dunleavy leaving dopey Begich in the dust!
Stayed up late, just to see the first results.

[lyle]

From the comments on a WSJ thread re Beto:

I heard he was moving to Louisiana and running as Beteaux. Taking advantage of his Cajun roots.

Too good.

[derwill]

My theory on Sessions is that he wanted to protect the institution of the DoJ, and he never quite grasped that it is rotten to the core and thus not only should never be protected, but rather razed to the ground.

[maryrose]

Rosie and Trump;
Imaginary meeting:
Trump:
There is a new sheriff in town and now we are going to play this my way.
Rosie:
Yes Sir.
Do I still have my job?

[jimmyk]

I saw on Althouse that Graham does not want the job. That would put to rest speculation of Graham going to AG and Haley taking Graham's seat.

In addition to Fat Boy, I'm hoping Gowdy isn't being considered either. Maybe Whitaker will be just fine.

[Miss Marple]

More stuff about Whitaker. This is from August, 2016:

https://www.breitbart.com/radio/2016/08/25/former-u-s-attorney-matthew-whitaker-enough-evidence-to-have-a-special-prosecutor-investigate-clinton-foundation/

[glasater]

Schumer statement saying Whitaker should recuse himself on the #Mueller investigation.

Tell someone who cares, Chucky.

Sessions was going after the heathen Chinee, Henry so that was a good thing ;-)

[Miss Marple]

Since Whitaker was already confirmed, could he fill the AG slot without another confirmation vote, avoiding the filibuster?

[Dave (in MA)]

I guess I live in the sanest part of my town. Of the 6 precincts, they all went overwhelmingly in favor of Fauxcahontas, but in my precinct Geoff Diehl only fell short by 44 votes out of 2148 votes cast.

[jimmyk]

Iowahawk points out that Whitaker was a tight end for Iowa, even has video of him catching a touchdown pass.

https://twitter.com/iowahawkblog/status/1060268951895269376

I thought he was joking, just someone with the same name, but it's the same guy.

[James D.]

I have a foolproof plan to handle any Dem subpoenas .
Refuse to show up.
Or plead the 5th.

Exactly, maryrose. Zero’s lackeys did it for 8 years and the Dems and media were cool with it. Well, it works both ways.

[Clarice Feldman]

I think Sessions is an honorable man, but ill-equipped for battle.

[Dave Seville]

--Brothers much?--

Heh. :)

And yes, I'm Ignatz. When typhus went viral Dave Seville was locked in as my name and to change it I have to enter different info every time which I did for awhile but it was a pain.

[JohnS]

If Whitaker is nominated for AG, it doesn't matter if the Dems filibuster it, because he is already acting AG.

[Eye Doctor .]

An honorable man would not have allowed what we have witnessed happening for the last two years.

Good riddance to Jeff Sessions!

[maryrose]

Lyle:
That is really funny!
Anyone who has ever watched the Apprentice knows why Sessions was fired.
He was ineffective in his job.

[Miss Marple]

Clarice,

That is my opinion as well. I just think he didn't understand how deep the rot is and while holding to his own high ethical standards, allowed himself to be run over by people without any.

If I remember correctly, he insisted on getting AG instead of taking DHS, which was what Trump first offered him, given his interest in immigration.

One does wonder why since he recused himeslf so quickly.

[Dave Seville]

I believe 4D theory posits that Sessions has put in place all the pawns, rooks, etc necessary and has therefore fulfilled his purpose and now comes Act II of 4D chess as Rip Van passes his white ten gallon hat off to the next guy.

[lyle]

James D. for AG! Or Clarice.

[derwill]

And as acting AG he can appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Clinton Foundation, and the FISA spying, and Uranium One. Oh, be still my heart.

[Eye Doctor .]

Rosenstein has got to go!

[Miss Marple]

Emerald Robinson
‏ @EmeraldRobinson
31m31 minutes ago

BREAKING: Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein has been called to a 4pm meeting today at the White House. Will arrive shortly. Sources tell me that Rosenstein will also resign "within next 48 hours." #OANN

[maryrose]

Ken Starr on with Cavuto.
Says Rosenstein is the regular order guy for the spot.Questions will be raised.

[Dave Seville]

Too bad Walker lost but try 8 years of the Austrian Oakey, 8 of Gubnuh Moonbeam and now the impossibly oily Gavin Nuisance.
The regulatory noose in my industry has been catastrophic and has done almost nothing more to protect anything; it's just a giant make work project for government goldbricks.

[Pinandpuller]

I guess Sessions can go back to Bama and install an LED spotlight on his 4x4.

[maryrose]

Derwill:
I am right there with you.
We have to get this show on the road.
So much time has been wasted already.

[exdemocrat]

Whitaker from that Breitbart article above:

"I’ve always thought the Clinton Foundation is a very sophisticated way to get around the campaign finance laws and to allow for unlimited donations and an ability to curry favor with a presidential candidate that, quite frankly, is unprecedented in the history of our country .."

[maryrose]

Start days President needs to feel confidence in his AG.

[Eye Doctor .]

Tommy boy

You were right about one thing.

Sessions, Mueller and Rosenstein were and are working together!

[maryrose]

Exdemocrat:
Post of the day!
Truer words were never spoken.
Clinton’s:
The grifting machine that keeps on taking your money.

[maryrose]

Should be Starr says

[Pinandpuller]

I dub Gavin Newsome The Golden State Killer.

[daddy]

Cavuto just read this letter from Senator Chuck Grassley:

I look forward to working with Matt Whitaker as he takes the helm of the Justice Department. A fellow Iowan, I have known him for many years. Matt will work hard and make us proud. The Justice department is in good hands during this time of transition.

Former Special Prosecutor Ken Starr, after having heard that read says to Cavuto:

Ken Starr: ...it is important for there to be a duly confirmed Atty general for the United States. I had not heard that statement and so I think it is terrific that Chairman Grassley has confidence, and that gives me confidence, because the one thing you can take to the bank is Senator Charles Grassley is a person of total integrity, so he will insist that the Justice Department, under the new general's leadership, in turning square corners, doing it right. It's very important for the country to have confidence that the Justice Dept is doing it's best to do the right thing and to do it in the right way.

[Old Lurker]

Clarice "I love this president."

Me too. EXACTLY the man for these times.

[jimmyk]

Watching a replay of the press conference. Trump would have done fabulously in a filibuster. He can just talk a blue streak.

[Miss Marple]

About 4-D chess.

What we have is not a planned strategy worked out on many levels, but a guy in charge who has spent 30 years dealing with corrupt unions and politicos, who knows instinctively how to fight back in unforeseen ways, and is as sharp as a tack.

All on display today with his press conference, the removal of Sessions, and the 4PM meeting with Rosenstein, stealing the dems thunder over the House win and getting them all upset about Whitaker.

[Old Lurker]

Iggy "--Brothers much?-- Heh. :)"

I do endeavor to be the good brother you never had.

[daddy]

Katherine Herridge on Cavuto reporting this about Whitaker:

Herridge: ...Matt Whitaker...had been serving as the Chief of Staff for Atty general Jeff Sessions...My contacts say that he has very quietly behind the scenes supported the Declassification of these Russia records that are specific to the Surveillance Warrant that was obtained in Oct of 2016 for the Trump Campaign, and significantly today at his news conference...The President indicated that those records may be public very soon. (Plays clip of Trumps saying that at the News conference)

[Barbara]

Goodness! Fire a few of their pet poodles, and the "victorious" left goes berserk.😊

[daddy]

Who is Fat RINO Bastard?

[Pinandpuller]

TLDR:

When D's win the people spoke.

When D's lose the R's cheated.