Trump is trying to generate support from Republican Senators to allow him to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions -- and replace him with someone who will stop the Robert Mueller investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 election. If the Senators approve this, they will be complicit in obstruction of justice and violate their oaths to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”.
Trump Has Been Lobbying Senators Over Sessions
On Tuesday the Washington Post reported that Trump has renewed his idea of firing Sessions in conversations with his aides and attorneys. We also learned that Trump has been lobbying Republican Senators to allow him to fire Sessions.
On Thursday, after saying that Sessions would remain until after the November elections, Trump said at a rally in Evansville, Indiana, that if the Justice Department and FBI didn’t start doing their jobs right he would “get involved”. That seemed to be a threat to end the Mueller investigation.
Further Evidence Against Trump Arose
Presumably Trump was motivated by recent events, including last week’s conviction of his campaign chair, Paul Manafort, and the guilty plea of his personal attorney Michael Cohen.
On Tuesday, Bruce Ohr, a senior Justice Department attorney whom Trump has wanted to fire, stated in a closed session with House staffers that Russian intelligence believed it had Trump “over a barrel.”
In a court filing on Friday, attorneys for George Papadopoulos stated that during the 2016 campaign Trump “nodded with approval” when Papadopoulos suggested a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump.
The Polls Support the Investigation
The polls are not with Trump regarding the investigation.
This week a Washington Post-ABC News poll showed that 63% of Americans support Robert Mueller’s investigation and 64% said that Jeff Sessions should not be fired. In a Suffolk University poll this week 59% said they did not trust Trump’s denials that his campaign was involved in Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Republican Resolve in the Senate Is Crumbling
Despite the polls, Senate support for Sessions among Republicans seems to be crumbling.
A year ago Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said there would be “holy hell” to pay if Trump fired Sessions. A week ago Graham said that it is “very likely” Trump will fire Sessions after the November midterms.” As of Tuesday Graham said that the Trump/Sessions relationship is “beyond repair.”
In summer of 2017 Republican Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who chairs the committee that would review Sessions’ replacement, said that his agenda was too full to approve confirmation of a replacement, indicating that he would oppose Sessions’ firing. A week ago Grassley said that now he would have time to consider such a nomination.
A year ago, Republican Senator Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) publicly supported Sessions in response to Trump attacks. On Tuesday, Shelby said that “Nothing lasts forever” and described the Trump-Sessions situation as “a toxic relationship.”
As Senator Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), a longtime supporter of Sessions, said, “My sense is the fix is in.”
Guilty Pleas and Indictments Increase
It is difficult to keep up, but Mueller’s team has obtained guilty pleas from five defendants and the conviction of Paul Manafort last week. Mueller’s team has either indicted or obtained guilty pleas from 32 people and three companies — and those are only the ones we know about, as he may be using sealed indictments. If this is a witch hunt, as Trump contends, a large number of witches are being found.
The question is whether Senate Republicans will give Trump the cover to fire Jeff Sessions and have his replacement end the Mueller investigation – and collude in obstructing justice.