Jeff Sessions is Out as Attorney General
Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty
Well that didn’t take long. The only question remaining is whether Sessions was fired or resigned. Multiple reports say that he resigned, but the New York Times is reporting that he was fired. Sessions’ resignation letter below sure makes it seem like he was fired, leading with “at your request.”
Matthew G. Whitaker, who was Sessions’ Chief of Staff, will take over as Acting Attorney General.
Matt Whitaker last year:
“So I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced with a recess appointment, and that attorney general doesn’t fire Bob Mueller, but he just reduces his budget to so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt.”https://t.co/MP4cilrWlK
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) November 7, 2018
In 2017, Whitaker wrote an op-ed at CNN titled “Mueller’s investigation of Trump is going too Far.” This is fine.
UPDATE: NBC’s Pete Williams reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will cease oversight of the Mueller investigation and Whitaker is expected to step-in, but he can only fire Mueller “for cause.”
Jacob Weindling is a staff writer for Paste politics. Follow him on Twitter at @Jakeweindling.