{"id":40258,"date":"2017-03-03T08:20:45","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T15:20:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=40258"},"modified":"2017-03-03T08:22:44","modified_gmt":"2017-03-03T15:22:44","slug":"unimpressive-case-attorney-general-jeff-sessions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/03\/unimpressive-case-attorney-general-jeff-sessions.html","title":{"rendered":"The unimpressive case against Attorney General Jeff Sessions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Oakland<\/a>
Many years ago, Gertrude Stein famously said of Oakland, California, that \u201cthere\u2019s no there there.\u201d Whether or not that was ever true of the city over which Jerry Brown used to preside as mayor, it very much seems to be true of some of the accusations against Jeff Sessions. (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi \u2014 both renowned, of course,\u00a0for their judicious and carefully non-partisan approach to matters in Washington \u2014 have now called for Jeff Sessions not only to recuse himself from any investigations of Russian meddling in the recent national election but to resign as Attorney General.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Absolutely shocking, right?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Well, sit down and prepare yourself for further shock: \u00a0There seems to be little merit in the allegations against Mr. Sessions on this issue.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sessions Controversy\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Perjury Allegation against Jeff Sessions Is Meritless\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I think that there\u2019s plenty of reason to be concerned about allegations of Russian attempts to influence the presidential election \u2014 and, hence, to investigate them. \u00a0Russia also seems to be attempting to influence political outcomes elsewhere, by means of genuine \u201cfake news\u201d and other methods, particularly in eastern Europe. \u00a0Mr. Putin\u2019s regime is evidently seeking to unravel NATO and the European Union, among other things, as well as to regain its former colonies. \u00a0And there\u2019s plenty of reason to worry about too cozy relationships between elements of the Trump campaign and Russia, and about Mr. Trump\u2019s weird bromance with Vladimir Putin. \u00a0(For a summary, see this piece<\/a>, from way back in mid-August of last year.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This subject bears careful watching.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Jeff Sessions, despite his obvious and grievous sin of being an early Trump supporter, has never, to the best of my knowledge, been seen as a friend of Russia\u2019s Thug Number One nor, unlike a shocking number of contemporary Trumpist voices, as a seeming apologist for post-Soviet Russia. \u00a0The current accusations against him seem implausible on their face. and they continue to be implausible \u2014 and sometimes borderline hysterical \u2014 upon examination.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This seems to me a partisan witch hunt.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s appropriate that Mr. Sessions recuse himself. \u00a0But no, there\u2019s nothing to even remotely justify calls for his resignation. \u00a0Under the rules of the Constitution of the United States of America, for better or for worse, Mr. Donald J. Trump won the presidency. \u00a0What\u2019s going on right now sometimes has the appearance of a piecemeal coup attempt, an illegitimate effort to undo November\u2019s electoral results.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi \u2014 both renowned, of course,\u00a0for their judicious and carefully non-partisan approach to matters in Washington \u2014 have now called for Jeff Sessions not only to recuse himself from any investigations of Russian meddling in the recent national election but to resign as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe unimpressive case against Attorney General Jeff Sessions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi -- both renowned, of course,\u00a0for their judicious and carefully\" \/>\n<meta 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