Opinion: Memo to Jeff Sessions: You’re the country’s attorney, not President Trump’s
Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee. These are four moments that stood out in the hearing.
To the editor: Throughout his testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions dodged, dipped and weaved in ways that would have made Muhammad Ali proud. And for what, to protect himself, President Trump and possibly Russian oligarchs? (“‘I don’t recall’ is a common response from Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions,” June 13)
It is not Sessions’ job to protect the president or his private conversations, especially since Trump had not invoked executive privilege. It is his job to protect the Constitution and our democracy by being independent of executive influence or intimidation.
That Sessions, by his own admission, has not been briefed and has displayed little interest in what the Russians did during the 2016 president campaign is proof that he’s just a rubber stamp for Trump. He is woefully unqualified to be attorney general and should resign immediately.
Eugene Sison, San Dimas
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To the editor: Jefferson Beauregard Sessions can now claim another gallant defender of slavery as namesake: Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.
Michael Toohey Heilig, Venice
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To the editor: Much has been made of the role of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III and the power to grant him independence or, alternatively, to fire him. Asst. Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein has said that inasmuch as Mueller was hired by him in his role as head of the Justice Department for matters involving Russia, only he can fire Mueller and not the president.
Have we learned nothing from Richard Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre? If the president wants Mueller out, he can order Rosenstein to fire him. If Rosenstein refuses, the president can fire him and pass the order down the chain until someone complies and Mueller is fired.
Michael Risman, Santa Monica
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To the editor: There you go again.
If Sessions defends, demurs and deflects, then The Times deceives. Your coverage of the Trump administration and the president’s agenda has been so negative that a reader has to take your reporting with a grain of salt.
If you’re not objective, you’re not credible. And if you’re not credible, you’re not relevant.
Robert S. Rodgers, Culver City
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