Private talks inside the Trump White House continued to escalate on Monday as a new Washington Post report indicates that the president is also considering Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to replace Jeff Sessions as the attorney general.
According to the report, Cruz’s name is one of two individuals – the other is former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, as earlier reporting noted – being considered to replace Sessions.
More from the report:
Among the names being floated as possible Sessions replacements are Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, according to people familiar with the conversations.
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Giuliani dismissed a report floating his name as a possible attorney general and told CNN that Sessions “made the right decision under the rules of the Justice Department†to recuse himself. He did not return a message seeking comment.
While it’s true that Sessions has had zero credibility from the start and should have resigned after lying in his Senate confirmation hearing, the troubling aspect of this new reporting is the motive behind Trump’s efforts to force him out.
It’s clear that Trump isn’t concerned about a fair or thorough investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election or Moscow’s connections to the Trump campaign. Instead, the president is looking for an attorney general that will do his bidding.
Despite being a fierce competitor of Trump’s during the 2016Â Republican primaries, Cruz is likely to be that type of AG if he does end up replacing Sessions.
As the same Washington Post report noted, the Texas senator “did not think it was necessary to appoint a special counsel” to look into Trump’s Russia ties.
So why wouldn’t Trump replace Sessions, who has recused himself from the Russia investigation, with someone who didn’t think there should’ve been a special counsel investigation to begin with?
Trump doesn’t want an attorney general. He wants someone who will throw a wrench in the increasingly explosive Russia investigation before it’s too late to save his presidency.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
