Jeff Sessions Resignation: Attorney General Reportedly Offered To Quit, Donald Trump Could Be Next To Resign
Jeff Sessions reportedly offered to resign his post as attorney general amid growing tension with the White House, and some experts believe Donald Trump could follow with his own resignation.
On Tuesday, reports emerged that Sessions had at one point offered to resign as he and Donald Trump have come into conflict. Two sources close to the White House told the Washington Post that Trump had repeatedly targeted Sessions after Sessions decided to recuse himself from the investigation into Trump’s alleged ties with Russia during the 2016 campaign.
After Sessions made the decision to recuse himself, the Russia investigation has ramped up considerably and new ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia have leaked to the public. As the Washington Post noted, Donald Trump blames Jeff Sessions for allowing the investigation to grow to that point.
“President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have had a series of heated exchanges in the last several weeks after Sessions recused himself from the Russia probe, a source close to Sessions told CNN Tuesday.”
A potential resignation from Jeff Sessions could signal a deeper problem for Donald Trump, as many close to the president have suggested in recent weeks. There are reports that Sessions may resign shortly after former FBI Director James Comey testifies before a Senate committee on Thursday, an appearance that is expected to touch on Trump’s attempts to pressure Comey to put off the Russia investigation. If the hearing offers proof that Trump has been obstructing justice, it could lead to Sessions resigning and more problems for Trump.
ABC: Sessions offered to resign as AG while Trump still fuming over his recusal https://t.co/92PNQAL6aP pic.twitter.com/WHZ0WHirwU
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) June 6, 2017
Brent Budowsky, a columnist for The Hill, predicted that Donald Trump would likely resign when the heat from the Russia investigation grew too much for him to handle.
“Appointing former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel was a profound and historic move that will ensure the facts come out. As the Trump presidency enters a summer of scandal and hearings, revelations and leaks and disastrous poll ratings, many Republicans in Congress, who will continue to face contentious town hall meetings, will belatedly run from Trump like Olympic sprinters,” he wrote.
“At that point Trump will probably choose to resign and Putingate will end like Watergate did.”
Others have made the same prediction, saying that Donald Trump will likely resign when the pressure of the investigations grows too great. Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of Trump’s best-seller The Art of the Deal, said the president is in “pure terror” over the growing investigation and will more than likely quit rather than face the prospect of being seen as a failed president.
“There is no right and wrong for Trump. There’s winning and losing. And that’s very different from right and wrong. Right now he’s in pure terror that he is going to lose,” Schwartz told CNN.
“And by the way, he is going to lose.”
Should Donald Trump lose Jeff Sessions — a close confidant and one of his earliest backers in the Republican primary, when Trump was still considered a long shot even to win the nomination — it could push the president even close to the idea of resigning himself.
[Featured Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images]
