What others say: With Sessions, a line Trump should not cross

  • By Dallas Morning News editorial
  • Friday, July 28, 2017 11:28am
  • Opinion

Just six months ago, Jeff Sessions promised the American people that if his fellow senators allowed him to serve as Attorney General he’d be bound by the rule of law, not by his loyalty to President Donald Trump.

Few foresaw just how quickly that pledge would be put to the test by the president, who has spent the last two weeks publicly needling Sessions as a weak and disappointing AG.

Trump has made the source of his displeasure clear. Had he known that Sessions would remove himself from oversight of the widening investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, he says he never would have nominated Sessions.

This attack, which has so far been met with steely resolve by the Cabinet member, does great damage to America. Had any other president in recent memory — from Bill Clinton to George W. Bush to Barack Obama — expressed so naked a political view of the Department of Justice, voters on the right and left would have reacted with anger.

We need that courage now, from all sides. Trump has recast the debate over Sessions’ decision to recuse himself in purely personal terms, as is his tiresome wont. It’s “very unfair” to him and to any president, Trump contends, for his attorney general to step aside from an investigation like this.

In Trump’s world, then, a president names an attorney general primarily to ensure that Justice does not interfere with the president, rather than to ensure that justice itself runs its course.

As he has continued his attacks this week, Trump called Sessions “very weak” in not re-launching the criminal case against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the opponent Trump beat last November but can’t stop talking about.

Trump’s presidency is forever pushing boundaries. But the line that has kept the DOJ insulated from the rawest of political agendas in the White House at least since Richard Nixon blew up his presidency by ordering the Saturday Night Massacre in 1973 is one that should not bend.

A more recent lesson should have given Trump pause. Surely Trump understands how disastrously his firing of FBI Director James Comey has backfired?

But so far the only thing that seems to have kept Sessions in his job is the fact that so many of Trump’s own base see the former senator as a representative of the early true-believers that helped elect Trump.

We do not share that fondness for the politics or priorities of Sessions, whom we believed was a poor choice for Attorney General. But Trump’s assault on Sessions is a dagger stabbed straight at the heart of the department’s integrity; it’s a thrust that must be repelled.

— The Dallas Morning News, July 26

More in Opinion

Meg Zaletel (Courtesy)
Opinion: Housing shouldn’t be a political issue — it’s a human right

Policies and budget decisions that impact housing impact people’s well-being.

Therese Lewandowski. (Photo provided)
Point of View: Let’s raise equal rights for women

There is much more to our gender inequality story.

The Alaska State Capitol is seen in this undated file photo. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Larry Persily. (Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: U.S. should treat tariffs with a cold shoulder

The problem is that the U.S. imposes tariffs on what we buy.

A campfire can be seen at the Quartz Creek Campground in Cooper Landing, Alaska, in May 2020. (Clarion staff)
Opinion: What carbon capture and storage might mean for Alaska

Could Alaska be the next leader in carbon capture and storage?

Promotional image via intletkeeper.org.
Point of View: Learn efficiency at upcoming Homer Energy Fair

Energy conservation and efficiency have multiple benefits.

Congress holds a joint session to certify the election results of 2024 on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 6, 2025. President-elect Donald J. Trump has waffled on his preferences for how his party tackles his agenda, adding to the uncertainty for Republicans. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)
Opinion: The moral imperative of our time

Trump has made it very clear that he wants to control what the news media publishes.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is photographed during a visit to Juneau, Alaska, in November 2022 . (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Opinion: Alaska’s charter schools are leading the nation — It’s time to expand their reach

Expanding charter schools isn’t just about offering alternatives; it’s about giving every child the chance to succeed.

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Everyone pays the price of online shopping returns

Online shoppers in 2023 returned almost a quarter-trillion dollars in merchandise

Cars drive past the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. building in Juneau on Thursday. This year’s Permanent Fund dividend will be $1,312, the state Department of Revenue announced. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Opinion: The wisdom of late bloomers in education

In Alaska, the state’s 529 education savings plan isn’t just for children