Jack Crane | Opinion – The Hill reported on Wednesday that former Attorney General Jeff Sessions broke his silence on the investigation that didn’t have to happen if it weren’t for his spineless decision to recuse himself.
Sessions said that it’s “about time to accept the rest” of special counsel Robert Mueller’s nearly 2-year probe into allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 United States Presidential election.
The humiliated former AG said that it is time to “get on with the business of America.”
He wouldn’t speak about details of the special counsel’s more than 400-page report during a conversation with Amherst College’s Republican Club, reports MassLive, however Sessions called the investigation “complete and through.”
“I have the greatest confidence in the integrity of the system. The process that was initiated was carried forth vigorously and with integrity,” Sessions continued. “I think it deserves respect and I think it is about time to accept the results and let’s get on with the business of America.”
The Hill reports:
Sessions and President Trump were known to have a tense relationship before the former Alabama senator was ultimately fired last November. The president later nominated William Barr to replace him.
Trump frequently lashed out at his then-attorney general on Twitter and in interviews, especially after Sessions recused himself from the Mueller investigation.
Sessions told the group of college students on Wednesday that did not initially intend to recuse himself, but changed his mind after speaking with White House ethics officials, MassLive reported.
“It is not appropriate to investigate a campaign that you are part of,” Sessions said.
President Trump was unhappy that Mueller was apointed in 2017, according to the Justice Department’s report that was released in March.
“Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I’m f—ed,” the President said then-Attorney General told him of Mueller’s appointment.
“Everyone tells me if you get one of these independent counsels it ruins your presidency. It takes years and years and I won’t be able to do anything. This is the worst thing that ever happened to me,” he continued, according to Jody Hunt’s notes. (Hunt was Sessions’s chief of staff at the time.)
Later on, Sessions claimed that Trump told him, “you were supposed to protect me,” or “words to that effect,” the Mueller report states.
The Hill reports:
Following Mueller’s appointment, Sessions reportedly carried a resignation letter with him every time he visited the White House for months.
Mueller’s long-awaited report, which was released in a redacted form last week, detailed extensive Russian efforts to help Trump win the 2016 election but found that no one from the Trump campaign conspired with Moscow to interfere in the 2016 presidential race against Hillary Clinton.
The special counsel also outlined 10 instances of Trump potentially obstructing justice over the course of Mueller’s investigation, including the firing of James Comey as FBI director.
