After getting caught up in Trump-Russia scandal, Jeff Sessions now has three bad options
After being exposed last night for having colluded with the Russian ambassador while he was a Donald Trump campaign surrogate, and for having lied about it under oath during his confirmation hearings, Attorney General Jeff Sessions did what politicians always do when they’re first caught up in a scandal: he issued a quick and flimsy denial in the faint hope it might take the heat off him. This strategy is always invoked, but almost never works.
Assuming that no one takes Sessions’ denial seriously, the political spotlight will now shine white-hot on him today, as well as every day going forward for some time. Consider the scrutiny that National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was under when he was exposed for having colluded with Russia, then multiply it by ten, considering how much more of a central role Attorney General is in the investigation. Flynn lasted just a few days under that spotlight before he chose to resign. Sessions now has three options in front of him, and none of them look good for him, but he’ll need to pick one.
The first option for Jeff Sessions is to resign and walk away. He has a number of friends in the Senate, which is the body that he lied under oath to, meaning that they might be willing to let his perjury slide if he’s willing to just go home. If it later turns out that he’s truly guilty in the conspiracy to rig the election, he’ll still pay the legal price unless he flips on Trump and agrees to testify against him. But in the short term, resigning may be the best way for Sessions to insulate himself. Then again, he’s a proud man, and he just gave up his longtime Senate seat for this role – so is he truly willing to suddenly walk away from politics forever?
The second option for Sessions is to remain on the job but promise to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation, and offer to give Congress approval over the special prosecutor he appoints. This may also insulate him from perjury charges, but it would keep him under constant scrutiny, and he’d be crippled in his job as Attorney General. He’s seventy years old, he’s had a long career, there seems to be little chance he’ll still have the job by the time the scandal plays out — and the more quickly he walks away from this mess, the less damage to his already strained legacy. Is he up for remaining in the spotlight? For all we know, if he recuses himself but doesn’t resign, the mercurial Trump could turn against him and fire him anyway.
The third option for Sessions is to dig in his heels and say “come at me.” His Republican friends in the Senate would hate the idea of going to war against him, but considering the climate, they may not have a choice. And the intelligence community would show no mercy in attempting to continue taking him down. It would seem bizarre for Sessions, who was aligned with Trump during the campaign but who has no personal loyalty to him, to go down with the ship if he has a way out.
Which of the three options is Jeff Sessions most likely to pursue? Even he may not know yet. He’ll have to take the temperature of his allies in the Senate today to find out how thoroughly they want him out of the picture. And he’ll have to see how much public traction the Democrats get with their calls last night for his resignation. He’s also the kind of politician who’s managed to survive in politics for several decades despite a very troubled record, meaning that he knows which way the political wind is blowing and how to navigate it — so he’ll probably strongly consider what his attorneys have to say before making his decision.
From here, the next steps in the Trump-Russia investigation will largely hinge on what Jeff Sessions decides to do today and tomorrow.. If he digs in his heels, then the primary focus and scrutiny is on him until he’s been broken. If he recuses himself or resigns, then another Trump-Russia domino will have fallen, and the focus shifts to the next next domino — ultimately leading to Donald Trump himself. Help us investigate Trump-Russia!
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