Donald Trump’s nominees are trying to figure out how to survive once he’s ousted

| 10:11 pm EDT August 30, 2017
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We saw the first hint of it awhile back when Attorney General Jeff Sessions opted to recuse himself from the investigation into Donald Trump’s Russia scandal. The impetus for his decision was clear: rather than wading into the abyss by trying to get Trump off the hook, Sessions decided to protect himself. It was a clear sign, even back then, that some of Trump’s own people expected him to take a fall. But now the floodgate is wide open.

It’s not as if Trump is bothering to fill most of the vacant positions in his administration at this point. As Palmer Report pointed out earlier, it’s a sign that Trump is no longer betting on lasting too much longer (link). But one of the few positions Trump has bothered to fill lately is the head of the Justice Department’s criminal division. He’s chosen, corruptly and predictably, someone with close ties to his own campaign and suspicious ties to Russia.

Brian Benczkowski was previously an attorney for Russia’s Alfa Bank, which is suspected of having regularly communicated with the Donald Trump campaign during the election via a private email server located in Trump Tower. Because Donald Trump is incapable of hiring or nominating anyone who isn’t tied to Russia, it’s not a surprise that he’s chosen Benczkowski for the DOJ. Trump clearly believes that doing so will somehow help get him off the hook in the Russia scandal. But during Benczkowski’s Senate hearings on Wednesday, he was quick to dispense with it.

When asked about the conflict, Benczkowski stated that he’ll recuse himself from the Alfa Bank matter (link). And so Trump’s only major recent nominee, despite being tied to Russia, has no desire to go down fighting on Trump’s behalf. The reasoning is clear enough: Benczkowski and others in the administration are expecting Trump to go down – and they’re trying to figure out how they can keep their jobs once he’s gone.