WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s withering invective about Jeff Sessions over the last week suggests an effort to pressure the attorney general into resigning with a possible eye toward replacing him and ending the Justice Department investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Trump has shown one attorney general the door already, but his January dismissal of Sally Yates had limited repercussions since she was an Obama administration holdover days away from her own departure. The firing or resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions could set off a frenzied – and confusing – chain reaction of monumental consequences.
A Sessions ouster would be seen as key to ultimately removing Robert Mueller, the special counsel and former FBI director investigating potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. But Trump, infuriated by Session’s own recusal from the probe, would need to find a new ally in the Justice Department willing to take that step – which may not be easy.
A look at potential scenarios:
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