Donald Trump Blames Jeff Sessions For Charging GOP Congressmen Before Midterms

On Sunday, President Donald Trump blamed Attorney General Jeff Sessions for charges brought against two GOP congressmen that he said jeopardized Republican chances in the upcoming midterm elections.

The president tweeted, “Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department,” adding a sarcastic compliment to his top law enforcement official. “Good job Jeff,” Trump wrote.

In a second tweet, Trump said, “Democrats, none of whom voted for Jeff Sessions, must love him now” before taking a shot at former FBI Director James Comey.

Trump did not name the two members of Congress. He was referring to the first two Republicans to endorse him in the GOP presidential primaries. Both were indicted on separate charges last month. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) on charges that included spending campaign funds for personal expenses and Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) on insider trading. Both have proclaimed their innocence.

Hunter has not left his race, while Collins ended his re-election bid days after his indictment. Both seats appear likely to remain Republican, but the charges have raised Democratic prosepects.

Sessions, a former Alabama senator, was also one of the earliest supporters of Trump. But the president has attacked him repeatedly for his decision in March 2017 to recuse himself from oversight of the investigation into Russian election interference.

His comments triggered a swift statement from former prosecutors and members of his own party, titling, “The United States Is Not Some Banana Republic,” The New York Times reported.

“The United States is not some banana republic with a two-tiered system of justice — one for the majority and one for the minority party,” said Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska and a member of the Judiciary Committee. “These two men have been charged with crimes because of evidence, not because of who the president was when the investigations began.”

Article by Steven Abendroth