Fred Wertheimer Statement on AG Jeff Sessions

The position of Attorney General of the United States is a symbol of the nation’s commitment to the rule of law. Instead, however, we have an Attorney General who is violating the rules of his own Department of Justice.

The Justice Department’s recusal regulation requires Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from participating in any matter dealing with the FBI investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether the Trump campaign or Trump associates colluded with Russian actors.

Furthermore, Attorney General Sessions made his own public commitment on March 2, 2017, to recuse himself from “any matters arising from the campaigns for President of the United States.” The Russian investigation clearly constitutes such a matter.

Attorney General Sessions is himself a potential subject of the Russian investigation as a result of his role as a Trump campaign surrogate and his meetings during the presidential campaign with the Russian Ambassador.

Yet, this past week, Attorney General Sessions played a major role in President Trump’s firing of the person leading the FBI investigation of Russian interference in the presidential election, James Comey. In so doing, Sessions violated the Justice Department recusal regulation.

This past weekend, Attorney General Sessions further violated the recusal regulation by interviewing candidates to become the new FBI Director and head the Russian investigation. Thus, Sessions is seeking a new FBI Director to head the Russian investigation in which he is a potential subject.

Attorney General Sessions is flaunting Justice Department rules that were adopted to protect the integrity of the Justice Department and provide for public confidence in the fair and impartial enforcement of our laws.

Attorney General Sessions has to be held accountable for violating the recusal rules of the Justice Department.