US Attorney General Jeff Sessions Resigns on Repeated Pressure from President

Guwahati: Marking a big change in the trump administration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns from his post and responsibilities as country’s chief law enforcement officer on Wednesday. Jeffs’ resignation from his post can also be viewed as a decision taken on repeated pressures from President Donald Trump for Jeff had refused from the being a part of the Russia investigation.

Immediately after the announcement of resignation by Jeff, the US president tweeted that he is naming Mr. Sessions’ chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney from Iowa, as the acting attorney general.

Jeff, right in his resignation letter to the US president has mentioned it clearly that he is resigning from the post “at your request.” With this resignation, a toxic relationship that frayed just weeks into Sessions’ tumultuous tenure, when he stepped aside from the Mueller investigation, now culminates.

The matter of firing Jeff from his post was repeatedly been talked out by Mr. Trump and had signaled that he will have to leave office right after the midterms. A Republican close to the White House who was not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations has disclosed this internal news of the conflict between Jeff and Trump.

Jeff Sessions’ resignation came after White House chief of staff John Kelly called Mr. Sessions before the president’s news conference and asked him to submit his resignation. Later, the undated resignation letter of Jeff was sent to the White House.

When Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Flores was asked whether Mr. Whitaker would assume control over Mr. Mueller’s investigation, she informed that he would be “in charge of all matters under the purview of the Department of Justice.”

However, there is no announcement about the departure of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mr. Mueller and has been closely supervising his work.

Before this as well, Mr. Whitaker could be heard once making an opinion that such a scenario might occur in which Mr. Trump could fire Mr. Sessions and then appoint an acting attorney general.

As an immediate reaction of Jeff Sessions’ resignation, Democrats, including House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer are calling for Whitaker to recuse himself from the investigation. top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Jerry Nadler said that he wants “answers immediately” and tweeted that “we will hold people accountable.”

Also read: US President Donald Trump Slams Jeff Sessions Over Robert Muellers’ Russia Probe