There are a lot of things Americans have learned about the Trump administration in just a couple of months. For the most part, Americans have learned that the Trump crew are liars, incompetent twits, corrupt, and they talk big and promise results. But they don’t, haven’t and can’t deliver; likely because they are liars, corrupt, talk big and most of all they are incompetent know-nothing imbeciles.
Over the past week, lying Attorney General Jeff Sessions has promised to get tough on crime and prioritize what he claims is going to be aggressive law enforcement. He issued orders to federal prosecutors nationwide to really bear down on undocumented immigrants and use all the tools at their disposal to pursue violent criminals and drug traffickers.
This is big talk from an incompetent attorney general who has zero U.S attorneys to lead the Trump-Sessions’ “get tough on crime” campaign.
Right now there are 93 vacant U.S. attorney positions including the 46 that Sessions asked to resign and the 47 who had already bailed instead of work for a corrupt madman. It is unclear why none have been replaced, but it could be because Sessions is too engrossed in attending weekly bible study and prayer meetings or criticizing a Federal Judge “on some Pacific island” for ruling according to the U.S. Constitution against the Trump .
Last week when Session convened a meeting with federal law enforcement officials, he was asked about the lack of federal prosecutors that would be necessary to really get tough on crime. He said “We really need to work hard on that.” He did not say anything about the lack of leaders in what are considered “top units” in the Justice Department such as national security, criminal and civil rights divisions. As an aside, it is unlikely that filling the civil rights division position is any kind of priority since Sessions is vehemently opposed to civil rights for any American who isn’t a white evangelical Christian male.
What is particularly telling about Session’s incompetence and big talk about getting tough on crime is that without a full complement of U.S. attorneys on board, much less none whatsoever, there is no-one to prosecute any federal crime.
Although not renowned for his competence, even George W. Bush “gradually eased out the previous administration’s U.S. attorneys while officials sought new ones;” it was a competent maneuver Barack Obama followed to maintain continuity in the Justice Department.
Sessions said he wasn’t all that worried about the vacancies. Because until he finds 93 replacements, he has acting U.S. attorneys he claims “respond pretty well to presidential leadership.” However, former Justice Department officials said “acting” US attorneys don’t have the same authority as a Senate-confirmed U.S attorney; especially when they have to interact with local police chiefs and other high-ranking law enforcement officials in the states.
President Obama’s former assistant attorney general who ran the DOJ’s legislative affairs division, Ronald Weich, is now the dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law and he had a different assessment on the vacancies and substitutes than Sessions. He said there is a reason other administrations haven’t depended “interim officials” to achieve the administration’s desired results.
“It’s like trying to win a baseball game without your first-string players on the field. There are human beings occupying each of those seats. But that’s not the same as having appointed and [Senate] confirmed officials who represent the priorities of the administration. And the administration is clearly way behind in achieving that goal.”
Another former Obama Administration official who served as spokesman for the Justice Department, Matthew Miller, said using “substitutes” in this case may be beneficial for “Blue” states. Mr. Miller said:
“An acting U.S. attorney doesn’t speak with the same authority to a police chief or to a local prosecutor as a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney does. If you’re a Democrat, you’re probably happy to have these positions filled by [interim] career officials because they’re less likely to pursue some of the policies that Jeff Sessions supports. But if you’re a supporter of the president, you probably want them to move on those positions.”
Apparently, as noted in the Washington Post, part of Sessions’ incompetence is exacerbated by either an incompetent or conniving Republican-led Senate. The number two position in the Justice Department is still not filled and it is that person who gives the attorney general valuable input into finding replacements; not that an assistant is going to facilitate quickly replacing all 93 U.S. attorney positions. There is an assistant attorney general nominated, but the Republican Senate isn’t expected to get around to confirming him until later this month.
There may be a nefarious reason for holding up the confirmation of the man nominated to fill the number two spot at the DOJ. Upon his Senate confirmation, Rod J. Rosenstein has already been designated “to take on the responsibility of overseeing the FBI’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and any links between Russian officials and Trump associates.”
Sessions cannot be involved because he was “forced” to recuse himself after it was discovered that he too had been in contact with the Russians; a fact he blatantly lied about under oath during his Senate confirmation hearing.
It is probably accurate, and fair, to say that Jeff Sessions is no more incompetent than the corrupt con man who hired him. It is also true that like Trump, besides being a noted liar, Sessions is a big talker with little to no idea how to be attorney general enforcing the laws of the land according to the U.S. Constitution – a document he claims is not entirely constitutional or historical.
Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn't look good.
Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.
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