United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions was sacked by President Donald Trump Wednesday following several months of berating on behalf of Trump after Sessions recused himself from oversight of an inquiry to probe Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, PTI reported.
Republican party loyalist Matthew G Whitaker was appointed as Sessions’s temporary replacement.
The move is being seen as laden with implications since Whitaker has been overly critical of special counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigation beyond allegations Trump’s campaign collusion with Russia in 2016 and other ties between the President, his family and aides, and Kremlin– an investigation the White House calls a “witch hunt”.
For the past several months, Trump has been expressing his displeasure at Sessions’s functioning in public meetings and on social media platforms.
In a tweet on Wednesday Trump said, “We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well (sic).”
We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
“We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date,” he tweeted.
….We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018
The announcement came after he held a marathon press conference in the White House where he told reporters that he will making announcements about changes in his Cabinet and senior White House and Administrative positions in a week.
In a one-page resignation to Trump, Sessions made it clear that the resignation came “at your request”.
“Since the day I was honoured to be sworn in as attorney general of the United States, I came to work at the Department of Justice every day determined to do my duty and serve my country,” Sessions wrote.
