Jeff Flake Slams Trump on Senate Floor for ‘Slandering’ Jeff Sessions: GOP Needs to Speak Out
Senator Jeff Flake once again took to the Senate floor to speak out against the words of President Donald Trump, this time concerning his recent “Twitter outbursts” against the DOJ and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
He was referring in particular to Trump decrying the investigations into two Republican congressmen who happen to be supporters of his:
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. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2018
….The Democrats, none of whom voted for Jeff Sessions, must love him now. Same thing with Lyin’ James Comey. The Dems all hated him, wanted him out, thought he was disgusting – UNTIL I FIRED HIM! Immediately he became a wonderful man, a saint like figure in fact. Really sick!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2018
“The President attacked Mr. Sessions by name,” Flake said, “for refusing to cover up allegations of Republican misconduct. The President’s concern was not for justice but for the political fortunes of the accused because their congressional seats might now be at risk of falling to Democrats. In doing this, the president is projecting a vision unto the system of American justice that is both bizarre and, more important, destructive.”
He said people cannot “become numb to” these attacks:
“We know by now that this particular president seems to have a profound unease with both justice and truth, and so has been at unrelenting war with both, virtually since the moment he swore the oath. Not because there is any deficiency in justice or truth that requires his intervention, mind you, but for other less noble reasons. The president seems to think that the office confers on him the ability to decide who and what gets investigated in the United States and who and what does not. Weekly it seems this president has been threatening to, ‘get involved’ in the function of the Justice Department, sometimes intimidating, sometimes plainly threatening to corrupt the independence of justice in America. He has overtly expressed a desire for his political opponents to be investigated and almost two years into his presidency, he presides over boisterous rallies where the last election is re-litigated and chants of ‘Lock her up!’ fill the halls. None of this is normal or acceptable.”
He said President Trump does not get to have an attorney general “simply there do to his bidding.”
Flake called on his colleagues to support legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller and refute Trump’s claims that the investigation is a “witch hunt.”
“To call Mr. Mueller’s team thugs is wrong,” Flake said. “Relentlessly slandering the attorney general of the united States is wrong. It is a travesty. And it is unbecoming of the office of the presidency. And I would say to the attorney general, stand firm… When the president so blatantly calls for the Department of Justice to act as an arm of the Republican Party, then the leaders of the Republican Party in this body need to stand and say that the President is the out of bounds.”
You can watch above, via C-SPAN 2.
[image via screengrab]
