IS JEFF SESSIONS REALLY, TRULY COOKED? The evidence suggests not.

Justice Department

IS JEFF SESSIONS REALLY, TRULY COOKED?

The evidence suggests not. But, as always in Trumpworld, it could be worse.

BY T.A. FRANK

NOVEMBER 4, 2017 12:30 PM

For nearly a year now, or arguably two, everything to do with Donald Trump has been reported as a major scandal, the death spiral, the bombshell, the walls crumbling, or the beginning of the end. I admit to calling a death spiral or two myself, but my death-spiral-sensor timing was off. (Anthony Scaramucci does that to a man.) Like Trump, I blame everyone else for this. Everyone around me is freaking out, so I have to join in sometimes. There’s also a hot, if competitive, market for the end of Trump. Trump is reliably unhinged, so the evidence is always at hand.

But today’s quick take will be an attempt, not the first, to talk people down. The week started with an indictment of Paul Manafort and one of his associates for what looks like obvious corruption. It was accompanied by the indictment of low-to-mid-level campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who seems to have done nothing illegal before perjuring himself to the F.B.I., which he seems to have done blatantly and idiotically. (Spare some sympathy for a young ambitious guy whose career has been ruined over this.)

Then came articles suggesting, again, that Attorney General Jeff Sessions must have committed perjury when he told Senator Al Franken back in January that that he “did not have communications with the Russians.” Or when he later said, “I have never met with or had any conversations with any Russians or any foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election. Further, I have no knowledge of any such conversations by anyone connected to the Trump campaign.” Since Papadopoulos was in touch with Russians, and so was campaign adviser Carter Page, then Sessions, goes the argument, was perjuring himself.

All of this is, once again, overblown. It’s not the end of Donald Trump. It’s not the end of Jeff Sessions either. And it shouldn’t be. At least not over this.

Trump has many fights left to fight, and if there’s evidence that he colluded with Russia in any meaningful way, it has yet to emerge in anything like the form that people once seemed to expect. Trump could be ousted from office for all sorts of reasons—including that of losing his sanity altogether, a risk that on some days seems acute—but coordination with Moscow seems less and less likely to be the reason, not more so. (Obstruction of justice remains a greater threat.)

But let’s go to Jeff Sessions. Yes, Sessions heard, and shot down, a suggestion from Papadopoulos of setting up a meeting between Trump and Putin—something that obviously wouldn’t be secret, were it to take place. It’s hardly a discussion of “interference.” As for this week’s CNN headline blaring that “Carter Page testifies he told Sessions about Russia trip,” the trip Page took in the summer of 2016, shall we recall who else, besides Jeff Sessions, knew that Carter Page was taking a trip to Russia? You. Me. Everyone. It was extensively covered at the time and soon after. Page’s speech is available on YouTube. Sessions would have been insane to try to hide it.

There’s a grand irony to all of this. Liberals hate Jeff Sessions for being an ally of Donald Trump. Donald Trump hates Jeff Sessions for not being enough of an ally to Donald Trump. If the ruckus that liberals raise manages to get Sessions to resign or be fired, the person happiest about it will be Donald Trump.

A few months ago, Trump was furious at Sessions for failing to gum the works of the Russia probe, and he was eager to fire him. Today, Trump is less inclined to do so. He knows that Breitbart and the deplorables would hate that, as would congressional Republicans. But Trump wouldn’t miss Sessions if he were gone. He could install someone who’s much more inclined to be a corner-cutting crony, someone like Chris Christie, or worse. Sessions is partisan and conservative, and he was stained by his repeated passivity toward Trump in defending the independence of James Comey. But he basically plays by the rules. People don’t seem to consider how much worse things could be if he were replaced.

Meanwhile, we see Trump weathering new developments in his reliable no-puppet-you’re-the-puppet style. As Manafort’s indictment has hit the news, Trump has been tweeting about how the real crooks are the other side, pointing to “the deleted E-mails, Uranium, Podesta, the Server, plus, plus...” That’s less the sound of Trump being forced out of office than Trump being Trump. Be prepared for three more years of this. Maybe more. Sorry.

More unnerving is that Trump has been asking the justice system to become an arm of partisan warfare and aim itself at Trump’s enemies. “Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isn’t looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary & the Dems,” he tweeted early Friday, adding on more urgings in the same vein. But, frankly, we’re getting used to this, too, and we’re seeing signs that Trump’s own people likewise tune it out. This is how Trumpian collusion looks in real life. It’s announced in plain view, as subtle as a granite axe, and startling. Compared to subterfuge and subversion, though, it’s less sinister. Fortunately, it’s also less effective.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/11/jeff-sessions-perjury-russia