Donald Trump and Constitutional Separation of Powers

Politico reports

“President Donald Trump insisted in a tweet Friday that he has a “legal right” to demand that Attorney General William Barr intervene in a federal criminal case — just hours after the Justice Department chief asserted that the president’s social media posts “make it impossible for me to do my job.”

“‘The President has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case.’ A.G. Barr,” Trump wrote, paraphrasing the attorney general’s remarks in an interview with ABC News that aired Thursday.”

In my first college semester Political Science class, we learned and discussed constitutional separation of powers.  Forty of the 50 states have constitutions of the same.   Elected officials cannot intervene in court cases.

I remember many years ago organizations of citizens who saw corruption in federal courts wrote their U.S. Reps and Senators.  They all received letters that stated about the separation of powers and advised that they obtain private legal counsel.

It is a slap in the face of the U.S. Constitution and separation of powers for Donald Trump to assume that he has a legal right to demand the U.S. Attorney General to intervene in a federal criminal case or any other case.  He appears to be a man whose only motivation to be president of the U.S. is to use the power of the position to benefit his friends and pay retribution to those he cannot exploit.

 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions Is Out

Reported By CBS News

 

“Jeff Sessions has been forced out as attorney general. “At your request, I am submitting my resignation,” Sessions wrote to the president Wednesday.  President Trump tweeted the news, writing, “We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well!”

A senior Justice Department official said that White House chief of staff John Kelly called Sessions to request his resignation. The president did not call him. Sessions has repeatedly come under attack by Mr. Trump for recusing himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Matthew G. Whitaker, Sessions’ chief of staff, will now become acting attorney general, and he will also oversee the Russia investigation that the president often refers to as a “witch hunt.” Before Whitaker joined to the Justice Department, he wrote an opinion piece for CNN in August 2017 criticizing the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Whitaker argued that Mueller should not be able to investigate the Trump family’s finances in the course of his probe. “It does not take a lawyer or even a former federal prosecutor like myself to conclude that investigating Donald Trump’s finances or his family’s finances falls completely outside of the realm of his 2016 campaign and allegations that the campaign coordinated with the Russian government or anyone else. That goes beyond the scope of the appointment of the special counsel,” Whitaker wrote.”

The revolving door of Trump selected officials continues turning.

Full article at this link.

Sweeping change at DOJ under Sessions

The Fifth Column

© Victoria Sarno Jordan

THE HILL

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has brought sweeping change to the Department of Justice.

In just two months as the nation’s top cop, Sessions has moved quickly to overhaul the policies and priorities set by the Obama administration.

He has rolled back protections for transgender students that allowed children to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity and rescinded plans to phase out the federal government’s use of private prisons.

He called for a review of reform agreements, known as consent decrees, reached with local police departments to address allegations of misconduct. Many of the consent decrees were drafted in response to fating shootings by police.

Sessions has made immigration enforcement a top priority. Late last month he put “sanctuary” cities on notice, announcing that grant money would be withheld from state and local governments that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities and…

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Attorney General Sessions Also Spoke With Russian Ambassador Without Disclosure

This is the same Jeff Sessions who recently announced that he is going to back-off from filing law suits against police departments for violating the civil rights of citizens.

Gronda Morin

There is breaking news by the Washington Post. It seems that the former Alabama Senator  Jeff Sessions had conducted at least two discussions with the same U.S. Russian Ambassador that the former National Security Advisor was forced to resign over; and Mr. Sessions never disclosed this information prior to his becoming the new U.S. attorney general.

This discovery makes it virtually impossible for the Attorney General Jeff Sessions to not recuse himself from any investigations into ties between the president’s administration and Russia.

According to CNN’s reporter Evan Perez, the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak is considered by the Intelligence Community to be Russia’s number one spy on U.S. soil.

As per a 3/1/17 WSJ report, “U.S. investigators have examined contacts Attorney General Jeff Sessions had with Russian officials during the time he was advising Donald Trump’s presidential campaign but the outcome of the inquiry, and whether it is ongoing, wasn’t clear.”

As per…

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California Man Charged With Identity Theft In Cyber-Harassment

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris

On January 19, 2016, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and Placer County District Attorney R. Scott Owens, announced the arraignment of Riley Bangerter, 36, of Roseville. Bangerter has been charged with 11 counts of identity theft in a case of cyber harassment. Bangerter was arrested on December 3, 2015 and was arraigned on January 11, 2016.  Bangerter has pled not guilty.

In 2011, Attorney General Harris created the eCrime Unit within the California Department of Justice to identify and prosecute for crimes including identity theft, cybercrimes and other crimes involving the use of technology.

An investigation by Attorney General Harris’ eCrime Unit found that Bangerter superimposed images of his ex-wife onto pornographic images and posted them online, accompanied by her personal identifying information.

When announcing charges against Bangerter, AG Harris stated,

“Bangerter’s heinous actions sought to humiliate, belittle and destroy the personal and professional life of his victim. This prosecution sends a clear message to all who dare to perpetrate the crimes of cyber harassment and cyber exploitation, that these cowardly acts will not be tolerated in California. I thank the Placer County District Attorney’s office for their partnership and commitment to holding Bangerter accountable for these deplorable acts.”