https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/07/jeff-sessions-fired-us-attorney-general
Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, has been fired by Donald Trump and replaced with a senior aide who has previously called for special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation to be defunded and reined in. Trump said in a tweet on Wednesday afternoon that Matthew Whitaker, Sessions’ chief of staff and a critic of Mueller’s inquiry, had been appointed acting attorney general and that a permanent replacement would be nominated later. |
This appears to be a move against the Muller investigation, since Trump has often complained about Session's recusing himself from the Russia probe. But we'll have to see how this plays out.
It's also unclear if the new acting attorney general will be in charge of the Muller investigation, since he hasn't been confirmed by the senate. Or if it's still the deputy AG, Rod Rosenstein. Usually the deputy AG would be elevated to acting AG, but Trump seems to have bypassed Rosenstein in this regard.
It's possible Rosenstein may also be fired/forced to resign soon.
Earlier there were reports that Trump had been advised to not try to fire Muller until after the midterms. It was also said that Muller might issue a report to the DOJ around this time.
If Republicans kept controll of the house, they could bury Muller's report and make sure it didn't see the light of day. Now that Democrats took back the house however, it's a different story. They can make Muller's investigation public, and impeach the president if there's evidence of wrongdoing.
However, Democrats don't take control of the House until January.
Saturday Night Massacre Vol. 2 incoming?
It'll be interesting to see how this develops.
Also, Jeff Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump, and he has carried out Trump's agenda more than anyone, aside from stopping the investigation into Trump's potential crimes.
I wonder how the GOP feel about this.
Fun fact:
Muller's investigation has actually made the country money, because as part of Manafort's plea deal, he forfeited real estate and cash estimated to be worth between $42 million and $46 million.