MOBILE, Alabama — Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is finally getting feisty in his battle to win back his old Senate seat from Alabama — and his feistiness is nothing compared to that of one of his most prominent supporters.
Substantively, though, the most important new argument is not only that President Trump has been wrong to blame the controversial “Mueller investigation” on Sessions’ recusal from the probe into Russian misdeeds but also that Sessions’s recusal actually helped Trump in the long run.
Let’s unpack this. In the campaign for the July 14 Republican primary to face Democratic incumbent Doug Jones in November, Sessions has been running behind former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville. Trump has barraged Sessions with tweets blasting him for his tenure at the helm of the Justice Department, but until recently, Sessions has defended himself without directly taking on the president.
Now, Sessions is not only answering Trump directly but also stepping up the fight against Tuberville. The temperature of the race his risen markedly.
The recusal has been the biggest bone of contention between Trump and Sessions. The gentlemanly Sessions finally had enough on May 22, answering a Trump tweet with one of his own, saying this: “Look, I know your anger, but recusal was required by law. I did my duty & you’re damn fortunate I did. It protected the rule of law & resulted in your exoneration.”
.@realdonaldtrump Look, I know your anger, but recusal was required by law. I did my duty & you’re damn fortunate I did. It protected the rule of law & resulted in your exoneration. Your personal feelings don’t dictate who Alabama picks as their senator, the people of Alabama do. https://t.co/QQKHNAgmiE
— Jeff Sessions (@jeffsessions) May 23, 2020
Sessions is picking up on the astute argument made in a May 15 AL.com guest column by former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Champ Lyons, a tremendously respected exemplar of conservative jurisprudence.
“Jeff’s compliance with the law was essential to the favorable result of complete and wholly credible exoneration desperately needed by the President in the investigation of the charges of collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia,” Lyons wrote. “Had Jeff ignored ethical standards and led the investigation, the media would have swiftly and derisively dismissed any ensuing exoneration as the product of pro-Trump bias. … The ordeal of the Mueller investigation to which the President was exposed, while extremely painful, pales in comparison to the trauma of having had the issue of collusion the focus of the impeachment proceedings and then again front and center in the coming election.”
Lyons is right. Sometimes, however, high-toned logic fails to grab the attention of ordinary voters. Professional right-wing provocateur Ann Coulter, whose fan base substantially overlaps with Trump’s, tried last weekend to remedy that attention deficit. In a series of blistering tweets, she blasted Trump by meeting the president at his own Twitter level, calling him a “whining, blame-shifting, gigantic fruitcake.” And making Lyons’ point directly to Trump: “Sessions HAD to recuse himself, you complete blithering idiot.”
In essence, by falling on his sword, Sessions made it possible for Trump’s exoneration to be widely accepted. Not only that, but as Sessions now is noting, Sessions advised Trump to fire FBI Director James Comey as soon as Trump took office, but Trump didn’t listen. As Comey’s devious dealings were what triggered the expansion of the investigation, it is clear that Sessions understood Trump’s best interests better than Trump himself had.
Furthermore, to Trump fans who say Sessions should have resigned once he realized he should recuse, Sessions has an answer to that too. Speaking on WAVH-FM talk radio in Mobile on Tuesday morning, Sessions said that on the very day special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed, “I submitted my resignation. … [Trump] rejected it. He wrote on it: ‘Not accepted. Make America Great Again!’”
In sum, Trump’s later blame-casting on Sessions had no basis in fact.
Meanwhile, Sessions is finally doing what longtime observers said right after the first primary that he should do: challenging Tuberville to specific debates — in this case, five contests, one in each major media market in the state.
“You are either strong enough to debate, or weak & scared,” Sessions tweeted. On the radio, Sessions elaborated while making reference to a Tuberville TV ad featuring the coach in a college football training room: “Tuberville’s supposed to be a big tough guy? You think it’s tough to stand in a weight room while somebody else lifts weights? It’s time for him to come out of hiding. … I’m willing to go anywhere to debate this man — even to his home in Florida,” where, Sessions notes, Tuberville filed for a home property tax exemption.
In sum, Sessions now is swinging hard, and so are more of his backers. This race is going to be a doozy.
Note: Originally this report said Sessions offered his resignation on the day of his recusal. It has been corrected to say the offer came on the day special counsel Mueller was appointed.
