It really should be very hard to put someone in prison, especially for things that they’ve said rather than done. That’s why I have mixed feelings about the ways liars can hide behind their “intent” when defending themselves against charges of perjury. Yes, of course, a lie is not a lie if you were simply mistaken or confused or forgetful. That’s still different from asking a prosecutor to prove that there’s no alternative explanation for your lies. Based on what I already know about what Jeff Sessions has said at different times under oath, I know he committed perjury but that doesn’t mean a prosecutor would necessarily win those cases in court. The dial seems like it’s turned a little too far in the direction of the defendant, which bothers me even though I’d rather have the dial turned that way than in the other.
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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. . . photo with “Hon. Sessions” placard prominent in the foreground accompanying the linked article was intended. Good on Reuters for the chuckle.
Aye, there’s the rub.
Has ever the little two-letter word “if” loomed so large? Can’t recall an instance, myself.
And even as awful a rightwingnut partisan extremist as Benghazi!Benghazi!Benghazi! Gowdy surely realizes the answer to his conditional is in the negative (i.e., it’s obviously false that Trump’s “done nothing wrong”) — leaving us to speculate what game Gowdy’s playing here. Doesn’t seem believable that he’s just helpfully offering sincere advice he believes to be in Trump’s best interest.
h/t digby
Slope-headed Javert (h/t Charlie Pierce) is not running for re-election. He knows what a disgrace he was in Benghazi and he is now nobly taking the “high road” for his historical legacy. HAHAHAHA.
Just heard someone say maybe The Donald will be deposed in the Stormy Daniels case. Sweet. Is it possible she gets him to talk before Mueller does?
I think with Sessions there is enough evidence already that he should be indicted and prosecuted. Any jury looking at his conflicting statements and bullshit, moving target justifications should be able to see through this in a New York minute. Yes, the bar may be high for proving perjury, but this son of a bitch has come pretty damn close. Even if he were acquitted, I think justice demands that he be indicted. Otherwise, the public will get the clear opinion that politicians can get away with this. It’s bad enough that we have Trump, but sessions is supposed to be the Atty. Gen. of the United States. The irony of having someone in that position perjure himself blatantly before the Congress is too much to bear.
A reminder that Jeff Sessions has been caught lying under oath several times.
Take Karl Rove’s case, he perjured himself and thought he had an airtight `protecting sources’ shield from the guy at Time until the dipshit colleague who tipped Rove’s lawyer that would not work.
So he manufactured an excuse that his memory had been `refreshed’ and `corrected’ his testimony.
Sessions on the other hand has established a pattern of lying under oath. I think if a prosecutor thinks they can make a case, it’s likely he can use Sessions’ multiple under-oath untruths related to Russia to establish clear intent.
It could be these leaks are coming from Trump to clear the road to removing Mueller.
The only thing appropriate for Sessions would be to have a god strike him with lightning when he solemnly condemned Andrew McCabe for “lacking candor”.
By Jupiter, how appropriate!