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Tag: Jeff Sessions

  • U. S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns

    U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has resigned, ending a soured tenure with President Donald Trump who have severally pushed for Sessions’ resignation over Russian probe.

    Sessions resigned at the request of the president.

    “At your request, I am submitting my resignation,” Sessions wrote in the opening of his resignation letter to Trump.

    “In my time as attorney general, we have restored and upheld the rule of law – a glorious tradition that each of us has a responsibility to safeguard,” Sessions added in his resignation letter.

    Trump tweeted shortly after the resignation was announced, naming a temporary replacement of Sessions.

    “We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well….

    “….We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date,” Trump tweeted.

    Sessions, a former senator representing Alabama, was among the early loyalists of Trump before the relationship was soured shortly after he took office as Attorney General in 2017.

    Sessions trouble with Trump started after he had recused himself from oversight of the investigation of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

    Trump also tweeted an attack on the Robert Mueller’s probe into the Russian collusion, quoting an NBC News survey on publication perception of the probe.

    Trump said: “According to NBC News, Voters Nationwide Disapprove of the so-called Mueller Investigation (46%) more than they Approve (41%).

    “You mean they are finally beginning to understand what a disgusting Witch Hunt, led by 17 Angry Democrats, is all about!”

    The president also warned the Democrats against investigating him, after taking over the House in the midterm elections.

    “If the Democrats think they are going to waste Taxpayer Money investigating us at the House level, then we will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of Classified Information, and much else, at the Senate level.

    “Two can play that game!”

    Trump also mocked the House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, who is favoured to be the next Speaker from January 2019.

    Trump tweeted: “In all fairness, Nancy Pelosi deserves to be chosen Speaker of the House by the Democrats.

    “If they give her a hard time, perhaps we will add some Republican votes. She has earned this great honor!” (NAN)

  • U.S judge orders deportation plane turnaround

    A federal judge has ordered a mother and her daughter to be flown back to the United States, after learning they had been deported mid-appeal.

    The two were being represented in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who said they had fled “extreme sexual and gang violence,” the BBC reports.

    The judge said it was unacceptable they had been removed during their appeal.

    He reportedly also said Attorney General Jeff Sessions could be held in contempt of court for the deportation.

    Mr. Sessions introduced tighter immigration rules in June and victims of domestic abuse and gang violence no longer generally qualify for U.S asylum.

    The mother and daughter were part of a case filed by the ACLU and the Centre for Gender and Refugee Studies on behalf of 12 mothers and children who said they had fled violence but were at risk of deportation.

    The government had pledged not to deport anyone in the case before Friday at the earliest, the ACLU said.

    But the ACLU said they learnt during Thursday’s emergency hearing that the mother and daughter had already been put on a flight back to El Salvador by U.S authorities.

    Washington DC District Court Judge, Emmet Sullivan, said it was unacceptable that people claiming asylum had been removed while lawyers argued their case.

     

  • U.S scraps undocumented immigrants’ scheme

    U.S scraps undocumented immigrants’ scheme

    A Barack Obama-era scheme to protect young undocumented immigrants is being scrapped, United States Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, has announced.

    The government said no first-time applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme would be acted on after Tuesday.

    However, existing recipients will not be affected for at least six months, the BBC reports.

    The scheme protected some 800,000 so-called “Dreamers,” mostly Latin Americans, from deportation.

    They were able to apply for work and study permits under a policy which, critics said, amounted to an amnesty for illegal immigrants.

    U.S President Donald Trump took a hard line on immigration while campaigning for office last year and said he planned to “immediately terminate” DACA if elected.

    In a statement after DACA was rescinded, he said, “I do not favour punishing children, most of whom are now adults, for the actions of their parents. But we must also recognise that we are nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws.”

    The Mexican government said in a statement (in Spanish) that it profoundly regretted the scrapping of DACA and would step up its consular work on behalf of its citizens who are affected.

    Those returning to Mexico would be welcomed back “with open arms,” it said.

    U.S House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, slammed Tuesday’s decision, describing it as a “cruel act of political cowardice” and urged Congress to take action.

  • Trump backs under-fire Attorney General

    United States President, Donald Trump, has defended Attorney General Jeff Sessions as “an honest man” amid calls for him to quit.

    The Democrats said Mr. Sessions “lied on oath” at his confirmation hearing about contacts with the Russian ambassador.

    Mr. Trump said Mr. Sessions “could have stated his response more accurately but it was clearly not intentional” and accused Democrats of a “witch hunt.”

    The BBC reports that Mr. Sessions has removed himself from an FBI probe into alleged Russian meddling in the US election.

    The Democrats have maintained their attacks on Mr. Sessions, saying his explanation regarding his contacts with the Russian ambassador in 2016 were “simply not credible.”

    House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, said Mr. Sessions should step down.

    Mr. Trump said the Democrats had “lost the election and now they have lost their grip on reality.”

    His campaign was dogged by allegations that some of his team had met with Russian officials and that Moscow had interfered in the election on his behalf.

    The president has branded the allegations “fake news.”