Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, actively defending his former boss, President Donald Trump, in his Senate trial for abuse of power, posted a series of Tweets on Wednesday directly attacking former National Security Advisor John Bolton for setting a “damaging and dangerous precedent” of disloyalty.

Sessions, who Trump has repeatedly attacked as disloyal and called an “embarrassment” for recusing himself from the Mueller probe while he was attorney general, posted his comments criticizing the “Bolton situation” unprompted. Bolton’s offer to testify about Trump personally directing a quid pro quo on Ukraine, a bombshell revelation reportedly included in his new book, has upended the impeachment trial of the president.

In the thread, Sessions cited three reasons why he did not write a tell-all book, as Bolton has, or go on cable news to discuss his time working in the Trump administration, as other former White House officials have. Those acts, Sessions, said were not “the honorable thing to do,” they amounted “an act of disloyalty,” and they set a “very damaging and dangerous precedent” of revealing “candid conversations with his National Security Advisor, his AG, his [Secretary of State], etc.”

With regard to the @AmbJohnBolton situation, let me just say this: I did not write a book or go on CNN or criticize @realDonaldTrump for 3 VERY IMPORTANT REASONS…

— Jeff Sessions (@jeffsessions) January 29, 2020

FIRST – I don’t believe it is the honorable thing to do. You are there to serve his agenda, not your own. He was elected, not you.

— Jeff Sessions (@jeffsessions) January 29, 2020

SECOND – It is an act of disloyalty to the administration one serves,
and tends to undermine the unity and teamwork needed to reach the
highest level of effectiveness.

— Jeff Sessions (@jeffsessions) January 29, 2020

THIRD – it sets a very damaging and dangerous precedent. A President must have the ability to have candid conversations with his National Security Advisor, his AG, his SOS, etc., without fear that those conversations will end up in a book or a newspaper.

— Jeff Sessions (@jeffsessions) January 29, 2020

Sessions’ seemingly unprompted attacks on Bolton require key context, however. During the past few months, since announcing his intention to run for his old Alabama Senate seat, Sessions has been performatively praising and defending Trump to try to get back in the president’s good graces—and possibly earn his critical endorsement in the crowded Republican primary. Sessions’ effort to win Trump over have even included a widely mocked campaign ad that was likened to a “hostage tape.” For his part, Trump has publicly acknowledged Sessions’ overt attempts at political penance, but has remained noncommittal on his former attorney general, telling reporters “I haven’t made a determination” of who to support in the AL Senate race.

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/2Ub7wf9