CONGRESS/GOP/JEFF SESSIONS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump encountered bipartisan criticism on Tuesday [9-4-18] for complaining that his own Justice Department’s indictments against two Republican congressmen were endangering the GOP’s midterm election prospects, with one Republican senator saying of Trump’s attack, ‘We can’t normalize that.’ Trump’s tweet was his latest effort to press the government’s chief law enforcement agency to react to his personal and political views. Investigators are not supposed to take into account the political affiliations of the people they investigate, and the department has a history of prosecuting lawmakers of both major political parties no matter which controls the White House…Trump tweeted on Monday [9-3-18], ‘Obama era investigations, of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff……’ Trump did not name the Republican congressmen, but he apparently was referring to the first two Republicans to endorse him in the GOP presidential primaries. Both were indicted on separate charges last month: Rep. Duncan Hunter of California on charges that included spending campaign funds for personal expenses and Rep. Chris Collins of New York on insider-trading charges. Both have proclaimed their innocence.”
–The Associated Press, “Republicans Hit Trump for Criticizing Justice Department,” The New York Times online, September 4, 2018