JEFF SESSIONS/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lawyers for the Uzbek man charged in the 2017 truck attack that killed eight people on a Manhattan bike path asked a judge Thursday [9-6-18] to bar the government from seeking the death penalty, saying the decision, which ultimately rests with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, had become too politicized. The lawyers cited Mr. Trump’s emphatic tweets calling for the execution of their client, Sayfullo Saipov, and another more recent tweet that suggested political considerations should inform the Justice Department’s charging decisions. They also pointed to reports that Mr. Trump had considered firing Mr. Sessions for not following his wishes…The lawyers argued, as an alternative, that the judge, Vernon S. Broderick of Federal District Court in Manhattan, should appoint an independent prosecutor to decide if the death penalty was warranted, a decision Mr. Sessions has yet to announce. The attack was the deadliest on New York City since Sept. 11, 2001. In its aftermath, President Trump posted Twitter messages declaring, ‘SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY’ and ‘Should move fast. DEATH PENALTY.’”
–Benjamin Weiser, “In Truck Attack Case, an Unlikely Complication: Trump’s Tweets,” The New York Times online, September, 6, 2018