JEFF SESSIONS/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Given President Donald Trump’s prolonged campaign to degrade Attorney General Jeff Sessions as ‘weak,’ ‘beleaguered’ and ‘scared stiff and Missing in Action,’ it seemed inevitable that Trump would fire Sessions shortly after midterms. Few expected, however, that Trump would drop the ax on Sessions before the voting machines even had a chance to cool. Trump’s Wednesday [11-7-18] Afternoon Massacre poses a serious, even existential, threat to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation. Now that Trump has dismissed Sessions, two big questions emerge: Who takes over supervision of Mueller’s investigation, and what relevance could the President’s dismissal of Sessions have on potential obstruction of justice charges? First, how does the dismissal of Sessions impact Mueller? Under the special counsel regulations, Mueller ordinarily would report to the attorney general. However, Sessions recused himself from the investigation — a move Trump later called ‘very unfair to the President’ — leaving Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in charge. Now, however, Trump has named Matthew Whitaker, Sessions’ former chief of staff, as acting attorney general.”
–Elie Honig, “Trump’s Wednesday Afternoon Massacre,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, November 7, 2018 7:09 am