How little the truth matters under Trump
by Sarah Kendzior / Nov.15.2017 / 3:00 PM ET
There are two ways to interpret the testimony of Attorney General Jeff Sessions as he faced yet another round of questioning over his role in the Russian interference scandal. The first is that he is a skillful liar, flagrantly flirting with perjury as he denies or pretends to forget his well-documented connections to Russian officials and his relationships with Kremlin-tied Trump lackeys like George Papadopolous and Carter Page. The second is that Sessions is suffering from severe memory loss, has a poor understanding of US law and is incapable of meeting basic requirements of his job, like properly filling out security clearance forms.
But both .. lead .. to the same conclusion: It is dangerous for Jeff Sessions to be the Attorney General of the United States ...
... Sessions claims to have tremendous difficulty recalling the last two years, at least when it comes to discussing matters of national security while under oath. When forced to confront new developments in the Russian case head on, Sessions simply changed his story ... "I always told the truth,"he told the House Judiciary Committee ... seemingly lying about his seeming lies ... "When you answer the way you have, it suggests that the rule of law is crumbling at our feet,” said Representative Ted Deutch. Eroding the rule of law may well be the point. At the heart of the hearings are three disturbing questions: first, was Sessions involved in or aware of the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with Russia; second, did he obstruct the federal investigation by hiding what he knew; and third, is he planning to use his position to go after Trump’s enemies, as the plan to open a second special counsel into debunked Hillary Clinton conspiracy theories seems to indicate? ...
... When truth erodes, and the law crumbles, an independent judiciary loses its rigor. In this formulation, Trump does not serve the law; Trump is the law, and Sessions is Trump’s willing servant ...
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/jeff-sessions-testimony-proves-how-little-truth-matters-under-trump-ncna821141
