By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Thursday, July 20, 2017, Democratic candidate for US Senate Doug Jones said that Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) did the right thing and the President was wrong; in his criticism of both the person and the office.
Former US Attorney and Democratic US Senate Candidate Doug Jones calls on all candidates to put Country over Party. Following President Donald Trump’s statements criticizing Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal from the ongoing Russia investigation, Jones said in a statement, “As a former US Attorney and Prosecutor, I know how important it is to put politics aside and do the right thing no matter the consequences. While I did not support the appointment of Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General, and continue to disagree with his actions on many issues, Jeff Sessions did the right thing both ethically and legally when he recused himself from the investigation in to Russians actions.”
Jones continued, “President Trump’s failure to understand the role of General Sessions in upholding the laws of our country, rather than serving as a means of his own personal protection is ill-informed and wrong. And his failure to respect and support the investigation in to Russian meddling in our election is troublesome and dangerous.”
Jones added, “No President is above the law. No President should be threatening the officials duly sworn to uphold the law. All candidates in this US Senate race and leaders of both parties need to come together and put Country over Party. We should fully support Attorney General Sessions’ recusal, and the appointment by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. And we should all condemn efforts by President Trump to threaten members of the Department of Justice and Special Counsel Mueller. The reputation of our Nation, the credibility of our elections and the rule of law is at stake. There is no room for partisanship here.”
On Wednesday, in an interview with The New York Times, President Trump said that he would not have hired Sessions if he’d known his Attorney General would recuse himself from the Russia probe. “How do you take a job and then recuse yourself? If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, ‘Thanks, Jeff, but I’m not going to take you.”
On Thursday, AG Sessions said that he would remain at the Department of Justice, “As long as that is appropriate.”
Trump’s son-in-law and Senior Special Advisor, Jared Kushner, is expected to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday, about a meeting that he, Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr, and Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort had with a Russian attorney in June 2016. There are also allegations that the Trump campaign may have colluded with Russian intelligence to expose possible ethical issues on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic Party opponent in the 2016 election.
Jones served as US Attorney in Birmingham beginning in 1997. Sessions was also a US Attorney in Alabama serving from 1981 to 1993. Doug Jones is running for U.S. Senate as a Democrat to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Seven Democratic candidates are running in the US Senate Special Primary Election. Qualified candidates are Will Boyd, Vann Caldwell, Jason Fisher, Michael Hansen, Doug Jones, Robert Kennedy, Jr., and Charles Nana.
Nine Republicans are running for the US Senate. They include: James Paul Beretta, Joseph F. Breault, Randy Brinson, Mo Brooks, Mary Maxwell, Roy Moore, Bryan Peeples, Trip Pittman, and Luther Strange.
Dom Gentile (R) and Brian McGee (D) both dropped out of the race on Monday.
The Special Major Party Primaries are on August 15, 2017. The Major Party Runoffs will be on September 28, 2017. The Special General Election will be on December 12, 2017.
(Original reporting by Fox News and The Hill contributed to this report)
