Republicans did not support this notion that Sessions intended to mislead anyone, so they felt the call for his resignation was theatrical on the part of Democrats; however, for the sake of building trust in the investigation, most agreed that Sessions should recuse himself.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said, “Attorney General Sessions should recuse himself in order to ensure public confidence in the Justice Department’s investigation.” Rep. Issa (R-CA), Sen. Portman (R-OH), and Chaffetz (R-UT), Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, each publicly agreed that Sessions should recuse himself.
Now, Sessions’ Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente will oversee the investigation instead. Democrats prefer a special prosecutor, but they do not appear to have enough of a case to warrant any such appointment. Republicans hope this begins the process of laying the issue of Russian ties to the Trump Administration to rest.
Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Goodlatte (R-VA): “Attorney General Sessions did the right thing by recusing himself.”
