Opinion: You don’t have to like Jeff Sessions to feel sorry for him

The concept of loyalty came under fire this week. “As President Trump continued his extraordinary public flogging of Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions,” The Times wrote, “prominent figures in Congress and the conservative media began to rally around the embattled attorney general and warn Trump against firing him.”

Times letter writers sharply responded too, with dismay and disappointment. Here is a sampling.

--Sara Lessley, Letters to the Editor department

Patricia LoVerme in South Pasadena observes:

Poor Jeff Sessions. I don’t agree with him on anything, but I have observed that he has tried his very best to please his master. And what does he get in return? Public humiliation. Trump could easily steer him into what he wants and/or quietly ask for his resignation. But Trump delights in cruelty and meanness like the little man he is. Loyalty with Trump is a one-way street.

In Corona del Mar, Bette Mason comments:

Beloved by his base and many in Congress, the president seems to have few if any detractors to his volatile style of governance other than the Democrats. He demands total loyalty from those who serve him, yet he often fails to return that same loyalty.

Case in point: His recent attack on Sessions, a longtime supporter, who has been his staunchest ally.

Some upset conservatives may currently be defending Sessions in this unprecedented attack by the very man who praised and appointed him, but they certainly are not standing up to a president who defies logic or the Constitution or our basic concept as a nation of laws.

Robert S. Henry in San Gabriel points out:

Trump is not a lawyer, but he should know the elementary requirements of not acting unethically under the rules demanded of all lawyers. If you have a conflict of interest concerning any matter in which you will be acting, either as a judge or an attorney, you are required to recuse yourself. There is no option B.

And in Pasadena, Richard Kale writes:

It is not clear why anyone is surprised by these actions. Over the past couple of years, Trump has shown himself to be a potentially existential threat to the basic pillars of our democratic system, including the separation of powers, freedom of the press and rule of law.

As for Sessions, who himself has taken actions on civil rights, immigration and other issues that reflect the worst of our country, I am reminded of the old adage that “he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword.”

William P. Bekkala in West Hollywood is reminded of a song:

“The wheels on the bus go over Jeff Sessions. Over Jeff Sessions. Over Jeff Sessions.”

Carol Levin from Woodland Hills sums up:

Even though the president claims to not drink, he certainly does seem to be drunk with power.

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