Leaving Landmines

For John, BLUF:  There was lots of talk of cooperation, but little proof after the transition.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Did the Obama Administration Try Stacking the Deck Against Trump at the Justice Department?

From The Weekly Standard and the keyboard of Reporter Mark Hemingway. Here is the lede, plus two and a quote:

Amid Thursday’s over-hyped brouhaha about Jeff Sessions meeting with the Russian ambassador, a curious detail emerged.  In Sessions's recusal memo, it was explained who at the Justice Department would be handling any investigations into the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia.  "Consistent with the succession order for the Department of Justice, Acting Deputy Attorney General and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Dana Boente shall act as and perform the functions of the Attorney General with respect to any matters from which I have recused myself to the extent they exist," reads Sessions's official statement on the matter.

Except that if the Obama administration had its way, Dana Boente wasn't supposed be the U.S. attorney to handle these matters in the event that Sessions recused himself.  On February 10, USA Today reported the following:

Seven days before he left office, President Obama changed the order of succession without explanation to remove Boente from the list.  Obama's order had listed U.S. attorneys in the District of Columbia, the Northern District of Illinois and the Central District of California.

That seems like awfully suspicious behavior.  In fact the USA Today story noted this is pegged to the news that Trump quietly signed an executive order restoring Boente to the line of succession.  The Obama administration chicanery was likely brought to White House's attention after Obama holdover and acting Attorney General Sally Yates tried to usurp the powers of the president and countermand his immigration executive order, actions for which she was summarily fired.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff