RUSH: Okay. The contretemps between President Trump and Jeff Sessions continues to ratchet up. Trump continues to tweet that Sessions is not doing his duty as attorney general, that he’s not investigating the Democrats, he’s not demanding that such investigations take place. Anybody on the Democrat side, the Hillary campaign, the DNC over the dossier, the fake dossier, Trump once again pushing back at Sessions for not doing his job!
Sessions, of course, says not only can’t I because I recused myself, but Sessions says I am not going to politicize the Department of Justice as long as I’m the attorney general. I am not going to respond to political pressure brought against me as long as I’m the attorney general, to which the American left and the Democrats are now all hailing Jeff Sessions as a great guy, as the perfect steward for the Department of Justice. Could not have a better guy in there, somebody standing up to Trump, somebody who knows the score, somebody refusing to be bullied by Trump.
After Sessions disputed Trump’s assertion yesterday that Sessions had failed to take control of the Department of Justice, Sessions defended himself yesterday. He said, “I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have had unprecedented success at effectuating the President’s agenda. While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action.”
So Rod Rosenstein, who signed off on the fraudulent Hillary bought-and-paid-for Steele dossier, Rosenstein met the highest standards? Hmm? The bottom line is it’s very clear the Department of Justice is heavily influenced by political considerations. That’s the problem with it. The Department of Justice is run by political consideration. It’s run on political consideration. That is the absolute problem here. This is why Trump is frustrated.
You can’t deny it. There is a two-tier system of justice. And it really comes down to two things: Democrats innocent, not even gonna be pursued, investigated, or charged; Republicans guilty. It really isn’t any more complicated than that. That is exactly how it’s playing out.
“Trump tweeted this morning in response, ‘Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations.’ Jeff, this is GREAT, what everyone wants, so look into all of the corruption on the ‘other side’ including deleted Emails, Comey lies & leaks, Mueller conflicts, McCabe, Strzok, Page, Ohr.”
Some historians are gonna wonder how it was possible that the DOJ was not even investigating what I — this, to me, is one of the biggest scandals, certainly in my lifetime. I’ve talked about it every day this week. I worry that I’ve talked about it so much that you’re gonna say, “Come on, Rush. We know. Move on.”
But it’s unconscionable to me to witness what is happening, to see it. To have full awareness. I mean, this goes beyond just being unfair. You know, crying unfair is for babies. This goes so far beyond. This is first grade corruption. It really is. When the known crimes — and even if you don’t want to say “known,” when activity that is so highly suspicious is not even being looked at but instead being covered up, while at the same time no evidence of any Trump-Russia collusion has been found, and so rather than wrap up the investigation, what happened? They broaden it!
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: And here’s a story. This is the Washington Post. And this is how this works.
Here’s the headline: “Critics Fear Trump’s Attacks Are Doing Lasting Damage to the Justice System.” So, you see, what Trump is saying about Jeff Sessions, why, that is doing lasting damage to the justice system. Well, what about what all of these people are saying about the 2016 and 2018 elections? You want to talk about damaging a system, how about the damage to our electoral system done by these people? And they’re not finished!
What it really means is how can we make sure that conservatism is limited on our forums? How can we make sure that Republican and conservative candidates do not find ways to use our platforms to win elections. That’s what they’re having meetings about. You want to talk about damaging systems? Donald Trump’s words about Jeff Sessions and the DOJ are doing nothing compared to what actual people in the FBI and the DOJ have already done to it.
It is without question that the Department of Justice has been corrupted, that it has been politicized. It’s been politicized in favor of liberal Democrats. So have our electoral systems been tainted for I don’t know how long now. And they continue to do that each and every day by worrying about the Russian impact on upcoming elections, the tech giants now having emergency meetings to figure out how to keep, quote, unquote, the Russians from having any more influence on elections like they did in 2016. And there isn’t any!
Mr. Rosenstein himself — hey, Greg or Joe, I know we’ve used this sound bite. I think we’ve used it. It may just be something that I read in a newspaper story quoting Rosenstein. But he said during the last announced Mueller indictments of the 13 or 12 Russians — so this is some weeks ago now — but he made it plain at the end of this, long after people had stopped listening, he made this point long after all of the indictments had been announced and all the lawbreaking had been announced, he made it plain that the actions — in fact, he said no one indicted to date.
There is no evidence that anyone indicted has changed a single vote. There is no evidence or allegation in these indictments that the outcome of any election has been altered. That is truth, truth announced by Rosenstein, the people who impaneled Robert Mueller to go find evidence that Trump colluded. He is saying that in every investigation to date and every indictment to date, no evidence that the Russians had any impact or effect on any vote or any election.
They can’t find evidence that one vote was changed, and they asserted that no election outcome has been changed. So what are we doing here? We keep talking about Russian meddling. We keep talking about the Russians tampering the elections. “Oh, yeah, Mr. Limbaugh. It happened. You can’t deny that it happened.” Show me the evidence it mattered. Show me the evidence that it’s anything unusual and new. You can’t.
Corrupting our justice system? Trump’s attacks are doing lasting damage to the justice system? The fact of the matter is, Donald Trump is trying to rebuild all this. The fact of the matter is Donald Trump is trying to recapture an American greatness and reinstitute it, reimplement it, and create its own inertia so American greatness continues to happen on its own. Donald Trump is a victim of a corrupt Justice Department. Donald Trump and his campaign are clearly victims of a justice system that’s already damaged. And there’s no question about that.
And everybody involved on the pursuing Trump side knows all of this, and it doesn’t matter. They apparently are not concerned with the damage that they are causing. In fact, the damage they’re causing may actually work to their benefit, as long as they can make people think Trump’s responsible for it. And how is Trump responsible for it? Well, by winning, by having somebody with as dubious a character, some rascal like this, somebody so unpresidential in charge of these institutions, it’s horrible, it’s horrible. That’s what they want to get as many people believing as they can.
So Trump hits Sessions, Sessions hits back saying, “I’m not going to be unduly influenced by any politics.” But Sessions does appear to be uninterested in any of the illegalities, irregularities, or questionable legal conduct or behavior by those conducting this investigation. And then, of course, on the Russian side of it, he’s recused himself from it. So on that side of things he can’t get involved.
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RUSH: Here is Dutch as we get started on the phone, Chillicothe, Missouri. Great to have you, Dutch. How are you doing, sir?
CALLER: I’m just grateful to be able to talk to you today, Mr. Limbaugh.
RUSH: Thank you, sir, very much. It’s great to have you here.
RUSH: Wait. Wait. Wait. Sessions stepped aside and said, “Go at it, boys,” to who?
CALLER: (chuckles) Well, to Mueller and his team.
RUSH: Oh.
CALLER: Yes, sir. I mean, that’s just to me —
RUSH: Are you suggesting that Sessions has never been actually on Trump’s side in this? Is that what you mean to say?
CALLER: That’s what I’m saying.
RUSH: That’s what you’re saying. It’s a pretty bold statement. I mean, Sessions has been… I mean, he was the first guy, first U.S. senator to endorse Trump. The first two guys in the House to endorse Trump (chuckles) are under indictment, are gonna go to jail. Duncan Hunter and some guy… (interruption) I’m not kidding! The first two guys in the House to endorse Donald Trump have just been indicted on financial irregularities, insider training and the other is accused of using campaign funds for personal expenses.
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: Personal funds like vacations to Italy. Duncan Hunter, that kind of thing. Sessions has not been prosecuted, obviously, because in your mind, he’s not helping Trump.
CALLER: Well, it seems quite clear to me. You know, I mean the statement he made about the politics, you know, being involved in all this? He’s stepping back from that. This whole thing has been nothing but political. If he can’t see that and a dummy like me and a poor boy like me from flyover country can, what’s up?
RUSH: He may… Look, I know Attorney General Sessions. I don’t know him well. I had a couple of opportunities to talk with him, and more than just, “Hey, how you doing? Great to see you.” I’ve interviewed him for the Limbaugh Letter. I’ve talked to him for an hour, and I can tell you this much about him. He looks at the law and the Department of Justice as sacrosanct. He kind of reminds me of my grandfather in a way, who had such reverence for the law that he would not do or tolerate anything that tainted it. He would not do anything that tainted it or showed disrespect.
When others did… Sessions is watching other people taint and sully the Department of Justice; he’s not gonna do that himself. But I think that he holds it in great reverence, and I think he views the job here as one of caretaker. He is the caretaker, and it is his turn to be the steward of the Department of Justice. He doesn’t look at it the way Eric Holder did. Eric Holder described himself as Obama’s wingman! Remember that? Everybody applauded it! Well, Trump has wanted a wingman over there.
“Do what you can to protect Obama!” We have so many double standards; it’s impossible to even keep track of them. But as far as Sessions is concerned, my… Look, I don’t know him well enough to say with ontological certitude here, so I need some flexibility to be wrong. But I think he looks at this as a stewardship of a great institution. Under his watch, all it’s gonna be is a great center of justice and law, and it isn’t gonna be politicized by him. Now, George W. Bush was the exact same way about the presidency.
How did that manifest itself? George W. Bush refused… There was politics all around him! People were politicizing the presidency for decades before he got it. They were politicizing his role as president. There were never-ending criticisms. What did he say? “I’m not going to take this office down to the level of the gutter by responding to it.” So George W. Bush viewed himself as a steward and a guardian of a precious, unique thing: The presidency of United States.
By his own actions, he wasn’t going to sully it. I think we’re looking at the exact same type of thinking with Jeff Sessions. When other people do it? That’s their problem — and to the extent that he can stop it from happening, he will. So when Donald Trump tells him, “Why don’t you go after the sleazebags over there?” Sessions will say, “This department will not be politicized and respond favorably to such requests.”
Meanwhile, there’s all kinds of corruption and politicization already going on that he doesn’t seem interested in stopping. But at least he isn’t doing it. Moving on. We have Alan in Yorba Linda, California. It’s great to have you with us, sir, on Open Line Friday. By the way, you are something today that hasn’t happened in a long time. You are the second caller in the first hour. That is so rare on this program; you should be honored.
CALLER: I am honored, Rush. Thank you very much.
RUSH: You bet, sir.
CALLER: Thank you for all you do.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
RUSH: Wait a minute. Wait just… Let me see if I understand this. You think that Sessions actually is making moves on some of this but not himself? You’re right, he has appointed a lawyer, not a special counsel. He’s appointed something like an inspector general. The guy’s name is [John] Huber, and he is looking at various aspects of what you and I all think is corrupt as hell, Hillary and the emails and all this.
CALLER: Correct. He’s working with the IG as well.
RUSH: Right. Right.
CALLER: And contrary to what, you know, Trump’s always tweeting about 17 bad guys, lawyers that are going up against him —
RUSH: How many did you say? How many bad guys did you say?
CALLER: Seventeen.
RUSH: Seventeen bad guys.
CALLER: That’s right.
RUSH: Did I not tell you? Seventeen bad guys.
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: So Sessions, you think…? I’m running out of time here so “yes” or “no.” You think Sessions and Trump are largely acting out this public disagreement with each other?
CALLER: I’m convinced of it.
RUSH: And that there’s actually some real serious work going on that nobody is…?
CALLER: I’m convinced of it. Yes.
RUSH: Okay. All right. You’re convinced.
CALLER: Totally convinced.
RUSH: “Totally convinced.”
CALLER: I could tell you more but I know you’re up against a break.
RUSH: I really am. I’m up against a break. In fact, I have to take it.
(ear-splitting tone)
RUSH: I wasn’t ready quite then, but I have to take it now. It’s over anyway. What the heck?
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: I want to expand a little bit on our last caller. He kind of got short shrift. You know, and that guy represents something very unique; he was the second caller in the first hour. I don’t know when the last time we had a second caller in the first hour was. And his theory is that this business of Trump going back and forth with Sessions is all for show.
He believes that Sessions is actually working behind the scenes to bring some of these bad actors on the Democrat side to justice. And he’s right when he says that Sessions has appointed an investigator to work with the inspector general. And there is an IG report going on. There is an inspection of the FISA warrant process and the dossier. That is happening. We’re not gonna have any results of that anywhere near having any impact on the upcoming election. So, for all intents and purposes, that’s so far down the road, we haven’t the slightest clue what ultimately will be said.
I mean, the left is. The left is praising Jeff Sessions unlike they praise your average Republican short of John McCain. They really are. And I have to tell you this. I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that Sessions and Trump have been with each other a number of times in the past couple of weeks, and people tell me that there isn’t any evidence these two are at loggerheads with each other, that they’re getting along famously well, that everything appears fine. All this stuff that Trump is saying about Sessions and Sessions is reacting to, when these two get together, people say they’re not seeing any evidence of it. So who knows.
But as is the case with everything, we just wait. And when we wait, you can’t help but be affected by Drive-By Media and their headlines.
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