Toobin: Trump tweet attacking Sessions over indictments ‘may be an impeachable offense’

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Tuesday that President Trump’s attacks against Attorney General Jeff Sessions over charges brought against two GOP lawmakers may be grounds for impeachment.

“This tweet alone may be an impeachable offense,” Toobin said on CNN’s “New Day.” “This is such a disgrace. This is so contrary to the traditions of the Department of Justice.”

Toobin added that the public can wear itself out in regards to its outrage over Trump’s behavior. But he said that the president’s tweet targeting Sessions is different because it “is such an affront to the values of the Justice Department.” 

“The sentiment at the core of that tweet is so contrary to the mission of the DOJ,” he said. “It’s such an insult to the decent people who work there.”

.@JeffreyToobin on President Trump blasting AG Sessions over indictments of GOP congressmen: “This tweet alone may be an impeachable offense. This is such a disgrace.” https://t.co/DUNMQ61sv3 pic.twitter.com/3FUeL39bqf

— New Day (@NewDay) September 4, 2018

Trump on Monday suggested that the Justice Department’s investigations of a pair of Republican congressmen have endangered the GOP’s election prospects this November.  

“Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department,” Trump tweeted.

“Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff,” he added, before adding, “Democrats, none of whom voted for Jeff Sessions, must love him now.”

The tweet was in reference to Reps. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), a pair of vocal Trump supporters who have been indicted on criminal charges in recent months. 

Many GOP lawmakers aggressively pushed back against the sentiment from Trump. 

“The United States is not some banana republic with a two-tiered system of justice — one for the majority party and one for the minority party,” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said in a statement just hours after Trump’s attack on the Justice Department.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) did vote for Sessions’s confirmation as attorney general.