One of my friends recently asked me what came to my mind when I think about Jefferson Beauregard Sessions. He was offering his views, and when he asked me, I had to pause. After a moment I replied, “He should remember John Mitchell.”
Well now. That’s a loaded statement if ever there was one. Mitchell, attorney general in the Richard Nixon Administration, aggressively went after protesters, minorities and anybody else Richard Milhouse Nixon considered his enemies.
Nixon had an enemies list. One must assume that there were many many names on that list, including Vietnam veterans against the war, civil rights activists, David Berrigan, Daniel Ellsberg and others. The list was long and varied. Nixon was one paranoid individual.
John Mitchell was Nixon’s attack pit bull who went after them all. Many ended up in federal court. Some got convicted. Others didn’t.
Then came Watergate, a “third rate burglary.” The words “Deep Throat” came to the forefront. G. Gordon Liddy led the plumbers who were the group that did the break-in working from an office in the White House.
Senate hearings were held. “What did the president know and when did he know it?” asked senator Howard Baker. Administration officials testified. Many lies were piled on top of each other. Then John Dean, the president’s lawyer, testified and blew the lies and liars out of the water.
Back to Jeff Sessions and John Mitchell. When the dust settled, and everything was laid bare, Mitchell was convicted of obstruction of justice. John Mitchell, persecutor of countless numbers of Nixon’s enemies, was sentenced to five years in federal prison.
So, when I say that Jeff Sessions should remember, he should remember Mitchell and understand that even the nation’s top law enforcement officer is not above the law.
We, the people, have put attorneys general in the slammer before, and it can happen again.
Alan Mahood
Onalaska
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