One irony about all this is that if in fact he fires Sessions or forces him out in some other way, that means that the whole Russia collusion thing has claimed an actual political victim, and that Trump would now be playing into the hands of his "deep state" enemies. If they can manipulate Trump into firing his most loyal cabinet member, what can't they do to him?
Call me crazy, but I don't think this has anything to do with Russia. Trump has a habit of doing things and then giving a reason for it that has nothing to do with the actual reason (such as when he cited the Rosenstein memo for firing Comey) Sessions recused himself months ago; why now?
I notice this decision comes days after Sessions' announcement on asset forfeiture. I remember thinking at the time, wow, this is the most unpopular thing the Trump administration has ever done. Some people are going to feel real, raw hate over this decision. I think Trump, with his good instincts, realized as much and has managed to fizzle the hate by skewering Sessions. Since the decision was bound to generate strong raw emotions, it was important that Trump deeply humiliate Sessions to mirror peoples' emotions. He's again getting Democrats and liberals to side with evil (in this case, Sessions) and putting himself on the 'left' (anti-Sessions) side. So even if his next AG continues the asset forfeiture program, they won't be associated with starting it. The raw feeling of anger will be gone. Trump is a very shrewd man who has been playing us all for fools, I fear.
Trump's instincts appear to be a very immediate sort of thing. He can pick a lane and keep speeding down it, sure. But I'm skeptical he or his administration is capable of the kind of planning you describe, or that they would see the asset forfeiture issue as a problem.
I find it quite plausible that Trump has it in for Sessions for reasons that are only indirectly related to Russia or even completely unrelated to Russia, but not as part of some political scheme. (Except maybe in his own head.) Look at the man's history. Remember Trump's Razor. If he's gunning for Sessions, it's for some petty, egotistical, schoolyard-bully reason. Maybe Sessions didn't return a 4am text from Trump. Maybe he made the mistake as ordering the same dessert as the Orange Outrage.
Or maybe it's the obvious: Trump is a crook, and Sessions has gone all Thomas Becket. Either way,
that Trump is secretly running some sort of Xanatos Gambit is NOT something I lose sleep over at night.
