[Rosemary Church, Cnn Anchor:] Another top Trump administration official says goodbye. Attorney general Jeff Sessions is out after the president fired him from the job. That news comes as the Democratic Party takes back the House with some stunning firsts as a historic number of women win seats in Congress. And
[Trump:] The sanctions are on.
[Unidentified Male:] You still expect to be
[Trump:] No, no, excuse me. Wait.
[Unidentified Male:] Sorry, sir.
[Trump:] The sanctions are on. The missiles have stopped. The rockets have stopped.
[Church:] President Trump's relationship he says is fine even as the North cancels an upcoming meeting. Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN NEWSROOM. There's a new leader at the U.S. Justice Department. That could mean big changes for the Russia investigation. President Trump fired attorney general Jeff Sessions on Wednesday; replacing him for now is Sessions' chief of staff, Matt Whitaker. According to the Justice Department, Whitaker will be in charge of all matters under the purview of the Department of Justice. That means he will oversee special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Sessions left the Justice Department building late Wednesday, saying goodbye to his former employees and shaking hands with his replacement. Trump has wanted to replace Sessions ever since he recused himself from the Russia probe. Over the past year, the president has repeatedly asked Sessions to regain control of the investigation. Earlier Wednesday, the president played coy when asked about Sessions' future.
[Unidentified Male:] And can you give us clarity, sir, on your thinking currently now, after the midterms, about your attorney general and your deputy attorney general? Do they have long-term job security?
[Trump:] I'd rather answer that at a little bit different time. We're looking at a lot of different things, including cabinet.
[Church:] A Justice Department source told CNN that people close to Sessions are encouraging him to run for his old Senate seat in 2020. More on how he got here from CNN's Laura Jarrett.
[Laura Jarrett, Cnn Legal Analyst:] At President Trump's request, Jeff Sessions is out as attorney general, submitting his resignation letter to the president. Quote, "I have been honored it serve as attorney general and have worked to implement the law enforcement agenda, based on the rule of law," wrote Sessions. Trump has made no secret of his disdain for his attorney general.
[Trump:] I'm disappointed in the attorney general for numerous reasons. But we have an attorney general. I'm disappointed in the attorney general for many reasons. And you understand that.
[Jarrett:] The long expected departure of one of President Trump's earliest supporters, attorney general Jeff Sessions, coming after months of blistering attacks.
[Trump:] I said on the Department of Justice, I would stay uninvolved. Now I may get involved at some point if it gets worse.
[Jarrett:] At one low point, Trump even going so far as to declare, quote, "I don't have an attorney general." All because Sessions stepped aside from overseeing the Russia investigation, something that overshadowed nearly all his 20 months at the Justice Department.
[Trump:] He took the job and then he said, I'm going to recuse myself. I said, what kind of a man is this?
[Jarrett:] And despite all the tweets and withering critiques from his boss...
[Trump:] I put in an attorney general that never took control of the Justice Department, Jeff Sessions. He never took control of the Justice Department and it's sort of an incredible thing.
[Jarrett:] Sessions rarely pushed back...
[Jeff Sessions , Former U.s. Attorney General:] The president speaks his mind. He says what is on his mind at the time and he has been frustrated about my recusal and other matters. But we have been so pleased and honored to be given the responsibility to execute his agenda at the Department of Justice. Part of that is just this kind of case. And so I am pleased and honored to have that responsibility and I will do so as long as it is appropriate for me to do so.
[Jarrett:] picking his moments carefully and vowing in August that the Justice Department will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. Publicly, he advanced the president's most controversial immigration policies; privately, a source close to Sessions tells CNN he, too, has been frustrated that Mueller's investigation is not yet completed. And the attorney general hopes he will be remembered for never undermining the integrity of the department. With Sessions now gone, his chief of staff, Matt Whitaker, will take over the department in the interim. Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney from Iowa and former CNN contributor, has served as Sessions' right- hand man since September 2017. But with Sessions now gone, the question is, who will replace him? Republican senator Lindsey Graham has reportedly been asked about the job and has repeatedly said he's not interested. Others said to be in the running include former federal prosecutor and current Republican congressman John Ratcliffe, Boeing general counsel Michael Luttig and others potentially in the mix are federal appeals court judge Edith Jones, who sit on the 5th Circuit, and Janice Rogers Brown, who used to sit on the D.C. circuit, though a source close to Brown tells CNN, she is likely not interested Laura Jarrett, CNN, Washington.
[Church:] So let's get more on all of this with CNN legal analyst Paul Callan. Good to have you with us.
[Paul Callan, Cnn Legal Analyst:] Thank you, Rosemary.
[Church:] So clearly a lot to cover. There always is. But let's start with the firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. And that news came to us before most people had time to digest the results of the midterm elections. What impact might Sessions firing have on the Mueller investigations specifically?
[Callan:] Well, I mean, for starters, of course, that was a classic Trumpian move of changing the subject of losing the congressional elections. And, boy, we're now focused on a really big issue and that is the resignation of Jeff Sessions, attorney general of the United States. A lot of people thought that this was going to happen at some point but we just didn't know when. And certainly, the thought, I think among most lawyers is that this is really an attempt to impede, influence or maybe even terminate the Mueller investigation as it moves closer possibly to Don Jr. and other and the Trump businesses.
[Church:] Right. And of course, Jeff Sessions will be temporarily replaced by acting attorney general Matt Whitaker, a vocal critic of the Mueller probe. He's previously suggested starving the Mueller investigation of funds so it "grinds to almost a halt," his words. And this is what former Attorney General of the United States Sally Yates tweeted Wednesday. "We should not lose sight of why POTUS fired the attorney general because he wants a crony to protect him from the investigation of his own campaign. The rule of law is disappearing before our eyes." Is Sally Yates right there?
[Callan:] Well, I think we won't know until we see what Mr. Whitaker does in his new position. I certainly think the optics of this are terrible for the Trump administration. If you are going to put somebody in charge of the Mueller investigation and by the way, that's exactly what Whitaker will be in his new position. He will be the person really who was in charge of the investigation. You really would think you'd have somebody who is less publicly committed to criticizing Mueller, someone who is little bit more neutral at the very least or even supportive of the investigation. Instead, the president has selected somebody who is an outspoken critic of Mueller. And I think that's going to erode public confidence in Whitaker, regardless of what he does.
[Church:] But Whitaker has to be confirmed, doesn't he, for the job? So how likely is it that that would happen? He's there temporarily for now but he has to be nominated and then confirmed, doesn't he? How likely would it be that that he would the guy in the end?
[Callan:] It's hard to say whether he'll be the guy in the end. And I think whether he's the guy, it depends upon whether the president is happy about how he's dealing with the Mueller investigation. You know, he has said publicly as you began this interview by talking about cutting off Mueller's budget. Now he, as acting attorney general would have the right to do that. That would be one way that he could close down the Mueller investigation. Mueller has to come to him if Mueller is going to issue a subpoena of the president of the United States. And as acting attorney general he could veto that and put a stop to it. So he'll have enormous power in managing the Mueller investigation and he'll be on the one hand, try to keep himself from getting into trouble by the way of, you know, there will be claims against Whitaker that he is trying to obstruct justice if he is trying to close down the Mueller investigation to protect the president. But of course, on the other hand, if he's not aggressive with Mueller, he has no chance of permanently getting the attorney general position because the president will be unhappy with him. So he's signed up for a really tough job.
[Church:] And what happens in the meantime to previous acting attorney general Rod Rosenstein?
[Callan:] Well, that's a great question. Because a sort of the whole reason for his existence in the Justice Department was because Jeff Sessions had a conflict and he had to bring somebody in from the outside who had good credentials to supervise the Mueller investigation. And Rosenstein now really that job is going to Whitaker. So I would not be at all surprised to see Rosenstein resign from the Justice Department as well. But that remains to be seen. Maybe they'll find another role for him. He's a very well-respected deputy attorney general. But on the other hand, it's humiliating to have this responsibility taken away from him in such a public way. So I really would be surprised if Rosenstein stays on.
[Church:] And what will the Democrats do about this now that, of course, they're in control of the House?
[Callan:] Well, you know, Rosemary, they have subpoena power now. And they can hold hearings on this and they can cause the administration a great embarrassment. There are also requirements in the special counsel law that whoever is supervising the Mueller investigation has to report when certain incidents occur to the Congress. And you report to the majority's representative on the judiciary committee. So that would be a report to the Democrats. So they'll have an active role in this and they'll be aware of a lot of things that are going on in the investigation that they were not aware of before, the Democrats, of course.
[Church:] We will be watching the story very closely. I know you shall. And we'll see how long we'll be talking about this before another distraction happens, right? Paul Callan-
[Callan:] Well, that's true, that's true. Thanks so much, Rosemary.
[Church:] Thank you so much, Paul Callan, for being with us. Jeff Sessions' abrupt firing coming just hours after the U.S. midterms spelled an end to one-party rule in Washington. Here's the new balance of power. Democrats needed a net gain of 23 seats to win back control of the House for the first time in eight years. They topped that, gaining 28 seats, giving them 223 in total. Republicans have 199 confirmed seats. On the Senate side, the Republicans have at least 51 seats, assuring them of a majority. Democrats have 46 seats, three other seats are still up in the air now. At a news conference Wednesday, President Trump touted the Republican victories.
[Trump:] I'll be honest, I thought it was I thought it was a very close close to complete victory. We saw the candidates that that I supported achieve tremendous success. Others decided let's stay away. They did poorly. I'm not sure that I should be happy or sad. I feel fine about it.
[Church:] As we've discussed, with Democrats in control of the House, they will have subpoena power as the majority Democrats will not control the chairmanships of House committees so they can limit Trump's legislative plans. We could see the Russia probe ramped up and a possible investigation into the president's tax returns. House Democrats could also vote to impeach the president but it is highly unlikely a Republican controlled Senate would convict him at trial. So let's get into all of this with Scott Lucas. He teaches international politics at the University of Birmingham in England. Thank you very much for being with us.
[Scott Lucas, University Of Birmingham:] Thank you.
[Church:] So how much gridlock can we expect over the next two years with the Democrats in control of the House and the Republicans controlling the Senate? And what could this mean for President Trump's legislative plans, future investigation and the possibility of impeachment?
[Lucas:] Rosemary, gridlock is a place for normal times. And of course, we will see, for example, a battle probably early next year when the Trump administration makes its budget proposal. We know that the administration which has only had one major bill passed in two years. The tax cuts bill will struggle to get any further legislation. But these aren't normal times. I mean, Donald Trump doesn't rule by working through Congress the way that we expect, he rules by executive order. So expect, for example, if we have further anti-immigration moves, executive order, further tariffs, executive order, further environmental protection being pushed away, executive order. But we've already seen that showdown. Because if Trump wants to rule by executive order, he faces the immediate challenge. The immediate challenge of the Democrats controlling the House committees, which could, for example, put pressure on him over his financial affairs. But immediately it raises the Russia investigation because Republicans or leading Republicans have been accused of blocking access to the Mueller team of records that could contribute to the investigation. They have been accused of slowing down this investigation well, going all the way back to early 2017. Now that barrier is gone. And what you saw yesterday was that Donald Trump wasn't worried as much about gridlock as much as he was worried about the fact that the Russia investigation may take over now and that you and I will not be talking about the economy, we will not be talking about foreign policy, but we'll be talking about how close Robert Mueller is getting to the president over the next few weeks and months.
[Church:] Right. And of course, so while the nation was trying to assess the impact of the midterm elections. We got distracted by news of the firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. What impact do you expect this to have on the Mueller inquiry, with Matt Whitaker now the new acting attorney general?
[Lucas:] Well, first of all, Rosemary, I don't think it's a distraction, I actually think it is a logical reaction to what happened. Sessions is going to be fired anyway. That was an undated letter which he had written at the White House command. I think they did move more quickly than we expected. And I think the reason links to two things: because the returns were not what they wanted, especially for the House. I think Trump and his inner circle decided they've got to take the offensive now. I think they're moving in two stages through the replacement for Jeff Sessions. I think the first is that they will try to contain Mueller. And the key thing that I picked up from your interview earlier is subpoena power. We know Mueller wants to subpoena Trump to pull everything together in terms of the evidence he has, but the new acting attorney general can block that and I would expect that to happen. Now the question, is he just a placeholder or are they going to try to put a more heavyweight person in as attorney general? There has been the name of Janice Rogers Brown, an appeals court judge, floated as a replacement this morning. If she is brought in, do they make the ultimate move, which is to fire Mueller and dismiss him? We know if they do, that's it. We're in a constitutional crisis. We know they can't walk that back. So even though, I think, Donald Trump is impulsive, even though I think he is acting erratically, I think the firing of Sessions is just an intermediate step. And we've got to wait probably for the next few months, for weeks and even months before we see if it were ultimate decision of whether Trump stays or whether he goes.
[Church:] All right. We'll watch to see what happens there. And of course, in the meantime, President Trump was lashing out at the media in an explosive news conference after the midterm election results. What was that all about? Anger with the results or simply offering up a new distraction?
[Lucas:] Whenever you're with Trump, start with Trump personally. And despite what you heard him saying, this is a near complete victory, he knows it wasn't. He knows that the loss of the House is big. He knows probably that most of the candidates he campaigned for did not actually win on Tuesday. And so he took it out on CNN's Jim Acosta because Jim Acosta is a target of the president and of leading conservatives. We know that. Was it a distraction? It becomes a distraction if the media lets it become a distraction. Despite the fact that I think this is an attack on press freedom. I think if we get back to talking about Sessions firing today, if we get back to talking about how Trump is going to deal with the new Congress, well, we'll see if we can get Jim Acosta back into the White House. But, meanwhile, look, Donald Trump is on the defensive right now. And we've got to start from that position when we assess everything that's happening in this confusion around Washington.
[Church:] Yes. We will stay on topic for sure. Scott Lucas, many thanks to you for your analysis and perspective. I appreciate it.
[Lucas:] Thank you.
[Church:] A Pakistani Christian woman who had her death sentence overturned is finally free from prison but now Asia Bibi is facing a uncertain future and threats to her life. Plus relief in Cameroon, as 78 kidnapped children are released. But two youngsters are still in danger. The details when we return.