Speaking of the Justice Department, and Trump’s efforts to exert complete control of a branch that is supposed to be largely independent, and how that plays out for Attorneys General – Jeff Sessions is running for the Senate again.

Mr. Sessions has remained largely out of the public eye, and has been effectively exiled from Republican politics, since he was forced out of the Trump administration last November. He had repeatedly clashed with the president over his decision to recuse himself from the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Mr. Trump relentlessly attacked Mr. Sessions both in public and in private, calling him “scared stiff” and his leadership “a total joke,” among other insults, ultimately forcing him to resign. By choosing to run for office now, Mr. Sessions risks reigniting attacks from his former boss, who could undermine his standing among the Republican voters he needs to win next year’s crowded primary election on March 3.

Let’s hope so. It’s not as if we want Jeff Sessions back in the Senate.

Mr. Trump, for his part, continues to blame Mr. Sessions for the two-year Russia probe, and last weekend he repeatedly denounced Mr. Sessions, saying he was a “jerk” and making it clear Mr. Sessions would not have his support, according to a person briefed on the discussions.

Publicly, however, Mr. Trump has remained silent, although some of his allies have begun expressing their disapproval. Minutes after the news of Mr. Sessions’s decision broke on Wednesday evening, Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida declared on Twitter, “Jeff Sessions returning to the Senate is a terrible idea.”

Which is true, but not for the reasons the odious Gaetz thinks.

News of Mr. Sessions’s decision to run startled and dismayed national Republicans, who had hoped that he would step aside to avoid the possibility of being vilified by Mr. Trump…

I can’t help laughing. Republicans hoped Republican Sessions would stay out so that he wouldn’t prompt more public bullying and defamation from the Republican president. Nice buncha people they got there!

Mr. Sessions had been chewing on the idea of returning to the Senate for several months, making clear to allies and advisers that he was pained at the possibility that his final act in public life could be his contentious 21-month tenure at the Justice Department. He had talked to aides and consultants, had polling conducted and asked friends whether they thought Mr. Trump might warm to him.

But over the last week, Mr. Trump sent word to Mr. Sessions through allies that he would publicly attack him if he ran. And Mr. McConnell recently approached Mr. Trump, asking him whether his feelings about Mr. Sessions might have improved. The president said he was very much still opposed to Mr. Sessions and would make that clear if he had to, according to a person briefed on the discussions.

If he “had to” – he doesn’t “have to.” There is no reasonable interpretation of this scenario that makes Trump’s bullying and defamation some kind of imperative. Trump wants to because he’s an evil bullying shit; end of story.