Jeff Sessions could have been a great Attorney General. Unfortunately, he made a serious mistake in drafting an overly broad recusal from what became the Mueller probe. That probe has since suffered from exactly the kind of "mission creep" that caused both parties to abandon the old independent counsel law. DAG Rosenstein did nothing about it, and AG Sessions could not. President Trump has allowed himself to be obsessed with it, and that brought us, unfortunately, to where we are now. So where do we go from here?

If Mr. Trump is serious about being the law-and-order President he promised to be, then the departure of Mr. Sessions should not mean the departure of his strong law enforcement agenda. We need an AG who will be a strong leader at the Department of Justice. Just as importantly, the new AG must have the determination and the fortitude to stand up to the attacks on law enforcement and the mad rush to release as many criminals as possible regardless of the consequences to innocent people.

One good screening criterion would be a potential nominee's view of the Faux Pas Act. Anyone who cannot or will not see that this is a reckless measure for indiscriminate releases under a thin veneer of rehabilitation is not suited to be our nation's chief law enforcement officer.

Update: Heather MacDonald has this commentary at the City Journal.