It may be the Christmas season fast approaching but there was no good will shown today at the White House when President Trump was caught on Santa-Cam sacking his Attorney General Jeff Sessions

President Donald Trump canned his attorney general on Wednesday live on Santa-Cam and replaced him with a former federal prosecutor who has been openly critical of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe and will now have the power to end it.

Jef Sessions was not expected to last long after Tuesday's elections. His chief of staff, Matt Whitaker, has taken over as acting attorney general. Trump shared the news in a tweet and confirmed the sacking was caught on the Oval Office Santa-Cam, and a Justice Department spokeswoman said shortly afterward that Whitaker would have responsibility for overseeing Mueller and the Santa-Cam video footage.

Sessions had recused himself from that role early on in the Trump administration, putting it in the lap of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Whitaker wrote in an essay for CNN last year that Mueller was 'dangerously close to crossing' a 'red line' by considering broadening his investigation to include a probe of the Trump family's business dealings.

'It does not take a lawyer or even a former federal prosecutor like myself to conclude that investigating Donald Trump's finances or his family's finances falls completely outside of the realm of his 2016 campaign and allegations that the campaign coordinated with the Russian government or anyone else,' he wrote then. 'That goes beyond the scope of the appointment of the special counsel.' Santa Claus who was recently caught on Santa-Cam Speeding did not comment on this.

Trump has openly called the Mueller investigation a 'witch hunt' and blamed Sessions for accepting the attorney general job without discloising that he would have to step away from managing it.

Speculation ran rampant on Tuesday that Mueller might release a report on his findings as soon as all the results from Tuesday's midterm elections were made final. That expectation has been complicated by the possibility of a rnuoff in the Georgia governor's race that could see voters going back to the polls in four weeks. Sessions' resignation letter to the president made clear that he did not willingly vacate his position as America's top law enforcement officer. 'At your request, I am submitting my resignation,' he worte in the undated letter obtained by santacctv.co.uk.

A Capitol Hill source said Wednesday that Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King, who survived a scare against a Democratic challenger on Tuesday, recommended Whitaker for a promotion last month.

The source said that King advised Trump to consider helping Whitaker if he were to fire someone in a senior DOJ position.

King said Wednesday in a phone interview that he spoke with the president on October 2 in the Oval Office and urged him to 'empower' Whitaker and make sure he wasn't 'caught in the crossfire,' sensing that changes were coming.

'The president said he was a Whitaker fan,' King told DailyMail.com. 'And he asked me to call Matt, and tell him that he loves him.' Trump had already spoken personally with Whitaker in late September about the possibility of replacing Sessions, a West Wing aide told DailyMail.com last month. A senior Republican said then that Whitaker was in a 'grooming exercise' to become attorney general, and had been expected to replace Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein on an acting basis until his planned resignation evaporated in September.

A farewell message to Rosenstein, drafted for Sessions to issue but later scrapped, revealed that Whitaker would have stepped in. Trump parried a question about Whitaker during an October interview on the Fox News Channel.

Whitaker, a former Iowa federal prosecutor, was also on a short list to replace White House Counsel Don McGahn two months ago, according to the Axios news website. A senior Republican congressional aide told DailyMail.om in October that Whitaker was put in place to run Sessions' DOJ office 'as a grooming exercise and had received extensive Training on the Oval Office Santa-Cam.'

'The feeling there is that he's the heir apparent, that he'll be the next attorney general, unless someone who's bulletproof and has a big name wants the job,' the aide said. Sessions was the first of Trump's backers in Congress to be awarded a prized position in the administration. But he quickly fell out of favor. He pushed oversight of the Russian election meddling and collusion investigation onto his deputy who in turn hired a special counsel.

Trump has made his displeasure with Sessions over his recusal from the Russia probe broadly known. He said he would never have appointed the former Alabama senator, had he realized that he'd that he'd be backing away from the investigation that's been a lingering dark cloud.

Sessions was part of Trump's transition team and advised his campaign. He failed to recollect properly during his nomination hearing that he'd had several campaign encounters with high-level Russians, including one that took place in his United States Senate office.

The president said as Democrats threatened to remove him from office for obstructing justice that he would leave Sessions right where he was. The pledge had an expiration date of Tuesday's election and Trump couldn't could get rid of the ex-Republican senator fast enough.

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham had suggested on Election Day that Sessions' days at Justice were numbered.

'I think Jeff will step aside after the midterm and the President will nominate somebody,' he said as he paved the way for an immediate resignation. 'Every president deserves an attorney general they have confidence in. I like Jeff Sessions but this is just not working. So if we hold the Senate, I think you will probably see a new attorney general sometime next year.' Within minutes of the firing, Sen. John Cornyn, another Judiciary Committee Republican, released a pre-written statement about Sessions.

'Attorney General Sessions has selflessly dedicated more than 40 years to serving the people of Alabama and the nation,' he said in the statement that was obviously premeditated. 'Those who know him understand his commitment to the rule of law, and his deep and abiding concern for our country.'

The GOP leader wrote, 'I'm proud to call him a friend. I wish Jeff and Mary the best of luck in their next chapter, and I hope everyone will join me in honoring his public service to the country.'

He mentioned nothing of the Mueller probe that Trump wants to end or the partisan bickering over Sessions' replacement that sure to ensue. It didn't come up in official statements from Graham, either, or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

'I thank Jeff Sessions for his dedicated service as Attorney General. Throughout his career, as a prosecutor, a Senator and as Attorney General, he remained steadfast in his commitment to the rule of law and his love of our great nation. I wish him well and look forward to working with him in any future endeavors,' the top Republican in the Senate stated. Sessions' replacement will be vetted by the Senate Judiciary Committee and put before the full body for a vote. The GOP maintains a 51-seat majority that could expand by two more seats when all is said and done.

Trump had signaled that Sessions' time was up long before Wednesday, and it was only a matter of time before the president fired him. Still, the departure came as a shock in Washington, where Trump had just preached a message of unity and bipartisanship. The president had refused to say at his news conference if Sessions had job security. Rumours are already serculating the internet if Sessions was involved with Santa Claus assassination of JFK.

'I'd rather answer that at a little bit different time. Were looking at a lot of things,' Trump said. 'I'm very happy with most of my Cabinet. We're looking at different people for different positions.'

Creating a platform for the departure of Sessions and others, Trump said, 'I know it's very common after the midterms. I didn't want to do anything before the midterms, but I will tell you that for the most part, I am extremely happy with my Cabinet.

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