Trump Criticizes Attorney General: Sessions Should Not Have Recused Himself from Russia Investigations

The President of the United States criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions, stating that he should not have recused himself from the investigations into Russia. Mr. Sessions responded to this criticism, emphasizing that he will continue his work for as long as it is appropriate. Trump's unprecedented public criticism of Sessions, one of his staunchest allies, reflects an old grievance, but according to two of Trump's advisors, it was not aimed at forcing Sessions to resign. According to the Associated Press, Trump is angry about Sessions' decision not to intervene in the Justice Department's investigations regarding Trump's campaign ties with the Russian government. On Wednesday, July 19, he told The New York Times that if he had known Sessions would make such a decision, he would never have appointed him as Attorney General. Trump stated in part of the interview, 'Sessions should never have recused himself from these investigations. If he was going to do that, he should have told me before I appointed him, and I would have chosen someone else.' The White House has not attempted to soften Trump's remarks or show full confidence in the Attorney General. Instead, two of Trump's advisors said that the President's public comments are exactly like his private remarks about Sessions. These two advisors did not wish to be named as they are legally prohibited from commenting on the President's views. In response to the criticism, Sessions stated that he loves his job and intends to continue working as long as it is appropriate. According to Reuters, he said, 'We love this job, we love this department, and my plan is to continue as long as it is appropriate.' Sessions recused himself from investigations related to Trump's campaign ties with the Russian government after it became known that he had not disclosed his meeting with the Russian ambassador during Trump's campaign. He made this decision without consulting the President, effectively paving the way for the appointment of a special counsel, Robert Mueller. Mueller's investigation and separate investigations ongoing in Congress have significantly impacted Trump's presidency and have implicated many of his close associates, including his son Donald Trump Jr. and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The Associated Press reports that although Trump has denied this, he appears to still be watching cable news coverage of the investigations regarding his campaign's ties to the Russian government. At times, he has told his allies that this matter is over and that the related controversies will soon end, but at other times he has acknowledged that this issue will likely overshadow his entire presidency. Apparently, at one point, Sessions offered to resign to Trump, but the President did not accept the offer. One of Trump's advisors said that the President's recent remarks in the interview with The New York Times do not indicate a desire to remove Sessions, although he acknowledged that the Attorney General's reaction to these sharp and public criticisms cannot be predicted. Sessions was the first senator to support Trump's nomination, and both share strict views on immigration. Some of Sessions' former advisors are now working in the White House, including Stephen Miller, a senior advisor to the President on policy who is the chief architect of the controversial travel ban to the U.S. Trump also mentioned the possibility of firing Robert Mueller in the interview with The New York Times and indicated that he has damaging information about former FBI Director James Comey. Trump stated that Mueller's appointment to lead this investigation is a conflict of interest because he had talked to him about the possibility of returning to the FBI after firing Comey. Trump added, 'There are other conflicts of interest that I have not mentioned yet, but I will at some point.'