Trump mounts new attack on attorney general
PRESIDENT Donald Trump blasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday, labelling the country’s top law enforcement official “disgraceful” over his handling ofWhite House allegations of illegal wiretapping.
It was the second critical tweet in a week against Sessions, who reportedly submitted his resignation at least once last year after Trump insulted him.
Trump questioned Sessions’ commitment to Republican demands that he investigate the use of so-called FISA national security warrants in 2016, when Barack Obama was president, to wiretap members of Trump’s election campaign team over their contacts with Russia. On Tuesday, Sessions said he had ordered the inspector general of the Justice Department to look into whether the highly secretive FISA warrant process was abused.
“Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse,” Trump asked in a tweet. “Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!”
In a statement, Sessions fired back, calling his decision “the appropriate process” for complaints against the Justice Department. “As long as I am the attorney general, I will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor, and this department will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner according to the law and Constitution,” he said.
But Trump’s broadside was a reminder that the president has been unhappy with his hand-picked attorney general since Sessions recused himself almost a year ago from a probe into possible Trump campaign collusion with Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The outbursts may reflect Trump’s mounting fear or frustration as the investigation, led by independent special prosecutor Robert Mueller, focuses increasingly on the president’s inner circle and possibly Trump himself.
Last week Trump took aim at the attorney general over the direction of that probe.
“Question: If all of the Russian meddling took place during the Obama Administration, right up to January 20th, why aren’t they the subject of the investigation?” he wrote. “Why aren’t Dem[ocrat] crimes under investigation? Ask Jeff Sessions!”
Trump has targeted Sessions over Mueller’s operation, which is also examining whether Trump has obstructed the Russia investigation. Because he was part of the campaign, Sessions recused himself in March 2017 from overseeing the probe, infuriating Trump.