Trump suggests Justice Department investigate Oakland’s Democratic mayor for tipping off immigrants

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf attends a public event in Oakland in 2016.

was disputed by an ICE spokesperson, who said it was false and resigned in protest. In a March speech in California, Sessions directly blasted Schaaf.

“How dare you?” he said then. “How dare you needlessly endanger the lives of our law enforcement officers to promote a radical open-borders agenda?”

Schaaf, whose warning to the community came in the form of a tweet, has defended her action, saying

the warning was within the law. “I was sharing information in a way that was legal and was not obstructing justice,” she said a few days after the incident, “and it was an opportunity to ensure that people were aware of their rights.”

Trump’s move to encourage the nation’s top law enforcement officer to investigate a Democratic politician was viewed by some as an attempt to weaponize the Justice Department against his political opponents, with critics calling it an abuse of power.

Trump has sought to crack down on illegal immigration, a key campaign pledge, but the number of immigrants crossing the border illegally has spiked in recent months, angering the president ahead of the midterm elections this fall. The president reportedly berated his homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, over the issue, prompting her to consider resigning, according to news reports.

His roundtable on Wednesday focused on California’s status as a “sanctuary state” that allows local officials to withhold some information about undocumented immigrants from federal enforcement agencies.

Trump’s comments also might be a reflection of his frustration with the ongoing Russia probe led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which has included allegations that the president sought to obstruct justice.