Sessions slaps back at Trump: Won’t be improperly influenced
President predicts stock market crash if he is impeached
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, incensed by campaign allegations, plunged back into his criticism of Attorney GeneralJeff Sessions, claiming in an interview Mr. Sessions “never took control of the Justice Department” afterMr. Trump put him there.
Mr. Sessions quickly hit back, declaring that he and his department “will not be improperly influenced by political considerations.” By doing so, the attorney general was seen as taking on Mr. Trump publicly in a way few Republicans in Washington have during his turbulent 19month-old presidency.
Mr. Trump was interviewed on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday, the day after his former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded
guilty to eight counts — and implicated the president — and former campaign manager Paul Manafort was convicted of financial crimes unrelated to the 2016 presidential campaign. The interview aired Thursday.
Mr. Trump has lashed out repeatedly in the past at Mr. Sessions, the Alabama Republican who was the first senator to endorse the celebrity businessman but then recused himself shortly after taking office from the special counsel investigation that led to the criminal cases and is still underway into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
“You know the only reason I gave him the job? Because I felt loyalty, he was an original supporter,”Mr. Trump said.
The president later said: “Jeff Sessions recused himself, which he shouldn’t have done, or he should have told me. He took my job, and then he said, ‘I’m going to recuse myself.’ I said, ‘What kind of man is this?’”
Mr.Sessions slapped back in a statement Thursday afternoon, saying he “took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have had unprecedented success at effectuating the president’s agenda.”
He declared that while he’s attorney general “the actions” of the DOJ “will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action.”
Mr. Sessions added that “no nation has a more talented, more dedicated group of law enforcement investigators and prosecutors than the United States.”
During the interview, Mr. Trump declined to say whether he plans to fire Mr. Sessions or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing special counsel RobertMueller’s probe.
After the interview, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters that he thinks it’s “very likely” Mr. Trump will replace Mr. Sessions but cautioned against doing so before the midterm elections in November.
“The president’s entitled to an attorney general he has faith in, somebody that’s qualified for the job, and I think there will come a time, sooner rather than later, where it will be time to have a new face and a fresh voice at the Department of Justice,” Mr. Graham said. “Clearly, Attorney General Sessions doesn’t have the confidence of the president.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, RIowa, said Thursday that he could find time to hold hearings on a new nominee later this year. That was a change in posture from a year ago, when Mr. Grassley made clear to the White House that he wouldn’t have time to hold hearings on a possible replacement.
Mr. Trump wouldn’t need to wait until his new choice for attorney general was confirmed by the Senate, which would be a difficult fight. He could install an interim attorney general directly after ousting Mr. Sessions, although some legal experts argue that the powers of such an interim appointee would be limited.
Mr. Trump in the interview also said in regard to Mr. Cohen that he thought it would be better if “flipping,” in which someone’s confidant helps prosecutors in return for a lighter sentence, “were illegal because people just make up lies.”
That tool “almost ought to be outlawed. It’s not fair,” Mr. Trump said, adding it creates an incentive to “say bad things about somebody ... just make up lies.”
Mr. Trump tried to play down his relationship with Mr. Cohen, who claims the president directed a hushmoney scheme to buy the silence of two women who say they had affairs with Mr. Trump. The president contends Mr. Cohen only worked for him part time and accuses the lawyer of making up stories to reduce his legal exposure.
Mr. Trump made the comments as his White House struggled to manage the fallout from Mr. Cohen’s plea deal and the conviction of Mr. Manafort on financial charges.
The back-to-back legal blows have raised speculation that Democrats would launch impeachment proceedings if they win the House of Representatives this fall. Mr. Trump argued such a move would have dire economic consequences.
“If I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash. I think everybody would be very poor,” Mr. Trump said. He added: “I don’t know how you can impeach somebody who’s done a great job.”
Mr. Trump did not say whether he would pardon Mr. Manafort, but expressed “great respect” for him and argued that some of the charges “every consultant, every lobbyist in Washington probably does.”
Cohen-plea fallout
Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty Tuesday to eight charges, including campaign finance violations that he said he carried out in coordination with Mr. Trump.
Behind closed doors, Mr. Trump expressed worry and frustration that a man intimately familiar with his political, personal and business dealings for more than a decade had turned on him.
Yet his White House signaled no clear strategy for managing the fallout. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted at least seven times at a briefing that Mr. Trump had done nothing wrong and was not the subjectof criminal charges.