Sessions won’t talk about recusal in Cohen probe
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions refused Wednesday to say whether he’s recused himself from involvement in the Justice Department’s investigation into President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
“I should not answer that question; it would be inap- propriate to do so,” Sessions said at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. “It is the policy of the department that if you get into discussing the details of those matters you can reveal the existence, scope, breadth or nature of the matter.”
A person familiar with the matter said earlier that Sessions has decided not to recuse himself from the Justice Department’s Cohen investigation but will step back from specific matters if required by department rules.
At the hearing, Sessions said he’s abiding by a recusal he announced in March 2017 that he won’t be involved in matters related to the 2016 presidential campaigns.
Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, told Sessions “recusal is not discretionary,” especially in this investigation because Trump has a direct interest in the outcome.
Leahy asked if Sessions would resign if Trump fired special counsel Robert Muel- ler eral supervising or Rod Deputy Rosenstein, Mueller’s Attorney who inves- Gen- is tigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign. “That calls for a speculative answer,” Sessions said. “I’m just not able to do that.” Leahy said the Justice Department is “under siege,” with Trump’s “relentless, and I think baseless attacks” on senior leaders of the department and the FBI.