Update [July 25, 2:49PM CT]: Asked at a Tuesday joint press conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri about his sentiment regarding the attorney general, Trump said he was “disappointed” with Sessions.
“He should not have recused himself. If he was going to recuse himself he should have told me… and I would have quite simply picked somebody else. I think it’s unfair to the presidency.”
Pres. Trump on AG Sessions: "If he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me prior to taking office." https://t.co/Okz2bwUl4f pic.twitter.com/X8ft4cTaeL
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 25, 2017
On Tuesday, Agence-France Presse reported the White House will “soon” reach a decision regarding Sessions.
#BREAKING Decision 'soon' on fate of US attorney general Sessions: White House
— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 25, 2017
Original story continues below…
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President Donald Trump lashed out at Attorney General Jeff Sessions Tuesday, slamming him for failing to investigate alleged crimes committed by the DNC and Hillary Clinton.
In an early morning tweet storm, the president laid in on Sessions over his “very weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails & DNC server) & Intel leakers!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2017
“Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails & DNC server) & Intel leakers!” Trump wrote.
Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign – "quietly working to boost Clinton." So where is the investigation A.G. @seanhannity
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2017
“Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign – “quietly working to boost Clinton.” So where is the investigation A.G. @seanhannity,” the president also said.
Trump’s public discontent with the attorney general follows a Saturday tweet which also spoke of the Justice Department’s lack of investigation into Clinton’s deleted emails.
So many people are asking why isn't the A.G. or Special Council looking at the many Hillary Clinton or Comey crimes. 33,000 e-mails deleted?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2017
“So many people are asking why isn’t the A.G. or Special Council looking at the many Hillary Clinton or Comey crimes. 33,000 e-mails deleted?”
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham came to Sessions’ defense Tuesday, asserting the Alabama senator is “one of the most decent people I’ve ever met in my political life” – indicating some Republicans may fight an effort to oust the AG.
“President Trump’s tweet today suggesting Attorney General Sessions pursue prosecution of a former political rival is highly inappropriate,” Graham said.
The criticism fuels speculation the president is strongly considering replacing Sessions, one of his presidential campaign’s earliest major Republican supporters.
The Associated Press reports newly-appointed White House Press Secretary Anthony Scaramucci also agreed on the Hugh Hewitt radio show Tuesday that Trump likely wants Sessions to step down.
Last Wednesday, Trump admitted to The New York Times he was upset over Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian collusion with his campaign, saying it was “very unfair to the president.”
“Jeff Sessions takes the job, gets into the job, recuses himself, which frankly I think is very unfair to the president,” Trump said in a recorded conversation. “How do you take a job and then recuse yourself? If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, ‘Thanks, Jeff, but I’m not going to take you.’ It’s extremely unfair — and that’s a mild word — to the president.”
Meanwhile, some conservative pundits are urging the president to tread carefully in going after people friendly to his cause, while others say the president to focus his anger at establishment-friendly Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigating the Trump-Russia collusion narrative.
Last week Fox host Tucker Carlson pleaded with Trump to rethink the decision to oust Sessions, saying he was “the most effective” Trump cabinet member.
“The first rule in politics, as in war, as in life, don’t shoot the friendlies. Sessions is the closest ally Trump has in the administration, one of the very few who even understands why he won in the first place,” Carlson argued.
Town Hall columnist Kurt Schlichter recommended Trump should fire Mueller, but “be smart” about it.
“Mueller has to go, sooner or later, but the President must first set the stage and make sure the American people understand exactly how much of an utter scam this whole thing is before he acts,” Schlichter wrote.
On Monday rumors swirled that Trump was considering former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the position, but speculation was quickly tamped down by Giuliani himself, who told CNN Sessions made the right move recusing himself.
New reports Tuesday claim the president is considering former Republican presidential opponent Ted Cruz for the role.
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