Senator Jeff Sessions speaking at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
In a rare interview with the New York Times, President Donald Trump repeatedly said he would not have nominated Jeff Sessions as Attorney General if he would have known Sessions would recuse himself from the Russia investigation.
The internet was shocked that a sitting President would kneecap his own Attorney General in the pages of the Times.
My takeaway from the NYT interview, in which he mows down Sessions--Sessions!--is that Putin remains the only ally Trump has never betrayed.— Ryan Lizza (@Ryan Lizza) 1500508917.0
How does Jeff Sessions continue as AG? Or is that the point — is Trump sending him a public message to quit?— Bradd Jaffy (@Bradd Jaffy) 1500508595.0
Shorter Version:If Sessions had been able to cover up my crimes for me, I wouldn't have had to obstruct justice mys… https://t.co/3anVpTzAd3— Dan Pfeiffer (@Dan Pfeiffer) 1500508866.0
If Trump says he wouldn't have picked Sessions if he'd known he would recuse himself on Russia, doesn't that sound like tampering w justice?— Charles M. Blow (@Charles M. Blow) 1500509254.0
Why would Trump care whether Sessions recused himself or not unless he wanted him to quash the investigation? Unbelievable thing to admit.— Matthew Miller (@Matthew Miller) 1500508942.0
Jeff Sessions, reading the @nytimes interview https://t.co/szkZifA51I https://t.co/tpv3eD5sMd— Jessica Taylor (@Jessica Taylor) 1500508775.0
@JorgeClipper Sessions is so committed to undermining civil rights and implementing mass deportation that he's will… https://t.co/4rpK6SKWyY— Joe Sudbay (@Joe Sudbay) 1500508327.0
I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump wanted to fire Sessions but can’t because of what he knows https://t.co/gh5JuL5Vl0— Taegan Goddard (@Taegan Goddard) 1500507639.0
If Sessions resigns, seems likely Trump would make potential replacements promise to can Mueller— Brian Fallon (@Brian Fallon) 1500509307.0
In the NYT interview, Trump critiques: Sessions Rosenstein McCabe Comey Mueller https://t.co/OS02AY0kvR— Brian Stelter (@Brian Stelter) 1500507941.0
NYT: Trump warned Mueller investigators would cross a red line if they delve into Trump finances unrelated to Russia https://t.co/1NrXsanNl5— Kyle Griffin (@Kyle Griffin) 1500507455.0
Live look at Trump on Sessions. https://t.co/vtyQ0ypxss— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Adrian Carrasquillo) 1500509273.0
Why would be "unfair to the president" for Sessions to recuse himself unless Trump wanted to squash the inquiry?— Julian Sanchez (@Julian Sanchez) 1500508860.0
So how does Sessions protect his credibility as AG, with the boss now saying he wouldn't have hired him in the first place?— Alex Burns (@Alex Burns) 1500507902.0
He said that Sessions should've prevented the Mueller investigation and that he wanted to appoint an AG that wouldn't recuse on Russia.— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1500508939.0
EVERYONE IN AMERICA NEEDS TO READ THIS IMMEDIATELY! Trump just threatened Robert Mueller & his team. #TrumpRussia https://t.co/XfS2LJSLTc— Scott Dworkin (@Scott Dworkin) 1500508650.0
Trump's complaints about Sessions recusing himself stand out in this fascinating interview. => https://t.co/iujIrU68Wi— David M. Drucker (@David M. Drucker) 1500508497.0
By all appearances, Trump is annoyed because he thought Sessions would help cover up the Russia scandal & the recus… https://t.co/KbnSBKvEm9— Steve Benen (@Steve Benen) 1500508210.0
Trump seems to say Sessions committed perjury https://t.co/oHxdkpVN1p https://t.co/8gCsD0Pypj— Justin Miller (@Justin Miller) 1500508085.0
UN-F*CKING-BELIEVABLE! Trump thinks he's the 'Supreme Leader'. Like Comey, he expected Sessions to take a loyalty pledge of fealty. #inners— Bill Madden (@Bill Madden) 1500509831.0
Newsy Trump interview with NYT -- the kind of comments that would make an attorney general offer to resign (again) https://t.co/cuzTHnWG0E— Philip Rucker (@Philip Rucker) 1500508519.0
Trump basically says he picked Sessions to block investigations. Close, but I think it counts as another confession. https://t.co/Y1bWOfCL3u— Jamison Foser (@Jamison Foser) 1500508775.0
Trump sounding Nixonian over Russia probe. Everyone has failed him or is out to get him - Sessions, Comey, Mueller, Rosenstein. Stunning— John Bresnahan (@John Bresnahan) 1500507537.0
The most ominous part of the NYT interview with Trump is that he reserves the option to fire Bob Mueller https://t.co/ra6yhCMicD— Nicholas Kristof (@Nicholas Kristof) 1500510080.0
Trump blasts Sessions, accuses Comey of blackmail, warns Mueller not to look into his finances, says he talked "ado… https://t.co/gjNmIFZlCY— Bradd Jaffy (@Bradd Jaffy) 1500508412.0
“Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else,” Trump said.
“Jeff Sessions takes the job, gets into the job, recuses himself, which frankly I think is very unfair to the president,” Trump said, according to the Times. “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,” he added.
