In a stunning admission, President Donald Trump said in an interview
that he regrets appointing Attorney General Jeff Sessions and would have
never done so had he known that Sessions would recuse himself from the
Russia investigation.
Time
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WASHINGTON — In five months as attorney
general, Jeff Sessions has pursued the staunchly conservative agenda
that then-candidate Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail.
He
has refocused the nation’s attention on violent crime; ordered a
sweeping review of police reform agreements that punished troubled
agencies; threatened so-called sanctuary cities for harboring illegal
immigrants; and rolled back a series of Obama-era civil rights actions,
including a Justice Department challenge to a controversial voter
identification law in Texas.
Sessions has done
virtually everything that Trump seemed to want, except one thing:
protect the boss from an expanding investigation into Russia’s
interference in the 2016 that already has wound its way to the Oval
Office.
Days after announcing that he would not
have have nominated Sessions to be the country's chief law enforcement
official had he known the attorney general would recuse himself from the
Russia inquiry, Trump further isolated Sessions on Monday, describing
him as "beleaguered'' and publicly questioning why he was not pursuing an investigation into former Democratic nominee Hillary
Clinton.
Clinton.
The president's public
condemnations of the attorney general, analysts say, raise questions
about whether Sessions will be able to serve. "He's in no-man's land,
right now,'' said former Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller, who
served in the Obama administration. "I don't see how he can continue. He
is certainly weakened, and it would be hard to work on policy matters
with the White House if the president doesn't have confidence in you.''
What's
more, Trump's willingness to undercut one of his earliest and
staunchest supporters – even at the possible expense of his other law
enforcement priorities – may mean he's motivated by more than
disappointment in a decision his attorney general made back in March.
The president, analysts say, may be trying to squeeze Sessions as part
of a broader strategy to take more direct control over the
direction of the Russia inquiry.
direction of the Russia inquiry.
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"I
think you have to ask the question of: Who benefits from Sessions'
removal?'' said Jimmy Gurule, a former assistant attorney general under
President George H.W. Bush. "And the answer is President Trump.''
Sessions'
removal, Gurule said, would allow Trump to pick an attorney general
nominee with no conflicts with the ongoing Russia inquiry, which
prompted Sessions' recusal.
A new attorney general
could wrest control of the investigation from special counsel Robert
Mueller, who is leading the Justice Department's inquiry into possible
collusion between Trump associates and Russians who sought to influence
the presidential election in favor of Trump by hacking Democrats.
By law, Trump cannot directly fire Mueller.
"Given
President Trump's stated concerns for the direction of Mueller's
investigation [to include the Trump family finances], you have to look
at Sessions' removal as part of an end game," Gurule said.
Trump's
high-profile attacks on Sessions also come after news that Mueller is
also investigating a controversial June 2016 meeting between a
Kremlin-linked lawyer and Trump's son Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law Jared
Kushner, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
Justice
officials declined to comment Monday on Trump's latest missive. And it
was not immediately clear whether Sessions has communicated directly the
president since Trump's first expressed his displeasure last week in a
pointed interview with the The New York Times. (Sessions was at
the White House Monday for previously scheduled meetings, but White
House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said the president did not meet with
the attorney general.)
The day after the interview
was published, Sessions told reporters that he would continue to serve,
as long as it was "appropriate.'' And the White House said Trump still has confidence in his attorney general even though he disagrees with the decision to recuse himself on the Russia investigation.
Yet
the political fire has only intensified since. John Dowd, Trump's lead
outside attorney handling Russia matters, said the president's criticism
of Sessions is justified.
"I'm ashamed of him
[Sessions],'' Dowd said in an interview with USA TODAY, adding that the
attorney general's recusal decision was "nuts.''
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported
Friday that U.S. intercepts of communications involving Russian
ambassador Sergey Kislyak indicated that the ambassador told his
superiors in Moscow that Sessions had discussed campaign-related matters
with Kislyak during pre-election meetings with the then-Alabama
senator.
Sessions, whose contacts with Kislyak
prompted his recusal from the investigation, had previously denied
discussing such matters with the ambassador. Trump referenced the report
Saturday in a separate series of tweets, saying that the "intelligence
leaks'' were "illegal.''
But he did not directly refute the substance of the report, again appearing to leave Sessions vulnerable.
Now,
Senate Democrats are requesting that Sessions return to the Judiciary
Committee – before which, during his confirmation hearing, Sessions
offered contradictory testimony about his contacts with Russian
officials.
Whatever the president's intention,
analysts said that Trump's criticism has severely damaged Sessions'
ability to lead a department whose mission is critical to carrying out
Trump's agenda – from immigration enforcement to the campaign against
violent crime and the plague of opioid addiction.
"Anybody
who works for Donald Trump has a very difficult, if not an impossible
task,'' said Bill Baxley, a former Alabama attorney general who knows
Sessions from his time in Alabama, appearing to refer to Trump's
penchant for launching aggressive attacks even on those he considers
allies. "I think his criticisms are unjustified, but it is not
surprising that [Trump] acts like that.''
Gurule,
now a University of Notre Dame law professor, said Sessions'
effectiveness at carrying out Trump's priorities is likely to be
diminished if he "continues to be attacked by the president who
nominated him.''
"What all of this shows is that
president does not respect the independence of the Department of
Justice,'' he said. "He sees that office [Justice] as an extension of
his political operation. You can do that in Russia, but can't in the
U.S."
William "Bill" Barr, who served as attorney
general in the administration of President George H.W. Bush, said
Sessions had "no choice'' but to recuse himself and that he should
actually be a model for the Trump administration as it wrestles with
controversy after controversy.
Since he recused himself from the Russia investigation, Sessions has actually been free to focus on other priorities.
For
instance, in May, with much of Washington still reeling from the abrupt
dismissal of FBI Director James Comey, Sessions followed through on
Trump's campaign vow to crack down on violent crime when directed
federal prosecutors to seek the most serious charges against suspects.
It is a move that would result in severe prison sentences and is
expected to reverse recent declines in the federal prison system.
"With
his own work, Sessions has shown that the Russia investigation doesn't
have to disrupt the administration's agenda,'' Barr said. "The whole
administration could learn from him. He's getting things done, despite
what's going on around him.''
That idea was echoed
by some Republicans in Congress. Seeking to encourage support for the
attorney general, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, tweeted at the president a
clear message: "RealDonaldTrump with Jeff Sessions at your side you are
best positioned to get your agenda and #MAGA [Make America Great Again
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