Trump weighs in on Jeff Sessions
Donald Trump says he still has confidence in Attorney General Jeff Sessions, as lawmakers call on Sessions to recuse himself from probes into Russian contacts by Trump campaign associates.
Asked directly about whether he still had confidence in Sessions, Mr. Trump replied, “Total.” The president was on the U.S.S. Gerald Ford in Newport News, Virginia and was meeting with Navy and ship officials in what the White House called an operations briefing.
And on the question of whether Sessions should recuse himself, the president said, “I don’t think so.” He also told pool reporters in Newport News he didn’t know about Sessions’ contacts with the Russian envoy. “I wasn’t aware of it at all,” Mr. Trump said, although he said he thinks his attorney general “probably did” testify truthfully in his confirmation hearings (about his contacts with the ambassador).
When Sessions was asked in his confirmation hearing what he would do if there was evidence anyone associated with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign had communicated with the Russians, Sessions replied that he wasn’t aware of any such “activities,” and added, “I did not have communications with the Russians.” A questionnaire he filled out for the committee also asked whether he had had contact with the Russians, to which Sessions, according to the Washington Post, wrote, “No.”
Sessions is consulting with Justice Department lawyers as he makes a decision about his role in the investigations into Russian contacts by Trump campaign associates.
Under increasing political pressure, Sessions said Thursday he’d recuse himself from investigations when it’s “appropriate.” And he also issued a statement saying he has never met with Russian officials “to discuss issues of the campaign.”
Sessions also told Justice Department reporters last week that “not every contact is improper,” and said he had not examined the contacts of other Trump campaign affiliates “in detail,” adding, “I would recuse myself on anything I should recuse myself on. That’s all I can tell you.”