Report: Trump privately discussed firing Sessions this month

Over the last several weeks, President Trump has had several private discussions with aides and personal lawyers about firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions, three people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post Tuesday, and he was warned multiple times against removing Sessions because Special Counsel Robert Mueller might see the move as obstruction of justice.

Last year, Sessions recused himself from the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, which led to the appointment of Mueller, and Trump blames Sessions for the "endless investigation." One of Trump's lawyers, Rudy Giuliani, confirmed to the Post he spoke with Trump about firing Sessions, and said "if there is any action taken, the president agrees with us that it shouldn't be taken until after the investigation is concluded."

Sessions was one of Trump's earliest supporters, and Trump in turn has become one of his harshest critics, regularly tweeting about him and, like he did last week on Fox News, telling reporters he isn't doing his job properly. Sessions retorted by saying he will not be "improperly influenced by political considerations."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.