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."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
‘The worry is far from fanciful’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How are Americans bracing for the end of SNAP?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Millions depend on supplemental federal food funds that are set to expire this month, as the government shutdown begins to be acutely felt
-
Book review: ‘Joyride: A Memoir’Feature A journalist’s story of how she chased and accomplished her dreams
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
