Thread: AG Sessions: Trump Criticisms ‘Kind of Hurtful’

POLITICS
JUL 27 2017, 4:10 PM ET

AG Sessions: Trump Criticisms ‘Kind of Hurtful’

by ALI VITALI

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions called President Donald Trump's recent criticisms of him "kind of hurtful" Thursday.

In an interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson, Sessions spoke for the first time about the president's broadsides against him, but maintained he would continue on in his job at the Department of Justice.

President Trump, the attorney general said, is "steadfast and determined to get his job done and he wants all of us to do our job. And that's what I intend to do."

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Despite a steady stream of tweets and comments from the president in which he expressed his disappointment with Sessions' decision to recuse himself from Russia-related investigations, Sessions still praised Trump as "a strong leader" who "is determined to move this country in the direction he believes it needs to go."

Trump told the New York Times last week Sessions — one of his earliest campaign supporters — "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."

The president has since refused to say if he'll fire Sessions, telling reporters last week that "time will tell" about the attorney general's fate. But top Republicans have warned the president against firing the former Alabama senator from his Department of Justice post.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham warned Thursday that “there will be holy hell to pay” if he fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions, while Iowa Sen. ChuckGrassley tweeted Wednesday that the Judiciary Committee will not be able to consider an attorney general nomination this year because their calendar “is set for the rest of 2017.”

And Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, took to the Senate floor to warn President Trump that if he's thinking of replacing Sessions with a recess appointment he can "forget about it."

"The presidency isn't a bull, and this country isn't a china shop," Sasse said.
Asked repeatedly what the president intends to do with his attorney general, the White House has said that while Trump is "disappointed" in Sessions' recusal, "he wants him to do his job properly," including getting tough on intelligence leaks.

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/ag-sessions-trump-criticisms-kind-hurtful-n787211

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is not only extremely loyal, he's also a class act.

Donald Trump can't stand Jeff Sessions because he can't stand anyone making their own decisions and telling POTUS his Constitutional limitations.

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Embattled attorney general touts DOJ progress in cracking down on crime and illegal immigration

by Jim Stinson | Updated 28 Jul 2017 at 8:02 AM

Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Fox News on Thursday that he was hurt by President Donald Trump’s recent remarks criticizing his job performance.

Trump has hurled a series of criticisms at Sessions since July 19, when he granted The New York Times an interview and bashed the former Alabama senator for his decision to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian hacking related to the 2016 election.

"Well, it kind of is hurtful," Sessions told Tucker Carlson for "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on the Fox News Channel. "But the president of the United States is a strong leader. He is determined to move this country in the direction he believes it needs to go to make us great again. And he's had a lot of criticisms, and he's steadfastly determined to get his job done, and he wants all of us to do our jobs, and that's what I intend to do."

Carlson pressed Sessions on the main point of contention: Sessions' recusal in March 2017. Sessions cited Department of Justice guidelines that suggest a recusal if the attorney had campaign connections. Sessions worked on Trump's campaign, and was the first senator to endorse Trump.

Sessions said he felt he made the right call.

But Sessions pivoted quickly as to why he should stay on, if Trump chooses to let the attorney general keep working.

"I can feel the movement," said Sessions, becoming relatively animated for the usually staid man from Mobile, Alabama."We have a 25 percent increase in prosecution of criminals with guns just this last quarter ... Prosecutions are going to be up. Production is going to be up, with no new resources, not a single new U.S. attorney on board."

Sessions said he and the president share a common interest in cracking down on illegal immigration, in which he said he seen a 50 percent reduction in numbers since Trump took over as president.

Sessions gave the interview in El Salvador, where Sessions was appearing to talk up the Trump administration's efforts against the violent gang, MS-13, which has roots in the Central American country.

Carlson also asked about where Sessions is on leaks. The criminal investigation into leaks of intelligence leaks is a topic dear to the heart of Trump and the White House, and Trump has made clear on Twitter he wants Sessions to track down the leakers.

Many of the leaks have been designed to embarrass Trump, or have attempted to make connections of Trump associates to Russians.

"I have not been happy with past prosecutions ... of criminals leaks," said Sessions. "We'll have a press conference next week about it. We have already multiple numbers of prosecutions compared to last year. We are stepping up those cases. Some people need to go to jail."

Sessions said Trump has every right to pressure him to step up the crackdown on criminal leaks.

http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/s...s-immigration/