Trump Asked Sessions To Un-Recuse Himself Last March

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) attend a panel discussion on an opioid and drug abuse in the Roosevelt Room of the White House March 29, 2017 in Wash... WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) attend a panel discussion on an opioid and drug abuse in the Roosevelt Room of the White House March 29, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Before spending a full year publicly berating his attorney general and his decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, President Donald Trump tried to get Jeff Sessions to change his mind about the probe, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Sessions was reportedly dispatched to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in March 2017 to try to get the President to make an important decision about his travel ban. Instead Trump scolded Sessions about his recusal and asked him to “reverse his decision,” in the Times’ words.

Sessions refused and the Mar-a-Lago conversation is now being probed by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of the investigation into Trump’s attacks on his attorney general this past year and his attempts to get Sessions to leave the administration.

Trump was fixated on Sessions’ recusal for months last year and even floated the idea of Sessions reversing his decision to aides, people briefed on the matter told the Times. Trump reportedly argued that former President Barack Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, “would never have recused himself from a case that threatened to tarnish” Obama, and Trump told advisers he wanted that same brand of allegiance from his attorney general, according to the Times.

While Sessions and Trump used to be friends — they often had meals together and regularly spoke on the phone before the recusal, per the Times — the two now rarely speak outside of meetings and even took separate flights to attend the same event in New Hampshire in March, according to current and former White House officials who spoke with the Times.

Trump has also reportedly told friends he wants to get rid of Sessions, but won’t because Senate Republicans have signaled they won’t approved another attorney general.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. You can’t help but marvel at a person who is “innocent” and the victim of a “witch hunt” who from the get go spends an inordinate amount of time and effort trying to derail said investigation.
    It almost appears he has something to hide!

    Seriously
    As depressed as I get sometimes , I really think Mueller has the goods on him and will take down the whole corrupt grifting operation

  2. I found this to be an interesting, petty waste of money…

    “… the two now rarely speak outside of meetings and even took separate flights to attend the same event in New Hampshire in March …”

    Because, you know, Air Force One is kind of like a 7-seat Cessna Citation. You just can’t help but having to see and talk to everyone on the plane.

  3. Mr. Sessions discovers loyalty is a one way street with Mr. Trump.

  4. Mueller is quietly going about his business, all the while allowing Trump to demonstrate all the different ways a President can attempt to obstruct justice. The report is going to be a beauty.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

12 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for srfromgr Avatar for old_curmudgeon Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for cervantes Avatar for sickneffintired Avatar for daveyjones64 Avatar for maxaroo Avatar for dickweed Avatar for jonney_5 Avatar for docd Avatar for rickjones Avatar for somethinghappened Avatar for katscherger

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: