President Trump said Tuesday he is “disappointed” that Attorney General Jeff Sessions hasn’t been tougher on leaks from the intelligence community that have plagued Trump’s White House since he took office.
“I want the attorney general to be much tougher on the leaks from intelligence agencies, which are leaking like rarely have they ever leaked before at a very important level,” Trump said during a press conference in the Rose Garden on Tuesday. “These are intelligence agencies. We cannot have that happen.”
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“I’ve told you before I am very disappointed with the attorney general, but we will see what happens,” he continued. “Time will tell. Time will tell.”
Trump: “I’m very disappointed with the attorney general. We will see what happens. Time will tell” pic.twitter.com/rxyuhaaznl— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 25, 2017
The president was asked about comments he has recently made about Sessions, and whether he plans to fire the former attorney general or wants to him to resign. But when asked if he is letting Sessions “twist in the wind” following his public criticisms of Sessions, Trump said he didn’t think so.
“I don’t think I am doing that,” Trump said. “But I am disappointed in the attorney general. He should not have recused himself almost immediately after he took office, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should’ve told me prior to taking office, and I would have quite simply picked someone else. I think that’s a bad thing not for the president, but for the presidency. I think it’s unfair to the presidency, and that’s the way I feel.”
Trump’s comments continue to stoke speculation that Trump is about to fire Sessions. But several Republicans have jumped to defend Sessions, which could make it politically difficult for Trump to make the move.
Democrats, meanwhile, have warned that firing Sessions would be a precursor to firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which they say Trump wants to do in order to disrupt Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s alleged ties to Russia.
On the Senate floor Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Democrats would be watching to make sure Trump doesn’t try to fire Sessions during the August break and recess-appoint a new attorney general.
Trump’s criticisms about Sessions began last week, when the president told the New York Times he is disappointed Sessions recused himself from the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Since then, Trump has since publicly criticized the attorney general on Twitter, calling him “beleaguered” and questioning why Sessions hasn’t investigated Hillary Clinton.
Despite the speculation that Trump may replace Sessions, the president failed to shed further light on the former senator’s future at the Justice Department.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump said he was “looking at it” when asked how long he could criticize Sessions before firing him.
“I’ll just see,” he said. “It’s a very important thing.”
After Sessions recused himself from the Russia probe, Deputy Attorney General tapped Mueller to oversee the investigation, which Trump has repeatedly referred to as a “witch hunt” and “fake news.”
The president has also condemned the media for missing the real story surrounding the Russia investigation: the flurry of leaks coming out of the intelligence community.
