White House counselor Kellyanne Conway insisted Wednesday that President Trump did not ask for Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ resignation in an effort to shut down special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
“No, that is not the reason that the president has asked Matt Whitaker to step in as acting attorney general,” Conway told “PBS NewsHour.”
“We have been told by many people, I guess in public reports, that perhaps the Mueller investigation is winding down. We’re not sure,” she said.
She said the relationship between Trump and Sessions has been “a fraught relationship for quite a while” because of the president’s disappointment that Sessions recused himself in 2017 from overseeing the Russia investigation. Trump often lashed out publicly at Sessions over the recusal, which led to the appointment of Mueller.
Sessions submitted his resignation letter Wednesday afternoon. With his departure, Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker is likely to oversee Mueller’s investigation, taking over for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein who has been in charge of the investigation’s oversight since Sessions stepped aside last year.
