US President Donald Trump has said that he is not planning to sack Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but reiterated his “disappointment” over the latter’s position on the probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential polls.
“Well, I don’t think I am doing that. But I am disappointed in the attorney general,” Trump told when asked whether he would be firing Sessions after he went against him on twitter. Trump was addressing a news conference at the White House with visiting lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Earlier in the day, Trump accused Sessions of being “very weak” in the investigation into former secretary of state and the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s emails.
“Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails & DNC server) & Intel leakers!” he said in a tweet, expressing anger against the man who was the first US senator to endorse his candidacy.
Over the last few days, Trump had gone public in expressing dissatisfaction over Sessions’ position on investigations related to Russian interference in the American presidential elections last year.
Sessions has recused himself from the government’s probe of Russian meddling in the US election.
“He (Sessions) should not have recused himself almost immediately after he took office. If he was going to recuse himself, he should’ve told me prior to taking office and I would’ve, quite simply, picked somebody else,” the president told the news conference.
The president called it a 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,” he said. The attorney general has said that he would stay in the position as long as it is appropriate.