Trump not happy with Jeff Sessions on Russia

7/20/2017

Donald Trump, during an interview with the "failing" New York Times, said "Sessions 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." He went on "How do you take a job and then recuse yourself? If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, 'Thanks, Jeff, but I'm not going to take you.' It's extremely unfair -- and that's a mild word -- to the President."

To many, that statement suggests that Trump wanted an Attorney General who would be in his back pocket to control the Russia issue. He did not want to appoint somebody who would stand aside and let somebody else control the investigation. Since Sessions recused himself, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as a Special Counsel to investigate Trump and his campaign.

Trump's public lashing of Sessions is curious to many who watch Washington for another reason. Trump seems to demand loyalty from those who work for him. He has written about loyalty in his books, saying it is one of the most critical qualities a person can have. What is puzzling to some, is how Trump can demand such loyalty from others, but is unwilling to offer it to his staff, as shown by his statements to the New York Times. To his credit, Sessions today refused to hit back or defend himself, stating only he "plans to continue to do so (act as AG) as long as that is appropriate".

**UPDATE** Trump has taken multiple shots at Jeff Sessions, including calling him "beleaguered". The day before, he tweeted it was sad that many Republicans were not being loyal to him, though there was not a reference to anything specific.