President Trump privately pushed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reconsider his recusal from the Russia investigation at least four times last year, a report Thursday says.
Sources told Axios that Trump broached the topic three times in person and once over the phone, but framed the president’s comments as being suggestive — asking Sessions whether he “thought about” it — rather than being an order.
According to two of the sources, Trump told Sessions he would be a “hero” to the conservative wing by doing the “right thing.” The president also spoke about similar benefits if Sessions pursued an investigation of Hillary Clinton and has flirted with the idea of limiting the scope of the special counsel-led probe to keep investigators out of his business affairs.
The report reveals that Trump’s efforts to coax Sessions out of the recusal were much more extensive then previously known. He has repeatedly shamed Sessions about the recusal, saying if he knew the former senator would recuse himself, he wouldn’t have nominated him to be attorney general.
One particular meeting at Mar-a-Lago last March was previously reported by the New York Times and has attracted interest from special counsel Robert Mueller. According to Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, Mueller’s team is looking to wrap up an obstruction of justice inquiry in Trump by Sept. 1.
Sessions recused himself in March 2017 after facing backlash when it was revealed he had undisclosed meetings with a Russian ambassador the year before. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein took over and was the official who appointed Mueller last year.
Sessions has fallen out of favor with several figures on the Right, particularly in the media, over his refusal to un-recuse himself and for not announcing a new investigation into Clinton. For instance, earlier this year Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro said Sessions “lost his prosecutorial balls” because he hadn’t appointed a second special counsel to investigate Clinton’s use of a private email server and her involvement in the Uranium One controversy.
Trump has long decried Mueller’s investigation as being a “witch hunt.”
