Story highlights
Trump did not explain why Sessions is "beleaguered"
But the President's own, recent comments have raised pressure on his attorney general
President Donald Trump on Monday described Attorney General Jeff Sessions as “beleaguered” as he tweeted about his frustration with the Russia probe.
“After 1 year of investigation with Zero evidence being found, Chuck Schumer just stated that “Democrats should blame ourselves,not Russia,” the President tweeted, later adding, “So why aren’t the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered A.G., looking into Crooked Hillarys crimes & Russia relations?”
Trump did not explain why Sessions, a longtime and loyal supporter of his 2016 campaign, is “beleaguered.” But the President’s own, recent comments have raised pressure on his attorney general, whom he publicly criticized last week for recusing himself from the Russia investigation due to undisclosed contacts he had with Russian officials during the campaign.
“Sessions,” Trump told The New York Times in an interview on Wednesday, “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.”
Trump’s comments immediately raised speculation that Sessions could resign, though a source familiar with the attorney general’s thinking said last week that Sessions has no intention of stepping down in the wake of Trump’s comments.
But the President’s remarks caused deep alarm within the West Wing, leading some to worry that their loyalty to Trump might not be reciprocated from the man in the Oval Office.
“It’s chilling,” one White House official told CNN last week, referring to Trump’s comments to the Times.
A spokeswoman for Sessions did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on Trump’s Monday tweet.
CNN’s Jeff Zeleny and Dan Merica contributed to this report.