President Donald Trump tweeted out a quote from Trey Gowdy as he appeared on CBS’ “This Morning,” that seemed to indicate that he regretted choosing Jeff Sessions as Attorney General.
In the comments Trump quoted, Gowdy said he thinks that Trump is frustrated with Sessions and his recusal from all matters related to Russia. At the end of the quote, when Gowdy says “he [Trump] could have picked somebody else” Trump adds his own comment: “And I wish I did!” (RELATED: President Trump Hints He May Soon Fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions).
Rep.Trey Gowdy, “I don’t think so, I think what the President is doing is expressing frustration that Attorney General Sessions should have shared these reasons for recusal before he took the job, not afterward. If I were the President and I picked someone to be the country’s….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2018
….chief law enforcement officer, and they told me later, ‘oh by the way I’m not going to be able to participate in the most important case in the office, I would be frustrated too…and that’s how I read that – Senator Sessions, why didn’t you tell me before I picked you…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2018
….There are lots of really good lawyers in the country, he could have picked somebody else!” And I wish I did!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2018
According to Mic.com:
Trump has spent nearly a year attacking Sessions over his decision in March 2017 to recuse himself from matters related to the Russia investigation. His comment Wednesday, however, is perhaps his most direct public statement expressing regret over picking him.
The tweets came on the heels of a New York Times report Tuesday evening about Trump’s anger over Sessions’ recusal — and special counsel Robert Mueller’s interest in the president’s attempt to get his attorney general to reverse his decision.
Sessions handed over the Russia investigation to Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Robert Mueller to head the special counsel “witch hunt.” Trump had previously directed White House counsel Don McGahn to lobby Sessions not to recuse himself, who didn’t listen.
Trump has reportedly groused about Sessions’ loyalty and for failing to provide adequate protection from investigators — and may have even attempted to get rid of him last summer, the Washington Post reported in February.
The president’s jab at Sessions Wednesday echoes comments he made to the Times in an explosive interview in July 2017 in which he 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.”
In a phone call last July with an associate, Trump asked out of the blue “What would happen if I fired Sessions?”
Trump has clearly wanted Sessions out for a while now, and he’s going out of his way to make this publicly known now.
What do you think Trump has planned next? Are Sessions, Rosenstein, and Mueller about to hear the words “you’re fired”? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
