Trump Again Says He Wishes Sessions Were Not Attorney General

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he wished he had chosen another lawyer to be his attorney general, instead of Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from the Russia investigation early in the Trump administration.

But Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said later that the president would not fire Sessions — at least not before the Russia inquiry has concluded.

“There’s no doubt he’s complained about him; there’s no doubt he has some grievances,” Giuliani told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “He’s not going to fire him before this is over.”

He added, “Nor do I think he should,” an indication that the prospect has been discussed since he joined the president’s legal team a few weeks ago.

Trump was responding on Twitter to a CBS interview with Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., who had said the president was justified in his frustration because Sessions did not tell Trump he planned to recuse himself.

In the interview Wednesday morning, Gowdy said, “There are lots of really good lawyers in the country, he could have picked somebody else.”

“I wish I did!” Trump said in a tweet later.

Since Sessions’ recusal in March 2017, the president has publicly and privately lashed out at him. In recent weeks, Trump has gone so far as to tell people not to raise Sessions’ name with him in conversation. The two men rarely speak outside of Cabinet meetings.

After Sessions recused himself, Trump asked his attorney general to reverse his decision — a request that has raised the interest of special counsel Robert Mueller.

During the course of his Senate confirmation hearings early last year, as rumors circulated about an investigation into Russia’s possible coordination with Trump’s presidential campaign, Sessions was asked whether he would recuse himself. At the time, Sessions said he did not know of a specific reason as to why he should do so.

But he also said, “If a matter arose in which I believed my impartiality might reasonably be questioned, I would consult with department ethics officials regarding the most appropriate way to proceed.”

After being criticized when it was disclosed that he had contacts with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 campaign, Sessions recused himself from any inquiry into Russia’s election meddling and possible coordination with Trump’s political aides.

Sessions insisted there was nothing suspicious about his two meetings with Russian ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak. But, he said, he made the decision to recuse himself after consulting with Justice Department officials.

More recently, Trump has joined some of his Republican allies in Congress in its protracted attacks on the Justice Department, this time over congressional requests for some of the FBI’s most closely held secrets.

Trump has claimed, without evidence, that the FBI planted a spy inside his campaign.

The quotes by Gowdy that the president highlighted in a series of Twitter posts Wednesday morning appeared to validate Trump’s feelings toward his attorney general.

But Trump did not mention Gowdy’s other point — that the FBI did nothing improper during its investigation. That statement contradicted the narrative put forward by Trump and his supporters.

Gowdy has been briefed on the classified documents about the continuing investigation that Republicans sought. “I’ve never heard the term ‘spy’ used,” Gowdy said on CBS.

“Based on what I have seen, I don’t know what the FBI could have done or should have done, other than run out a lead that someone loosely connected with the campaign was making assertions about Russia,” Gowdy said. “I would think you would want the FBI to find out whether or not there was any validity to what those people were saying.”