Trump and Sessions spar as Trump rages
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions punched back hard at President Donald Trump’s latest sneering criticism Thursday as their long-running rift exploded into a public smackdown. Trump, concerned by the legal downfall of two former advisers, accused Sessions of failing to take control of the Justice Department, leading Sessions to declare that he and his department “will not be improperly influenced by political considerations.”
Trump’s anger with Sessions boiled over in an interview with Fox News in which the president also expressed frustration with the plea agreement his onetime legal “fixer” Michael Cohen cut with prosecutors, including implicating Trump in a crime that Cohen admitted. Trump said it might be better if “flipping” — co-operating with prosecutors in exchange for more favourable treatment— were illegal because people co-operating with the government “just make up lies” to get favourable treatment.
In the wide-ranging interview, Trump also defended himself against talk of impeachment — “the market would crash … everybody would be very poor” — tried to distance himself from Cohen — “I would see him sometimes” — and said anew that he hadn’t known in advance about Cohen’s hush money payments to silence women alleging sexual relationships with the celebrity businessman.
Trump’s latest shots against law enforcement came as he appeared increasingly vulnerable to long-running investigations after this week’s one-two punch of Cohen’s plea deal and the conviction of Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort.