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US President Donald Trump spoke with advisers about firing Attorney-General Jeff Sessions, officials said, and has launched a fresh tirade on Twitter against the man who was the first US senator to endorse his candidacy.
Key points:
- Officials say Mr Trump has been speculating about the consequences of firing Mr Sessions
- White House press secretary says Mr Trump is "frustrated and disappointed" with Mr Sessions
- Mr Trump's anger towards Mr Sessions blew into the open on Monday when he called him "beleaguered"
"Attorney-General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails & DNC server) & Intel leakers!" Mr Trump tweeted.
In another post to his Twitter account, Mr Trump hit out at Mr Sessions for not opening an investigation into alleged "Ukrainian efforts" to sabotage his campaign in rival Hillary Clinton's favour.
"Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - "quietly working to boost Clinton." So where is the investigation A.G.," he wrote.
The President's anger over Mr Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the Government's investigation of Russian meddling in the US election burst into public view on Monday (local time) when he referred to Mr Sessions "beleaguered" in a tweet.
"So why aren't the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered A.G., looking into Crooked Hillarys crimes & Russia relations?" he tweeted on Monday.
Privately, Mr Trump has speculated aloud to allies in recent days about the potential consequences of firing Mr Sessions, according to three people who have recently spoken to the President. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
On Tuesday, Anthony Scaramucci, the President's new communications director, said in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt that Mr Trump was "obviously frustrated" and that the two men "need to work this thing out".
Mr Scaramucci then replied, "You're probably right" when Hewitt said it was clear the President wanted Mr Sessions gone.
Earlier, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Fox News the President was "frustrated and disappointed" with Mr Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia probe.
"That frustration certainly hasn't gone away. And I don't think it will," she said.
The US President often talks about making staff changes without following through, so those who have spoken with him cautioned that a change may not be imminent or happen at all.
Sessions risked his reputation backing Trump
After calling Mr Sessions "beleaguered" on Monday, Mr Trump's rapid-fire tweeting resumed at daybreak on Tuesday, with the President was reportedly wondering aloud about Mr Sessions' "VERY weak" position on "Hillary Clinton crimes".
Mr Trump's intensifying criticism of Mr Sessions has fuelled speculation that he may resign even if Mr Trump opts not to fire him. During an event at the White House, Mr Trump ignored a shouted question about whether Mr Sessions should step down.
The Attorney-General said last week he intended to stay in his post.
The President's tweet about the former Alabama senator comes less than a week after he said in a New York Times interview that Mr Sessions should never have taken the job as Attorney-General if he was going to recuse himself. Mr Sessions made that decision after it was revealed he had met with a top Russian diplomat last year.
Mr Trump has reportedly seethed about that decision for months, viewing it as disloyal and resenting that the Attorney-General did not give the White House a proper heads-up before making the announcement.
Mr Sessions and Mr Trump used to be close, sharing both a friendship and an ideology. Mr Sessions risked his reputation when he became the first US senator to endorse the celebrity businessman and his early backing gave Mr Trump legitimacy, especially among the hard-line anti-immigration forces that bolstered his candidacy.
After Mr Trump's public rebuke last week, Mr Sessions said: "I'm totally confident that we can continue to run this office in an effective way."
AP
Topics: donald-trump, world-politics, united-states
First posted