By Tom Porter
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President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on Attorney General Jeff Session in early morning tweets Saturday, claiming Sessions "doesn't understand what is happening" in the department he heads.
Trump has this week has turned his attacks on his attorney general, following the conviction of his former campaign president, Paul Manafort, on tax and bank fraud charges, and the decision by his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to cooperate with Robert Mueller's Russia probe and implication of the president in campaign finance violations.
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The attacks prompted an extraordinary response from Sessions, who on Friday said he would not be influenced in his role as attorney general by "political considerations."
"Jeff Sessions said he wouldn't allow politics to influence him only because he doesn't understand what is happening underneath his command position," the president tweeted Saturday.
"Highly conflicted Bob Mueller and his gang of 17 Angry Dems are having a field day as real corruption goes untouched. No Collusion!" Trump added.
And in a sign he may be preparing to fire Sessions, Trump cited South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham.
"Every President deserves an Attorney General they have confidence in. I believe every President has a right to their Cabinet, these are not lifetime appointments. You serve at the pleasure of the President," Trump added, quoting Graham.
In an interview with Fox News which was broadcast Thursday, Trump claimed Sessions "never took control" of the Justice Department after being appointed attorney general.
Sessions hit back: "While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations."
"I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have had unprecedented success at effectuating the President's agenda," Sessions continued.
Trump has long accused the Justice Department's Russia probe of being engineered by a cadre of politically partisan intelligence officials, and has criticized Sessions for recusing himself from the probe after his contact with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential campaign was exposed.
Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, has reportedly declared his opposition to Trump's desire to fire Sessions, arguing the move could have damaging political repercussions.
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