President Trump says he regrets picking Sessions as Attorney-General
WASHINGTON: Mr Donald Trump said he regretted his choice for attorney-general yesterday as he sought to protect himself from the growing firestorm over Russia's alleged election meddling which is engulfing his presidency.
On the eve of the six-month mark of Mr Trump's inauguration, it also emerged that senators will next week grill three of the pivotal players in the Mr Trump campaign - including his eldest son - over swirling allegations of the presidential campaign's collusion with Russia.
Attorney-General Jeff Sessions was one of the first senior Republican politicians to endorse Trump before last November's election and was rewarded by being appointed America's top law enforcement officer.
But he stood aside in March from overseeing an FBI-led probe into whether members of the Trump team colluded with Moscow during the election campaign after it emerged that Mr Sessions had not disclosed during his Senate confirmation hearing that he met twice with the Russian ambassador to Washington.
In an interview with the New York Times, Mr Trump said Mr Sessions had acted unfairly in taking the job in the first place if he had felt in any way compromised.
Said the US President: "How do you take a job and then recuse yourself? If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, 'Thanks, Jeff, but I'm not going to take you'.
"It's extremely unfair - and that's a mild word - to the president." - AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now