President Donald Trump’s preoccupations with leaks and loyalty are converging squarely on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, contributing to a sense among some close to Trump that Sessions is not long for the role as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer.
Trump did not rule out firing Sessions at a Rose Garden appearance Tuesday only saying ominously "time will tell" about whether Sessions keeps the job.
White House sources say the private view is more stark. One White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was little hope for the attorney general with Trump. “Sessions will never work himself out of the doghouse,” the official said.
Trump so far won’t fire him, and Sessions won’t quit. But Trump’s renewed focus on leaks sets up a perilous scenario for Sessions, who serves at the pleasure of the president.
Trump has said he values loyalty above many other qualities and has surrounded himself with those loyal to him, like family members and former campaign staffers. As he feels more besieged, he is turning increasingly to those with proven loyalties.
In a sign of that shift, two Trump loyalists, former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and deputy campaign manager David Bossie, were at the White House Tuesday and traveled with Trump on Air Force One to a rally in Ohio. Last week, he brought in Anthony Scaramucci, an outspoken Trump supporter during and after the campaign, to fill the long vacant role of communications director.
One-Way Street
Yet Trump is showing loyalty is a one-way street with his attacks on Sessions. Sessions was the first member of the Senate to back Trump and provided him much-needed credibility. As attorney general, he has pressed Trump’s agenda by taking steps to crack down on illegal border crossing, fight drug trafficking, and remove Obama-era police reforms.
As a federal investigation into ties between Trump associates and Russian meddling in the 2016 election broadens to include his financial dealings, the president has become more visibly frustrated. Sessions is now a prime target of that anger because of his decision to recuse himself from that probe.
Trump openly complains about being under siege. “It’s very sad that Republicans, even some that were carried over the line on my back, do very little to protect their President,” he tweeted on Sunday.
The president is zeroing in on leaks related to the investigation that put his administration in a bad light and that he attributes to unnamed adversaries within federal agencies who are determined to undermine him. Along with disclosures of intelligence documenting contacts that his associates’ and family members had with Russians during and immediately after the campaign, the leaks have included a politically embarrassing Oval Office conversation with Russia’s foreign minister and ambassador to the U. in which Trump shared sensitive intelligence from a U.
Pursue Leaks
Trump insulted the U. intelligence agencies early on, mocking findings of Russian interference in the election in part by heaping scorn on their track record citing past errors such as their faulty conclusion that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction ahead of the Iraq War.
Trump now wants Sessions to spur the Justice Department “to go full-bore” after leaks from national-security agencies, one White House official said.
After two days of lambasting Sessions as “weak” and “beleaguered” and complaining about news organizations fabricating facts, Trump used a news conference with Lebanon’s prime minister on Tuesday to lay out his terms.
“I want the attorney general to be much tougher on the leaks from intelligence agencies, which are leaking like rarely have they ever leaked before on a very important level,” Trump said.
But, asked whether Sessions could remain as the nation’s top law enforcement officer, Trump simply said:
“We will see what happens. Time will tell.”
Sessions Support
Sessions, 70, has so far indicated he has no intention of stepping down, saying last week that he would continue to “wholeheartedly” support Trump’s priorities. “We love this job. We love this department. And I plan to continue to do so as long as that is appropriate,” he said.
One reason Sessions hasn’t resigned in the face of taunting from Trump is that he believes he has an obligation to the rule of law and is seeking to prevent a politicization of the Justice Department, according to a U. official who has worked with Sessions and frequently talks with him, though not since the most recent tweets by the president.
However, one Justice Department official said the tension between Trump and Sessions is a distraction that is undermining the work of the department. The official said even basic operations, such as personnel approvals, aren’t getting done in a timely manner.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Trump Exasperation
Another administration official said Trump’s exasperation is palpable and covers a gamut of concerns. Sanctions packages routinely leak in advance, which risks undermining their effectiveness, the official said. Speech drafts are leaked with officials’ hand-written notes in the margins, making officials increasingly reluctant to offer such input. The official said top officials have brought their concerns directly to the president and that’s part of what has informed his frustration.
Scaramucci channeled the boss Tuesday as vowed to root out and remove leakers, saying he would “fire everybody,” if necessary.
Trump has fixated on the theme in recent public remarks. At an address to the Boys Scouts of America national jamboree on Monday, he pointedly turned to the “scout law” that a boy scout is loyal, complaining, “We could use some more loyalty, I will tell you that.”
Trump brought several cabinet members to the event who were boy scouts, though not Sessions, who achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
Leak Crackdown
Trump said at his news conference Tuesday he never would have appointed Sessions attorney general if he had known Sessions would recuse himself from the Russia investigation. White House aides say Trump blames the recusal decision for allowing the probe to expand and intensify, sweeping up top aides and members of his family.
Sessions has already pledged to crack down on leaks, especially after sensitive information about a terrorist attack in Manchester, England leaked to U. news media outlets in May. He confirmed in June the Justice Department has opened multiple investigations into leaks, though he didn’t say how many.
“There’s been too much leaking and too much talking publicly about investigations,” Sessions said during a Senate Intelligence hearing.
It isn’t clear what involvement, if any, Sessions has or should have in handling leak investigations related to Trump’s presidential campaign and his associates during the campaign.
Sessions in March announced he would recuse himself “from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States.”
He didn’t specify whether the recusal applies to leak investigations.
In February, all Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate whether Sessions would have a conflict of interest in leading leak investigations.
Regardless, prosecuting leak investigations is notoriously complicated and time consuming. Under President Barack Obama, for example, eight individuals were charged in leak cases under the 1917 Espionage Act -- according to an analysis by Alexandra Ellerbeck, a senior research associate with the Committee to Protect Journalists. officials have said the Obama administration carried out more leak prosecutions than any previous administration.
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