The Story:
Jefferson Sessions, who was President Donald Trump’s first Attorney General (and who was fired in the wake of the November 2018 elections) is proud of his tenure as the A-G and, in the context of his campaign to return to the US Senate, he has defended his service in that capacity against Trump’s criticisms.
Background:
The President said recently, to Fox News, “I didn’t want to make [Sessions] attorney general, but he was the first senator to endorse me. So, I felt a little bit of an obligation.” Trump also said Sessions asked four times, “begging” to be made A-G, before Trump gave in.
In July, in a primary, Alabama’s Republicans will choose between Sessions and a former football coach, Tommy Tuberville. The winner of that campaign will run against incumbent Senator Doug Jones (D) in the fall.
The Thing to Know:
Sessions denied last week that he begged for the post, “not four times, not one time, not ever.” Sessions also said he was in the right to recuse himself from decisions concerning the investigation into questions about connections between the Trump campaign and Russia, a decision that clearly raised — and still raises — the President’s ire.
“I stood up for the truth and performed at the highest levels,” Sessions says.
