Attorney general is first cabinet member to be interviewed in special counsel probe
Attorney General Jeff Sessions/Shutterstock.com.
The special counsel’s office interviewed Attorney General Jeff Sessions for several hours last week, marking the first interview of a member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet in the probe.
A Justice Department spokeswoman confirmed to the New York Times that the interview took place. The interview was part of the investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election and potential obstruction of justice.
Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation despite reported entreaties that he remain by White House counsel Don McGahn. Trump reportedly became angry after Sessions’ decision and said he needed the attorney general to protect him, according to the Times.
Sessions said in Senate Judiciary Committee testimony in October that Trump had asked him and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to make a recommendation about former FBI director James Comey in writing. But Sessions would not confirm or deny whether Trump had mentioned the Russian investigation when discussing Comey’s firing.
Rosenstein wrote a memo making the case for Comey’s firing because of Sessions’ recusal. Comey was fired in May.
