The war of words between President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions continued Friday.
Trump ignited the feud when he told “Fox & Friends” in an interview that aired Thursday that Sessions “never took control” of the Justice Department. In a statement issued later that day, Sessions said he took control of the department his first day on the job.
“While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations,” Sessions said.
Early Friday, Trump quoted Sessions, then offered a laundry list of items he’d like the attorney general to address, including Hillary Clinton’s emails, former FBI Director James Comey leaking information to the media and special counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election:
Trump even mentioned the five-year sentencing of Reality Winner, the former government contract employee who leaked information to the press about election interference, to further attack Sessions.
“This is ‘small potatoes’ compared to what Hillary Clinton did!” he tweeted. “So unfair Jeff, Double Standard.”
Trump’s barbs toward Sessions are nothing new; he has long railed against his attorney general for not doing enough to stop the Mueller probe. Speculation that Trump plans to fire Sessions has swirled for months, and came back Thursday when Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sessions’ ouster was “very likely” to happen soon.