TURNING UP THE HEAT

Report: Trump Pressured Sessions to Take Control of Russia Probe Four Times

Trump reportedly asked Sessions whether he’d “thought about” un-recusing himself.

President Donald Trump pressured Attorney General Jeff Sessions to “reclaim control of the Russia investigation” three times in person and once over the phone, sources told Axios. One of the in-person conversations was previously reported by The New York Times and took place on March 2017 in Mar-a-Lago. Axios reports that Trump brought up the issue “throughout last year, until fairly late in the year[.]” The president reportedly never explicitly told Sessions to reverse his recusal, but did tell him to think about un-recusing himself.” Trump also told Sessions he would be considered a “hero” to conservatives if he involved himself in the Russia investigation and if he “investigated Hillary Clinton.” The president has also been increasingly preoccupied with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, and reportedly mused “whether it would be possible to limit the scope of the Mueller investigation to avoid his business affairs.”