ON DEFENSE

Sessions: DOJ Will Not Be ‘Influenced by Political Considerations’

Trump said earlier that Sessions “never took control” of the Justice Department.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions released a statement Thursday stating that the Justice Department won’t be “improperly influenced by political considerations,” after President Trump insisted that he “never took control” of the DOJ. “I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have has unprecedented success at effectuating the President’s agenda—one that protects the safety and security and rights of the American people, reduces violent crime, enforces our immigration laws, promotes economic growth, and advances religious liberty,” Sessions wrote. Earlier, the president criticized Sessions in an interview with Fox News’ Ainsley Earhardt for recusing himself from special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. “[Sessions] took the job and then he said, ‘I’m going to recuse myself.’ I said what kind of a man is this?” Trump said.