Jeff Sessions Hits Back At Donald Trump And Says ‘Recusal Was Required By Law’
On Friday, Donald Trump lashed out at his former attorney general Jeff Sessions, and hours later, Sessions hit back at the president. The former AG recused himself during Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 presidential election, and Trump often speaks negatively about him over the decision.
“@realdonaldtrump Look, I know your anger, but recusal was required by law. I did my duty & you’re damn fortunate I did. It protected the rule of law & resulted in your exoneration. Your personal feelings don’t dictate who Alabama picks as their senator, the people of Alabama do,” wrote Sessions with a retweet of Trump’s earlier post calling him out.
Trump had tweeted support for former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, who is challenging Sessions in the primary for the U.S. Senate seat that Sessions held before he served in the president’s administration from 2017 to 2018. The two are involved in a runoff set for July 14 after neither failed to secure enough of the vote to win the Republican primary in March, NBC News reported. Whoever wins in July will face Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, who currently holds the seat.
“3 years ago, after Jeff Sessions recused himself, the Fraudulent Mueller Scam began. Alabama, do not trust Jeff Sessions. He let our Country down. That’s why I endorsed Coach Tommy Tuberville (@TTuberville), the true supporter of our #MAGA agenda!” read Trump’s dig at the former AG, in a tweet which also endorsed his opponent.
Sessions’ late Friday night tweet received plenty of attention, with nearly 11,000 Twitter users hitting the “like” button and almost 5,000 choosing to retweet the strong words against Trump. The president ousted Sessions in 2018, replacing him temporarily with Matt Whitaker after the AG recused himself amid the Mueller investigation.
Sessions continued the thread and attacked his opponent, whom he called a coward. According to the former senator, Tuberville refused to debate Sessions. Then Sessions accused the former Auburn coach of being against Trump on trade and China, which the former AG said isn’t part of the president’s agenda. Finally, Sessions pointed out that he knows the state of Alabama and its needs far better than Tuberville.
Some Twitter users who responded urged Sessions to expose more details about Trump and his administration, but it did not appear as if the Senate candidate responded to those requests. Many Twitter accounts that commented also took issue with Sessions writing that the Mueller investigation exonerated Trump. They noted that Mueller specifically said he did not exonerate the president.
