JEFF SESSIONS/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump said on Wednesday [5-30-18] that he wished he had chosen another lawyer to be his attorney general, instead of Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from the sensitive Russia investigation early in the Trump administration. Mr. Trump was responding to an interview on CBS with Representative Trey Gowdy, Republican of South Carolina. Mr. Gowdy had said the president was justified in his frustration with Mr. Sessions because Mr. Sessions did not tell Mr. Trump he planned to recuse himself…Since the recusal by Mr. Sessions in March 2017, the president has publicly and privately lashed out at the attorney general, and the sentiment on Wednesday was no surprise. After Mr. Sessions recused himself, Mr. Trump asked his attorney general to reverse his decision — a request that has raised the interest of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. During the course of his Senate confirmation hearings early last year, as rumors circulated about an investigation into Russia’s possible coordination with Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign, Mr. Sessions was asked whether he would recuse himself. At the time, Mr. Sessions said he did not know of a specific reason as to why he should do so.”
-Eileen Sullivan, “Trump Again Says He Wishes Sessions Were Not Attorney General,” The New York Times online, May 30, 2018