Trump Slams Sessions Again, but Giuliani Denies He's Up Next

First, President Trump told the New York Times that he regretted making Jeff Sessions his attorney general because of Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the Russian investigation. On Monday, Trump piled on, referring to Sessions as "beleaguered" in a tweet. "So why aren't the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered A.G., looking into Crooked Hillarys crimes & Russia relations?" he wrote. The insult is "remarkable," observes a post by Andrew Prokop at Vox, and it might suggest that Trump is signaling he wants Sessions to resign so he doesn't have to fire him. Amid all this palace intrigue, meanwhile, comes a report from the respected Mike Allen at Axios that Trump is considering replacing Sessions with Rudy Giuliani, though Giuliani quickly denied that.

The report, based on anonymous West Wing sources, says Trump has been floating the idea among his inner circle. But Allen adds that the president often "muses about possible personnel moves that he never makes, sometimes just to gauge the listener's reaction." Giuliani himself told CNN there's no truth to the report, and added that he believes Sessions "made the right decision under the rules of the Justice Department" by recusing himself. At New York, Benjamin Hart notes that Sessions was not only one of Trump's earliest backers but has been one of his most aggressive advocates in terms of policy while in office. He seems to have failed the loyalty test, however, something that Giuliani routinely aces. So might the former New York City mayor truly end up running the Justice Department? "Stranger things have happened," writes Hart. (More Jeff Sessions stories.)