Washington : U.S. President Donald Trump appealed to Attorney General Jeff Sessions to end an investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election, drawing a rebuke from his fellow Republicans in Congress who said the probe must go on.
It was Trump’s most direct call for his top U.S. law enforcement officer to shut down Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s criminal investigation and Democrats promptly accused the president of trying to obstruct justice. Trump’s remark coincided with the start of the trial this week of his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on charges arising from Mueller’s inquiry.
In a series of tweets, Trump called a “TOTAL HOAX” the idea his campaign worked with Moscow, which Mueller is examining. “This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further,” he said.
Since his surprise election in November 2016, Republican Trump has chafed at any suggestion that the Russian interference might have helped him win the White House. And while he has long maligned Mueller and the investigation, his tweet on Wednesday was an extraordinary bid to try to influence the course of an inquiry hanging over his presidency.
In any case, Sessions recused himself from the investigation in March 2017 and does not have the power to stop it.
The White House said the tweet was not an order to Sessions and that Trump was expressing his frustration with the length of the probe.
