Donald Trump says 'a lot of people' have asked him to fire Jeff Sessions: 'I don't have an attorney general'

The president has not held back against his own attorney general in a series of comments to reporters

Donald Trump has launched another series of tirades against Jeff Sessions, saying in a new interview, "I don’t have an attorney general."

The president has repeatedly lambasted the man he appointed to spearhead the Justice Department, criticising his decision to recuse himself from the agency’s ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump campaign officials.

Speaking outside the White House, Mr Trump said "a lot of people" have asked him to fire Mr Sessions, and that his administration was "looking at lots of different thngs".

"I’m so sad over Jeff Sessions because he came to me. He was the first Senator that endorsed me. And he wanted to be Attorney General, and I didn't see it," Mr Trump said on Tuesday, speaking with Hill.TV in the Oval Office. "And then he went through the nominating process and he did very poorly. I mean, he was mixed up and confused, and people that worked with him for, you know, a long time in the Senate were not nice to him, but he was giving very confusing answers. Answers that should have been easily answered. And that was a rough time for him."

The president’s attacks on Mr Sessions arrived shortly after the White House ordered the Justice Department to declassify key documents related to the federal Russia probe.

The move will allow the release of various documents and text messages related to the investigation, an unprecedented order from a sitting president during an ongoing probe against his campaign.

Mr Sessions delivered a strongly-worded defence of his leadership in the Justice Department, writing that the agency would not be "improperly influenced by political considerations" under his watch.

During Mr Trump’s Tuesday interview, the president continued to sharpen his attacks against Mr Sessions for recusing himself — a move he doesn't feel was warranted or even necessary, despite the attorney general having worked on his 2016 campaign.

“He gets in and probably because of the experience that he had going through the nominating when somebody asked him the first question about Hillary Clinton or something he said ‘I recuse myself, I recuse myself,'" Trump said. "And now it turned out he didn't have to recuse himself. Actually, the FBI reported shortly thereafter any reason for him to recuse himself. And it’s very sad what happened."

Recent reports have suggested the president is planning to remove Mr Sessions from his post after the 2018 midterm elections, replacing him with an attorney general who may be more willing to go along with Mr Trump’s political demands. Speaking to reporters outside of the White House on Wednesday, Mr Trump echoed his Tuesday comments about Mr Sessions' recusal, saying, "My worst enemies...people that, you know, are on the other side of me, in a lot of ways including politically, have said that was a very unfair thing he did."

Senate Republicans — once adamant the president would face their backlash if he were to fire Mr Sessions — now appear resigned to the idea of his ousting.

"We wish the best for him, but as any administration would show, Cabinet members seldom last the entire administration, and this is clearly not an exception," Roy Blunt, a Montana Republican, told the Chicago Tribune.

Mr Sessions has previously defended his decision to recuse himself from Russia-related matters, telling the Senate Intelligence Committee last year, "I recused myself not because of any asserted wrongdoing on my part during the campaign, but because a Department of Justice regulation, 28 CFR 45.2, required it."