The President Publicly Criticizes Sessions in a New York Times Interview

¶Within hours of the President's meeting with Lewandowski on July 19, 2017, the President gave an unplanned interview to the New York Times in which he criticized Sessions's decision to recuse from the Russia investigation.⁶³⁰⁶³⁰ Peter Baker et al., Excerpts From The Times's Interview With Trump, New York Times (July 19, 2017). The President said that "Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job, and I would have picked somebody else."⁶³¹⁶³¹ Peter Baker et al., Excerpts From The Times's Interview With Trump, New York Times (July 19, 2017). Sessions's recusal, the President said, was "very unfair to the president. How do you take a job and then recuse yourself? If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, 'Thanks, Jeff, but I can't, you know, I'm not going to take you.' It's extremely unfair, and that's a mild word, to the president."⁶³²⁶³² Peter Baker et al., Excerpts From The Times's Interview With Trump, New York Times (July 19, 2017). Hicks, who was present for the interview, recalled trying to "throw [herself] between the reporters and [the President]" to stop parts of the interview, but the President "loved the interview."⁶³³⁶³³ Hicks 12/8/17 302, at 23.

¶Later that day, Lewandowski met with Hicks and they discussed the President's New York Times interview.⁶³⁴⁶³⁴ Hicks 3/13/18 302, at 10; Lewandowski 4/6/18 302, at 6. Lewandowski recalled telling Hicks about the President's request that he meet with Sessions and joking with her about the idea of firing Sessions as a private citizen if Sessions would not meet with him.⁶³⁵⁶³⁵ Lewandowski 4/6/18 302, at 6. As Hicks remembered the conversation, Lewandowski told her the President had recently asked him to meet with Sessions and deliver a message that he needed to do the "right thing" and resign.⁶³⁶⁶³⁶ Hicks 3/13/18 302, at 10. Hicks thought that the President might be able to make a recess appointment of a new Attorney General because the Senate was about to go on recess. Hicks 3/13/18 302, at 10. Lewandowski recalled that in the afternoon of July 19, 2017, following his meeting with the President, he conducted research on recess appointments but did not share his research with the President. Lewandowski 4/6/18 302, at 7.Show full note While Hicks and Lewandowski were together, the President called Hicks and told her he was happy with how coverage of his New York Times interview criticizing Sessions was playing out.⁶³⁷⁶³⁷ Lewandowski 4/6/18 302, at 6.