Trump's tweet came after it was reported he'd asked Sessions to reverse his decision to recuse himself from federal probes into Russian interference.
ADVERTISEMENTPresident Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that he wished he had not selected Jeff Sessions as his attorney general, a day after it was reported that Trump told his top law enforcement official to regain control of the Russia probe last year — and was angered when Sessions refused.
In a trio of morning tweets, Trump responded to an interview that Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., gave to "CBS This Morning" in which the House Oversight Committee chairman at one point appeared to explain how the president's "frustration" with Sessions could be justified.
Trump quoted Gowdy as saying, "There are a lot of good lawyers in the country, he could have picked somebody else!"
Trump then added, "And I wish I did!"
Trump's tweets came just hours after The New York Times reported that Trump had, in March 2017, asked Sessions to reverse his decision to recuse himself from all federal investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Sessions' decision to recuse himself ultimately resulted in the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel to oversee a probe that includes investigating possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
The Times' report Tuesday also described Sessions as a "key witness" in the probe into whether Trump had attempted to obstruct justice.
Trump has repeatedly attacked his attorney general in public and private for giving up control of an investigation he claims is a partisan "witch hunt" — and said previously that he regrets hiring Sessions.
In July 2017, he told The Times 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."