Sep 19, 2018

Trump: "I don’t have an attorney general"

Axios

Photo Aaron P. Bernstein via Getty Images

President Trump continued his attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions in an interview with The Hill, claiming that Sessions' rocky confirmation hearing scared him into needlessly recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

"I don’t have an Attorney General. It’s very sad. ... A lot of people have asked me to [fire Sessions]. And I guess I study history, and I say I just want to leave things alone, but it was very unfair what he did."

The backdrop: Trump recently criticized the Justice Department for indicting two Republican congressmen so close to the midterm elections, prompting Sessions to fire back: "While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations."

Go deeper

Axios

Situational awareness

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Catch up on today's biggest news:

  1. Roger Stone sentenced to 40 months in prison
  2. Top NSC official reassigned to Energy Department amid "Anonymous" fallout
  3. Morgan Stanley to buy E*Trade in $13 billion deal
  4. Coronavirus slams companies' 2020 sales projections
  5. Black activist group gives its first presidential endorsement to Elizabeth Warren
Keep ReadingArrowUpdated 31 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Jacob Knutson, Shane Savitsky

Roger Stone sentenced to more than 3 years in prison

Roger Stone arriving for his sentencing hearing. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Longtime Trump associate Roger Stone was sentenced Thursday to 4o months in prison for crimes that include obstruction of justice, lying to Congress and witness tampering.

Why it matters: Stone is the seventh person to be convicted and sentenced for crimes unearthed by former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. His case has been at the heart of ongoing tensions between President Trump and his Justice Department.

Go deeperArrow34 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Axios

Coronavirus kills 2 Diamond Princess passengers and South Korea sees first death

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. U.S. numbers include Americans extracted from Princess Cruise ship.

Two elderly Diamond Princess passengers have been killed by the novel coronavirus — the first deaths confirmed among the more than 600 infected aboard the cruise ship. South Korea also announced its first death Thursday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed more than 2,100 people and infected over 75,000 others, mostly in mainland China, where the National Health Commission announced 114 new deaths since Wednesday.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 41 mins ago - Health