Giuliani: ‘I would have considered’ recusing myself from Russia probe

Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday that he would have considered recusing himself from the federal law enforcement investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election had he become President Trump’s attorney general.

Giuliani, one of Trump’s personal lawyers, told HuffPost that he understands why Attorney General Jeff Sessions stepped aside from the Russia probe, even as Trump continues his attacks on the Justice Department head for doing just that.

“I would have considered it, sure,” the former New York City mayor said. “I told the president at the time that I just didn’t know what I would have done.”

{mosads}Giuliani added that he would have likely had the same conflicts had he taken the job and that Trump shouldn’t dismiss Sessions from his post.

“He could, but he shouldn’t,” Giuliani said, adding that Trump has seen improving poll numbers. “Things are moving in his direction … If you fire somebody, even though it’s legitimate, you’re just going to raise a lot of questions.”

Sessions recused himself last year from overseeing the Russia probe, citing his role on Trump’s campaign as a conflict of interest. He had also come under scrutiny after it was revealed that he met with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. during the campaign but failed to mention it during sworn testimony before Congress.

Trump has privately and publicly fumed over Sessions’s decision, saying Wednesday he wishes he had picked someone else for the job.

Sessions’s recusal put Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in charge of the investigation into Moscow’s 2016 election meddling. Rosenstein appointed special counsel Robert Mueller to carry out the probe in May 2017.

Trump has repeated slammed Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt.”