Dem senator calls for hearing on whether Trump interfered with US attorneys

Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.) is calling for a hearing to probe possible influence in the selection of U.S. attorneys, following reports that President Trump conducted interviews for potential nominees to influential courts.

Coons requested a hearing in a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) this week, citing his concerns that Trump “does not respect the important boundaries between politics and the prosecutorial decisions of US Attorneys,” according to CNN.

The interviews by Trump of three attorneys in New York and Washington, D.C., have raised concerns among lawmakers over a potential conflict of interest given Trump’s personal and business ties to the two cities.

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Trump met with attorney Geoffrey Berman about his possible position in the Southern District of New York, which includes Trump’s native Manhattan, and with Ed McNally for the Eastern District of New York. 

The president had also met with Jessie Liu, who was confirmed to the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C. in September, before Liu was nominated. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a member of Grassley’s committee that is overseeing the confirmations for the candidates, previously said he could oppose the confirmations and cited the three courts’ power to issue indictments in the ongoing investigation into possible Russian influence in the 2016 election.

The White House has supported Trump’s power to interview candidates, though it is a highly unusual move for a sitting president. The Judiciary Committee did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on Coons’s letter Monday.