Lieu: Trump attempt to stop Sessions recusal screams of ‘guilt’

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said Thursday that President Trump’s attempts to keep Attorney General Jeff Sessions from recusing himself in the federal Russia probe “screams” of “consciousness of guilt.”

“As a former prosecutor, it is clear to me that the repeated attempts by @POTUS to influence the criminal investigation against him, such as this attempt to order AG Jeff Sessions to not recuse, screams CONSCIOUSNESS OF GUILT,” Lieu tweeted.

As a former prosecutor, it is clear to me that the repeated attempts by @POTUS to influence the criminal investigation against him, such as this attempt to order AG Jeff Sessions to not recuse, screams CONSCIOUSNESS OF GUILT. https://t.co/xw5THATFMA

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) January 4, 2018 

Lieu was responding to a New York Times report Thursday that said Trump directed White House counsel Don McGahn to convince Sessions to remain in charge of the Justice Department’s inquiry into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

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The president was reportedly furious and told White House officials that he needed Sessions, a former campaign adviser who recused himself from the investigation, to protect him, two sources told the newspaper. The president has repeatedly dismissed the probe as a “witch hunt.”

Lieu is a vocal Trump opponent who has said he expects more indictments to come from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference and that the White House “should be scared” of the prosecutor.