President Trump praised Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Saturday for cracking down on leaks, a shift from Trump’s recent criticism of the Justice Department head.
“After many years of LEAKS going on in Washington, it is great to see the A.G. taking action! For National Security, the tougher the better!” Trump tweeted Saturday.
{mosads}Sessions on Friday announced a government-wide crackdown on leakers, which is set to include a review of the Justice Department’s policies on subpoenas for media outlets that publish sensitive information.
“We respect the important role the press plays and we’ll give them respect, but it’s not unlimited,” Sessions said. “They cannot place lives at risk with impunity. We must balance the press’ role with protecting our national security and the lives of those who serve in the intelligence community, the Armed Forces and all law-abiding Americans.”
Trump has pressed Sessions to more aggressively address illegal government leaks. Intelligence leaks about Russian election interference and the Trump administration have frustrated the president since his inauguration.
That came to a head this week when the full transcripts of Trump’s phone calls with foreign leaders were leaked to The Washington Post.
Trump’s praise of Sessions marks his first kind words about his attorney general in weeks.
During a press conference with the Lebanese prime minister last month, Trump said he was “disappointed” with his attorney general and said only that “time will tell” what fate awaits him.
“I told you before, I’m very disappointed in my attorney general,” he said from the Rose Garden. “But we will see what happens. Time will tell, time will tell.
“If he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before taking office,” Trump added. “I think that’s a bad thing not for the president, but for the presidency.”
He also called Sessions “beleaguered,” in a July tweet and repeated his disappointment that the attorney general had recused himself from the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian meddling in the presidential election.