This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Washington • Sen. Orrin Hatch offered a spirited defense Tuesday of Attorney General Jeff Sessions after President Donald Trump called his own pick to lead the Justice Department "beleaguered" and said only "time will tell" whether Sessions will keep his job.
"Jeff Sessions is among the most honorable men in government today," said Hatch of the former GOP senator from Alabama with whom he worked for a decade.
"I strongly supported his nomination to attorney general because I knew he would lead the Justice Department with the same passion, integrity and principle that defined his service in the United States Senate," Hatch added. "I have full confidence in Jeff's ability to perform the duties of his office and, above all, uphold the rule of law."
Trump has complained that Sessions, one of the president's earliest supporters, should have told him that he would recuse himself from the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. Trump says he wouldn't have appointed Sessions as attorney general if he knew he would step aside.
Tuesday, Trump, who has the authority to fire Sessions, said he was "disappointed" in his attorney general and refused to say whether he had confidence in him.
"He should not have recused himself almost immediately after he took office," Trump said. "And if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me prior to taking office, and I would have, quite simply, picked somebody else. So I think that's a bad thing not for the president, but for the presidency. I think it's unfair to the presidency."