WASHINGTON ― With his Justice Department and FBI facing broad attacks from some of his former colleagues on Capitol Hill, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Friday that he’ll stand up to any “unfair” attacks on the men and women of the Justice Department he now oversees.
Sessions, in a speech in Norfolk, Virginia, on Friday, mentioned the “sharp criticisms” of DOJ coming from Congress. He said the Justice Department demands “the highest level of integrity, ethics, and professionalism from every person” in it, and that all employees are expected to “advance the mission of the Department honorably” in the service of the American people.
“If anyone falls short of these high standards, we will not hesitate to take appropriate action, and we will do so in accordance with the rules and procedures of the Department,” Sessions said. “And, while we are open to fair criticism, we will of course defend our investigators and prosecutors from criticism that is unfair.”
Such criticism has recently been coming from within Sessions’ own party. As they’ve sought to protect President Donald Trump from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, some Republicans on Capitol Hill have made broad attacks on the FBI’s integrity. They’ve suggested there’s a “deep state” operation against Trump, and that there was a “secret society” working within the FBI to stop him from ever taking office. After reading a secret memo authored by Republican staffers, members of Congress claimed to know about “absolutely shocking,” “sickening” and “jaw-dropping” information that was “worse than Watergate” and comparable to the actions of the KGB.
The comments from members of his party ― and from his own boss ― have put Sessions in a tricky spot. He has a delicate relationship with the president, who blames him for the existence of the probe threatening his administration and members of his family.
“He has his own detractor, and that detractor is the president of the United States,” Ron Hosko, a former FBI official, told HuffPost before Sessions’ speech. “He probably senses that he’s at risk, because of the recusal [from the Russia probe] and because of the deference to [Deputy Attorney General] Rod Rosenstein and the subsequent appointment of Bob Mueller. That’s stuck in Donald Trump’s craw, period.”
Hosko, now part of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, praised Sessions’ work on law enforcement issues. But he said he wished the attorney general would step out in the bureau’s defense.