The Department of Justice turned over a trove of internal documents to special counsel Robert Mueller in the weeks before he questioned Attorney General Jeff Sessions, including those related to his proposed resignation and emails about fired national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to a report.
The emails and documents pertaining to a period last spring when President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, sought Sessions’ resignation after he recused himself from the Russia probe and ordered the firing of Mueller before backing off after the White House counsel threatened to resign, ABC News reported Wednesday.
Mueller’s team interviewed Sessions earlier this month.
Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote memos criticizing Comey’s handling of the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of state, and the White House used them as the reason for his dismissal on May 9, 2017.
Days later, Rosenstein appointed Mueller to investigate Russian involvement in the 2016 election.
The naming of Mueller as special counsel angered Trump, according to reports, who called for Sessions to resign.
The attorney general had recused himself from the probe in March after reports revealed he had met with a Russian ambassador during the presidential campaign and did not disclose the meetings at his Senate confirmation hearing.
Sessions submitted a resignation letter, but Trump ultimately rejected it after his advisers cautioned him of dumping the attorney general so soon after Comey’s firing.
Flynn was fired in February 2017, just weeks into the Trump administration, after Sally Yates, the then-acting attorney general, warned White House officials that he had lied to them about his contacts with Russian officials and could be subject to blackmail.
In December, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is now cooperating with Mueller’s investigation.