President Donald Trump has personally interviewed candidates for US attorney positions in New York and Washington, an unusual action for a president, people familiar with the meetings said Wednesday.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal first made the claim during the Senate judiciary committee hearing Wednesday with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying Trump had interviewed “a number of United States attorney positions around the country.”
“To my knowledge no President previously has ever interviewed the chief federal prosecutor in any United States attorney district. I consider it quite unusual,” the Connecticut Democrat said.
CNN previously reported that Trump’s nominee to head the US attorney office in Washington, Jessie Liu, met with the President before being nominated.
Preet Bharara, the former US attorney in Manhattan, added later Wednesday that Trump also held interviews with candidates for US attorney offices overseeing Manhattan and Brooklyn.
New York’s southern district, which encompasses Manhattan, is the home of Trump Tower and the US attorney atop the district would have the authority to investigate cases related to the President’s vast dealings in the jurisdiction.
“I understand that he’s personally interviewed the potential applicants for US attorney in Manhattan and Brooklyn and one in Washington, DC — which happen to be places where Donald Trump has property and assets and companies — and not interviewed personally US attorneys for other positions,” Bharara said in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room.” “I think that reasonably raises a number of questions.”
Trump in March fired Bharara from his position leading New York’s southern district in a move that drew scrutiny after Bharara said the President had previously told him he could stay in the job. At the time, Sessions had asked Bharara and 45 other US attorneys appointed under the Obama administration to resign. Bharara met with Trump during the transition as well.
Sessions appeared to confirm Blumenthal’s assertion that Trump was involved personally in candidate interviews, saying “yes, we’ve done quite a number,” though he later backtracked, adding, “I’m not sure I remember whether he had interviewed for New York but if you say so I assume so, and he has the right to for sure because he has to make an appointment and I assume everybody would understand that.”
Asked to expand, Justice Department spokesman said he would not comment on personnel matters.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Liu disclosed in congressional fillings that she had met with Trump during the interview process.
“I attended formal interviews at the Department of Justice, including with the attorney general,” Liu wrote in a questionnaire submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I also interviewed with representatives of the White House Counsel’s Office and then met the President with the White House counsel.”
Liu was confirmed to the position last month by the Senate and has since taken office.