Senate hopeful Congressman Mo Brooks, R-Alabama, is tripling down on his support for former Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the campaign trail.
Brooks interviewed with FM Talk 106.5’s “Midday Mobile” following a report from APR revealing that Brooks while campaigning to Mobile-area Republicans, was heaping praise on Sessions and said he would “love” to have Sessions’ endorsement in his 2022 bid for the U.S. Senate.
This comes amid reports that President Donald Trump has “soured” on Brooks. Trump has a longstanding rift with Sessions over his recusal from the Russia investigation; Brooks has publicly backed Sessions on the recusal decision for years.
Unprompted, Brooks brought up the APR report on-air, noting that he had been caught praising Sessions in a “private conversation” captured on an audio recording, which Brooks called “fine.”
“I was extolling how great Jeff Sessions was as United States senator. And, so, I’m fine with that,” Brooks reaffirmed. “That’s my belief. He’s one of the best senators we ever had. He and I together, collectively, we killed the Gang of Eight Amnesty Bill. So, I worked with Jeff Sessions very, very well when he was in the Senate and I was in the House. Well, they want to hit me for that, go for it.”
Host Sean Sullivan responded: “Let’s navigate that for a second because it’s this zero-sum game. I was somebody who has been friends of [Sessions] when he was Senator Sessions and beyond. And when I would defend him when he would get attacks from President Trump, people would question my conservatism, and I would say you could have differences of opinion about his style, but if you’re questioning the conservatism of one Jeff Sessions, it’s the wrong tree you’re barking up.”
Brooks answered: “Well, he played two different roles. One was as a U.S. senator and one was as an attorney general. I did not interact with him personally much as attorney general, but I did as U.S. senator. And as a U.S. senator, he was great.”
“Now, I tried to get him to stay in the U.S. Senate and be a floor leader for the MAGA agenda. He chose to go elsewhere. That was his right and privilege,” he said. “President Trump chose to appoint him to attorney general.”
Trump, however, has said he would never have appointed Sessions if the president knew Sessions would recuse himself from the Russia investigation.
“Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else,” Trump said.
Brooks disagrees with the former president.
“I have known Jeff Sessions for many decades. He was an outstanding United States Senator, he was an outstanding Attorney General in the state of Alabama, and in my opinion, he is performing his duties as the Constitution requires as United States Attorney General,” Brooks stated in 2017 as James Comey conducted the Russia investigation.
“Under the circumstances presented, where Jeff Sessions was an active part of the Donald Trump for President campaign, Jeff Sessions did exactly what he should have done, recuse himself from this Russian investigation in order to minimize or eliminate the appearance of any impropriety,” Brooks said. “So, I believe that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has acted exactly as he should have and I agree with Comey’s testimony in that regard, that Jeff Sessions acted as he should have in recusing himself in order to avoid any actual or appearance of impropriety.”
Brooks’ opponents in the 2022 Senate race are split on the recusal issue.
Mike Durant backed Brooks, saying Sessions “did the right thing.”
Katie Britt, however, agrees with Trump’s assessment.
“If Jeff Sessions knew going in he would recuse himself from the Russia witch hunt, he should have told President Trump upfront and never taken the job as attorney general,” Britt said.
Note: Bill Britt is not related to Katie Britt or her husband, Wesley.
