Rand Paul sides with Trump on Sessions slam
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican Sen. Rand Paul sided with President Trump on Thursday after the commander-in-chief criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.
Paul, R-Ky., tweeted Thursday morning:
“I agree with @realDonaldTrump, his Attorney General should not have recused himself over reported incidental contacts with Russian officials.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The tweet comes after the president told The New York Times that the attorney general’s recusal was “very unfair to the president.”
“How do you take a job and then recuse yourself?” Trump said, slamming Sessions. “If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, ‘Thanks. Jeff, but I’m not going to take you.'”
The libertarian-leaning Paul went on to take a shot at Sessions over a separate policy move a day earlier -- tweeting his concerns about the DOJ's shift on what's known as asset forfeiture.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}SESSIONS OPENS DOOR FOR POLICE TO SEIZE ASSETS, FACES GOP PUSHBACK
“What I’m most concerned about though is the Attorney General’s actions yesterday to push forward with federal asset forfeiture,” Paul tweeted.
He added, “Asset forfeiture is an unconstitutional taking of property without trial. It’s wrong and I call on the AG and Administration to stop.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Paul’s comments come after Sessions ordered the expansion of the government’s ability to seize suspects’ property—a move that put him at odds with Republicans who have slammed the practice as a violation of civil rights.
Sessions touted the use of asset forfeiture as a “key tool” for law enforcement and said it “weakens criminal organizations and the cartel.”
Fox News’ Barnini Chakraborty contributed to this report.