Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in an open letter to Alabama voters on Tuesday that his recusal on the Justice Department probe into Russian election interference was meant to protect President Donald Trump.
"As the world knows, the President disagreed with me on recusal, but I did what the law required me to do," Sessions wrote. "I was a central figure in the campaign and was also a subject of and witness in the investigation and could obviously not legally be involved in investigating myself. If I had ignored and broken the law, the Democrats would have used that to severely damage the President."
The letter comes as Sessions is down in the polls in a runoff election to regain his old Senate seat. Former Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville won Trump's endorsement over his former attorney general after the president criticized Sessions for his recusal in the case, saying that if he had known he would recuse himself, he should not have accepted the job.
Sessions addressed the charge, which Trump's supporters have echoed, in the letter:
"I knew no such thing," Sessions wrote, adding he wasn't informed of former FBI Director James Comey’s "secret investigation" until after he became Attorney General, "and the investigation wasn’t publicly confirmed by the FBI until weeks after my recusal."
The letter is an attempt to assure Alabama voters he has always supported Trump's agenda, even through his dismissal.
"I was the first to endorse President Trump, even when many thought I was nuts to do so," Sessions said. "I helped Trump win and traveled the country with him, embedded in his campaign. I am one of the architects of his agenda, and I was pushing his agenda even before he ran for office," he said. "I have remained faithful to the President and his agenda. I have always stood up for him, and I never backed down, not even for one moment."
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