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Donald Trump launches major attack on 'very weak' Attorney General Jeff Sessions, amid rumours he is set to fire him
Donald Trump has launched his strongest attack yet on his "very weak" Attorney General Jeff Sessions, fuelling speculation he is preparing to fire him. The US President took issue with Mr Sessions apparent reluctance to investigate presidential rival Hillary Clinton's alleged "crimes". Mr Trump's anger at Mr Sessions stems from the Attorney General's decision to recuse himself from all matters related to the investigation into alleged links between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Donald Trump attacks Jeff Sessions on Twitter over 'very weak' position on Hillary Clinton
US President Donald Trump launched an extraordinary attack on Attorney General Jeff Sessions again on Tuesday, calling him "VERY weak" in pursuing intelligence leaks and failure to go after former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton over her emails. Mr Trump's latest Twitter salvo followed a report in the Washington Post that the president and his advisers have discussed replacing Sessions, once one of his closest allies. "Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails &DNC server) & Intel leakers!" Mr Trump tweeted. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails & DNC server) & Intel leakers!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2017 Mr Trump has openly criticised Mr Sessions for recusing himself from overseeing a federal probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian to meddle in the 2016 US presidential elections. Mr Trump's intensifying criticism of Sessoins has fueled speculation that Mr Sessions may resign even if Trump opts not to fire him. During an event at the White House, Trump ignored a shouted question about whether Sessions should step down and rolled his eyes. Mr Sessions has said he has no plans to resign. Sessions trump With pressure mounting from the investigation led by former FBI director Robert Mueller, Mr Trump has sought to revive a campaign year controversy over Mrs Clinton's use of a private server to send email while secretary of state. During the campaign, former FBI director James Comey, whom Mr Trump later fired over the Russia probe, had declined to recommend Mrs Clinton be prosecuted over her handling of classified material on her email server. In another post to his Twitter account, Mr Trump said: "Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - quietly working to boost Clinton. So where is the investigation A.G." Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - "quietly working to boost Clinton." So where is the investigation A.G. @seanhannity— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2017 What happens next? If Mr Trump were to fire Mr Sessions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would be elevated to the top post on an acting basis. That would leave the president with another attorney general of whom he has been sharply critical in both public and private for his handling of the Russia probe, according to four White House and outside advisers who, like others interviewed, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Jared Kushner speaks out after Senate hearing on Russia 00:30 It could also raise the specter of Mr Trump asking Mr Rosenstein - or whomever he appoints to fill the position - to fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and potential collusion with Trump's campaign. The name of one longtime Trump ally, Rudy Giuliani, was floated Monday as a possible replacement for Sessions, but a person who recently spoke to the former New York City mayor said that Giuliani had not been approached about the position. Mr Giuliani told CNN on Monday that he did not want the post and would have recused himself had he been in Sessions' position. Trump insists on not talking politics before proceeding to talk politics 00:00 The president's tweet about the former Alabama senator comes less than a week after Mr Trump, in a New York Times interview, said that Sessions should never have taken the job as attorney general if he was going to recuse himself. Mr Sessions made that decision after it was revealed that he had met with a top Russian diplomat last year. Mr Trump has seethed about Mr Sessions' decision for months, viewing it as disloyal - arguably the most grievous offense in the president's mind - and resenting that the attorney general did not give the White House a proper heads-up before making the announcement that he would recuse himself. His fury has been fanned by several close confidants - including his son Donald Trump Jr, who is also ensnared in the Russia probe - who are angry that Mr Sessions made his decision. Would Donald Trump make a good Boy Scout? 01:38 Mr Sessions and Mr Trump used to be close, sharing both a friendship and an ideology. Mr Sessions risked his reputation when he became the first US senator to endorse the celebrity businessman and his early backing gave Trump legitimacy, especially among the hard-line anti-immigration forces that bolstered his candidacy. Several of Mr Sessions' top aides now serve in top administration posts, including Stephen Miller, the architect of several of Mr Trump's signature proposals, including the travel ban and tough immigration policy. After Mr Trump's public rebuke last week, Mr Sessions seemed determined to keep doing the job he said "goes beyond anything that I would have ever imagined for myself." "I'm totally confident that we can continue to run this office in an effective way," Mr Sessions said last week. Armand DeKeyser, who worked closely with Sessions and became his chief of staff in the Senate, said he did not see the attorney general as someone who would easily cave to criticism, even from the president. "If Jeff thinks he is in an untenable position and cannot be an effective leader, I believe he would leave," DeKeyser said. "But I don't think he's reached that point." But Anthony Scaramucci, the president's new communications director, said that it's time for Trump and Sessions to hash out a resolution, regardless of what they decide. "My own personal opinion, I think they've got to have a meeting and have a reconciliation one way or another. You know what I mean? Either stay or go, one way or another," he said. The Justice Department declined to comment.
How many nukes are in the world and what could they destroy?
Tensions over nuclear weapons have been raised further after North Korea claimed to have successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile. This latest move comes amid increasing concern over North Korea's military capabilities, with the new US administration upping its rhetoric in response. While the Pyongyang regime increases the frequency with which it is conducting missile tests, Donald Trump's defence secretary Jim 'Mad Dog' Mattis has warned North Korea of an "effective and overwhelming" response if Pyongyang used nuclear weapons. Elsewhere, rhetoric hints at a return of the expansion of nuclear arsenals across the world. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of defence chiefs that strengthening nuclear capability should be a key objective for 2017. Donald Trump then took to Twitter to respond, vowing to do the same. The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2016 Such rhetoric has led to concerns about the world's nuclear capacity and the unpredictability of those in charge of the warheads. It seems the world is a long way from "coming to its senses" - with millions of kilotons already in military service around the world. Between them, the world's nuclear-armed states have around 15,000 warheads - the majority of which belong to the US and Russia. It is estimated that just under 10,000 of these are in military service, with the rest awaiting dismantlement, according to the Arms Control Association. Putin says Russia should strengthen its nuclear arsenal 00:51 Which countries have nuclear weapons? There are five nuclear-weapon states in the world: China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States. These are officially recognised as possessing such weapons by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. This treaty acknowledges and legitimises their arsenals, but they are not supposed to build or maintain them forever. Indeed, they have committed to eliminate them. There are also four other countries that have nuclear weapons: Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea. These countries didn't sign the Treaty, and together possess an estimated 340 nuclear weapons. But it's Russia and the US that have by far the most in the world - dominating all other countries by collectively sharing 88 per cent of the world's arsenal of stockpiled nukes. This figure increases to 93 per cent when we consider retired nukes. How the world's 15,000 nukes are divided How deadly could these nuclear weapons be? The world's current collection of 14,900 nuclear weapons possesses enough power to kill millions of people and flatten dozens of cities. According to Telegraph research, it is estimated that the US and Russian arsenals combined have power equating to 6,600 megatons. This is a tenth of the total solar energy received by Earth every minute. According to the NukeMap website, the dropping of the B-83, the largest bomb in the current US arsenal, would kill 1.4m people in the first 24 hours. A further 3.7m people would be injured, as the thermal radiation radius reached 13.km. Likewise, the "Tsar Bomba" is the largest USSR bomb tested. If this bomb was dropped on New York, it is estimated that it could kill 7.6m people and injure 4.2m more. The nuclear fallout could reach an approximate area of 7,880km on a 15mph wind, impacting millions more people. Both America and Russia's arsenals are regulated by several treaties that place limits on the numbers and kinds of warheads and delivery systems they have. If either country were to expand their nuclear capacity even further, as Trump and Putin have hinted at, it could shatter these agreements and plunge the world into a new Cold War. North Korean missile ranges Our figures on nuclear weapons, based on statistics from the Arms Control Association, are mainly estimates because of the secretive nature with which most governments treat information about their arsenals.
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