Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday that some judges have become too political in their rulings, especially in the 9th Circuit Court.
“I think we have a number of judges in the country that have departed a bit too far from classical enforcing the law as written, and using the law to advance an agenda that they may have personally,” he said on CBS News. “The 9th Circuit has been criticized for that tendency more than any other circuit.”
The 9th Circuit Court has been a source of controversy when a federal judge in California blocked the Justice Department from withholding federal funds from sanctuary cities, cities that refuse to work with the department in identifying and capturing illegal immigrants.
Mr. Trump has since said he’s considering breaking up the 9th Circuit Court, which includes most of the Western United States.
The attorney general also touched on the recent revelations that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn may have broken the law in receiving payments from Russian groups without authorization.
Mr. Sessions said he did not know enough about Mr. Flynn’s case to comment in detail, and said he doesn’t plan to be part of any possible investigation since recusing himself from all matters related to the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.
But Mr. Sessions did say that the administration takes vetting very seriously and that though he doesn’t know the details of Mr. Flynn’s vetting, he believes mistakes do happen.
“That’s a complex issue, and I’m not sure anyone can be expected to find that,” said Mr. Sessions in regards to Mr. Flynn’s case. “I don’t know the facts of this case, and maybe there’s an explanation for it.”
Mr. Session did say the case highlighted an issue the administration and his agency are facing when it comes to leaks.
“We are having a tremendous problem with leaks,” he said on NBC News, “I’m worried about it. I think we might need to do more to end this.
“We’re going to follow our responsibility to analyze these matters. The CIA director shared with us leaks and things he thinks are important, and we will evaluate them properly.”
Mr. Sessions is in Long Island, New York, on Friday to address the issues there relating to MS-13, a street gang comprised mostly of Central American criminals who have been tied to drug and human trafficking. The gang has recently caused a spike in crime on Long Island, where 15 homicides in Suffolk County have been traced back to the group.
The attorney general is expected to face protesters who say the issue is not justification for the president’s new immigration policies.
