For Sessions, Trump's constant attacks may define his legacy

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has vigorously pushed President Donald Trump's agenda at the Justice Department, and before that, spent 20 years championing conservative causes in the Senate.

Yet as Sessions enters what may be the final stretch of his Cabinet tenure, those efforts are at risk of being eclipsed by his boss' frequent verbal attacks that have made Sessions seem like a presidential punching bag. It's a role he never asked for, though perhaps could have anticipated.

The steady diatribes, most recently a tweet excoriating Sessions for the federal indictments of two Republican congressmen, reflect Trump's outrage over the special counsel's Russia investigation. They are all the more striking because Sessions is the Trump agency leader most clearly aligned with Trump's values.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions waits to speak at the dedication for the United States Courthouse for the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile, Ala., on Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. (AP PhotoDan Anderson)

Sessions' allies say his treatment by Trump is overshadowing the attorney general's work on violent crime, illegal immigration and opioid addiction, and clouding a legacy of achievement that in other times would be more broadly cheered in conservative circles.

"There are folks that ask me constantly, 'What's wrong with Sessions?'" said former Cincinnati mayor Ken Blackwell, a longtime friend. The drumbeat of criticism is "eroding what otherwise would be a very respectable portfolio," he said.

"The punches that he throws in Sessions' direction are landing and they're distorting the track record," Blackwell added, "and they're having people start to question not just his loyalty to the president but his competency — when his record is a very successful record and could be compared to any other Cabinet secretary."

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., left, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, center, and U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., react at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the United States Courthouse for the Southern District of Alabama Friday, Sept. 7, 2018, in Mobile, Ala. (AP PhotoDan Anderson)

Sessions has, for the most part, absorbed the blows quietly while marching through a tough-on-crime agenda. He has encouraged more aggressive marijuana enforcement, directed prosecutors to bring the most serious charges they can prove, announced a zero-tolerance policy for immigrants crossing the border illegally and targeted the MS-13 gang.

The hard-line principles that once placed him far to the right of many other Republican senators remain intact at the Justice Department, where critics fear Sessions is eroding civil rights protections by not defending affirmative action, police reform or transgender legal rights.

But neither Sessions' work as the nation's top law enforcement official nor his loyalty seems to resonate with Trump. The president has belittled his attorney general since Sessions stepped aside from an investigation into ties between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia. Trump interpreted the move, which legal experts said was inevitable given Sessions' campaign support, as an act of disloyalty that led to special counsel Robert Mueller's appointment.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at the dedication for the United States Courthouse for the Southern District of Alabama, Friday, Sept. 7, 2018, in Mobile, Ala. (AP PhotoDan Anderson)

Trump has said that if he had known Sessions would withdraw from overseeing the investigation, he would not have picked the Alabama Republican to be attorney general. The president now asserts that Sessions never has had control of the department. He also accuses Sessions of failing to aggressively pursue Trump's political rivals and to investigate potential bias in the Russia investigation.

Trump told Bloomberg News last week that Sessions' job was safe through the November election. The president gave no reassurances about after that. Meanwhile, the solid Republican support in the Senate that has buffered Sessions is showing signs of cracking.

The most recent broadside, about the charges against the two GOP lawmakers, was stunning for its norm-shattering obliteration of the bright line between the White House and Justice Department. Trump said the indictments, coming before an election when control of Congress is at stake, had left "two easy wins now in doubt." Trump ended the tweet with a sarcastic "Good job Jeff."

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., speaks with Attorney General Jeff Sessions during the dedication for the United States Courthouse for the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile, Ala. on Sept. 7, 2018. (AP PhotoDan Anderson)

"You're harassing the attorney general for not dealing with political bias at the DOJ and then conversely accusing him of not engaging in political bias at the DOJ," said Cameron Smith, a former Sessions counsel in the Senate. "Those cannot both be simultaneously consistent positions."

Sessions didn't respond to that criticism, though in the past year he has issued statements saying the department will not bend to political considerations and that he always has served with integrity and honor. His only mentions of Trump are laudatory, and in public appearances, Sessions is far more likely to focus on the work that has impassioned him for decades than on the controversies around him.

The criticism has created an unusual dynamic where Trump-aligned Republicans who ordinarily would praise Sessions are joining in the condemnation, while progressives opposed to his agenda fear that his firing for political reasons could destabilize democracy.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at the dedication for the United States Courthouse for the Southern District of Alabama, Friday, Sept. 7, 2018, in Mobile, Ala. (AP PhotoDan Anderson)

Vanita Gupta, the Justice Department civil rights chief in the Obama administration, said she believed Sessions was terrible for civil rights but she did not want him dismissed as a means of crippling Mueller's investigation.

"It isn't about protecting Jeff Sessions," Gupta said. "It's about protecting the notion that nobody is above the law in this country and that the Constitution applies to everybody."

It wasn't always this way for Sessions, a federal prosecutor during the 1980s-era "war on drugs." His conservative Senate positions, including opposing bipartisan legislation that would have created a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants in the country illegally, made him a natural fit for Trump.

Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump, and he joined the candidate for campaigning and foreign policy meetings. The loyalty paid off with the attorney general post, but it also wound up entangling him in the Russia investigation.

Even as Sessions has pushed the Trump agenda, he has confronted headlines about his campaign interactions with the Russian ambassador and about his attendance at a campaign meeting where the prospect of a Trump-Vladimir Putin meeting was broached.

"It's not as if Trump's background didn't have a lot of red flags in it and Sessions decided, 'Hey, I want to get on board with this person' and it frankly turned out poorly for him as a person," said Smith, the former Sessions aide. "I do think that's a lesson in discretion."

Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo in Washington and Jay Reeves in Alabaster, Alabama, contributed to this report.

NEW YORK (AP) — There they both sat in the second set of their U.S. Open semifinal on a humid afternoon Friday, simultaneously receiving treatment from trainers: Jannik Sinner got his left wrist massaged after falling during a point he managed to win; Jack Draper needed medical attention after vomiting twice.

The top-ranked Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy, who was exonerated in a doping case less than a week before play began in New York, was the better player throughout and finished off a 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over Draper to reach his first title match at Flushing Meadows — and second at a Grand Slam tournament his year.

“It was a very physical match, as we see,” said Sinner, who is a righty but uses both fists for his backhands and kept flexing his left wrist after it got hurt. “I just tried to stay there mentally.”

While both competitors were being looked at during a changeover, a vacuum was being used to clean up the green ground behind the baseline where the 25th-seeded Draper, a 22-year-old from Britain, had thrown up, finishing the cleaning job he tried to do himself by wiping the court with a towel. It hearkened back to when Pete Sampras lost his lunch during a win over Alex Corretja during the 1996 U.S. Open -- and created, to say the least, an unusual scene Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the temperature was in the high 70s and the humidity was above 60%.

Sinner won the Australian Open in January and will seek his second major championship on Sunday against No. 12 Taylor Fritz or No. 20 Frances Tiafoe.

“Whoever it is,” Sinner said, “it’s going to be a very tough challenge for me. But I'm just looking forward to it.”

Word emerged last month that Sinner failed two drug tests eight days apart in March but was cleared because he said the trace amounts of an anabolic steroid entered his system unintentionally via a massage from a team member he since has fired. That whole episode has been a constant topic of conversation as he progressed through the U.S. Open bracket.

Good pals Fritz and Tiafoe were scheduled to play each other Friday night in the other men’s semifinal, the first in New York between two Americans in 19 years. One would become the first U.S. man in a Slam title match since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009 — and if either were to defeat Sinner, it would give the United States its first major trophy for a man since Roddick triumphed in New York in 2003.

The women's final on Saturday also will feature an American, with No. 6 Jessica Pegula taking on No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

The longer that points lasted between Sinner and Draper — who are friends and played doubles together at an event in August — the more things went the Italian’s way as the contest stretched past three hours.

He is as pure a ball-striker as there is in the men’s game at the moment, and while Draper’s lefty power and good hands — whether following his serves to the net or simply finding other times to hit volleys, he won 22 of the 34 points when he moved forward — made some inroads, Sinner got better and better the longer exchanges went.

Sinner took the point on 50 of 80 that lasted nine or more strokes.

Draper has plenty of talent, and he hadn’t dropped a set over the past two weeks until Friday, but his biggest issue as a pro has been his body, and it was again on this day. The weather surely didn’t help. Nor did any tension associated with making his debut in a Slam semifinal. Nor did Sinner’s relentlessness.

The collection of empty water bottles kept growing by Draper’s sideline seat as he tried to hydrate. He also requested a can of soda in the third set. By the time it arrived, nothing was going to help him slow Sinner, who improved to 34-2 on hard courts in 2024.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts after breaking the serve of Jack Draper, of Great Britain, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Court attendant Ethan Davison cleans up an area on the court where Jack Draper, of Great Britain, vomited in the second set against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Jack Draper, of Great Britain, reacts against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Jack Draper, of Great Britain, reacts after missing a shot from Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Fans cheer during the men's singles semifinals between Jannik Sinner, of Italy, and Jack Draper, of Great Britain, of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Jack Draper, of Great Britain, cools off during a break between games against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, holds his left wrist after falling on the court in the second set against Jack Draper, of Great Britain, during the men's singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Jack Draper, of Great Britain, cools off during a break between games against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, is examined during the men's singles semifinals against Jack Draper, of Great Britain, of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Jack Draper, of Great Britain, wipes the court against Jannik Sinner, of Italy, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, reacts after defeating Jack Draper, of Great Britain, during the men's singles semifinal of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Jannik Sinner, of Italy, holds his wrist after returning a shot to Jack Draper, of Great Britain, during the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)