Trump denounces ‘total witch hunt’ after his attorney general removes himself from Russia investigation

US President Donald Trump has branded the decision of his attorney general Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from investigations into Russia’s alleged meddling in the US election as the result of a “total witch hunt” by Democrats, even after Sessions himself said it was the “right and just” thing to do.

For the second time in less than a month, a key member of Trump’s team has been hobbled by communications with the Russian ambassador to the US.

Sessions called a press conference on Thursday to announce that he was following the advice of senior Justice Department advisers by withdrawing from oversight of any investigations into Russian meddling in last year’s presidential race. He made the announcement just hours after Trump said Sessions should not recuse himself.

Sessions’ decision now leaves the administration at the mercy of acting deputy attorney general Dana Boente - an Obama appointee - who will decide whether to appoint a special prosecutor to look into the Trump campaign’s reported links to Russia.

Late Wednesday, the Washington Post revealed that Sessions had met Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice last year, and omitted that from his testimony at his confirmation hearing in January. Instead, he told the hearing that he “did not have communications with the Russians”.