After Trump criticism, Sessions says Justice Department won’t be ‘improperly influenced’

US president Donald Trump drew a sharp rejoinder from his attorney general on Thursday after he gave a blistering evaluation of Jeff Sessions as being not able take control of the Justice Department.

Trump was interviewed in a TV show on Wednesday, the day after his former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts — and implicated the president — and former campaign manager Paul Manafort was convicted of financial crimes unrelated to the 2016 presidential campaign. The interview aired Thursday.

After the interview broadcast, the Justice Department discharged an announcement from Jeff Sessions pushing back on Trump.

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"While I am attorney general, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action," the statement read, in part. "However, no nation has a more talented, more dedicated group of law enforcement investigators and prosecutors than the United States."

"I am proud to serve with them and proud of the work we have done in successfully advancing the rule of law," Sessions wrote.

Trump has lashed out repeatedly in the past at Sessions, the Alabama Republican who was the first senator to endorse the celebrity businessman but then recused himself shortly after taking office from the special counsel investigation that led to the criminal cases and is still underway into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

(With inputs from agencies)