WASHINGTON_President Donald Trump praised Attorney General Jeff Sessions for "taking action," a day after Sessions announced new efforts to find and prosecute those responsible for what he called an "unprecedented rise in leaks" and threatened a more aggressive stance toward journalists.
Sessions revealed no new cases during his announcement Friday, but said the Department of Justice has tripled the number of leak investigations this year. The pace is so heavy, he said, that the FBI has increased resources for leak cases and has created a new counterintelligence squad to manage them.
He also said he was reconsidering policies put in place during the Obama administration that limited the information prosecutors could demand from reporters.
"We are taking a stand," he said. "This culture of leaking must stop."
Trump was a fan of leaks against his opponent during the presidential campaign, even at one point publicly encouraging Russian hackers to try to obtain Hillary Clinton's emails.
But since the inauguration, Trump has frequently raged about unauthorized disclosures and has said the Justice Department should be investigating the leaks, not allegations that his campaign coordinated with Russia.
In a series of angry tweets last month, Trump railed against Sessions for being "VERY weak" for failing to prosecute leakers. Asked in a Rose Garden ceremony whether Sessions should stay in his job, Trump said he wanted Sessions to be "much tougher" on leaks.
