Trump, Sessions At Odds; Comey Didn't Want To Be Alone With President

Tensions between President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have been so strained at times that Sessions offered to resign, according to multiple reports. The break is said to have been over the decision by Sessions to recuse himself from all things related to the investigation into alleged meddling by Russia in last year's election.

It's not clear exactly when the offer was made — or if it was even a formal offer.

The Wall Street Journal reports that it wasn't a formal offer and that Sessions is still a strong supporter of the president. He was the first — and for a long time, the only — senator to back Trump's campaign.

The news of the offer to resign, which was first reported by ABC News and then other organizations, came hours after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer refused to say if Sessions still has the confidence of the president.

Trump has been said to blame many of the problems related to the Russia probe to Sessions's decision. The fact that Sessions only informed the president shortly before the announcement only exacerbated the tension.

The president is said to trace the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller directly to Sessions's recusal.

In recent days, some of Trump's apparent frustration with his attorney general has surfaced in his Twitter feed as he has vented over the Justice Department's handling of what he refers to as his "travel ban."

Meanwhile, The New York Times is reporting that former FBI Director James Comey had grown so leery of the president that he asked Sessions not to leave him alone with Trump.

The paper reports that he made the request the day after Comey was asked by Trump to end his probe into National Security Michael Flynn.

While he told Sessions he thought the attorney general needed to protect the FBI, the paper says that he did not tell him what had so unnerved him.

The Washington Post, additionally, reports that the director of national intelligence, the nation's highest intelligence official, was asked by Trump to get Comey to back off his probe into Flynn. The paper says that Dan Coats met with other officials and decided that it wasn't a good idea.

Both Coats and Comey are scheduled to testify this week before the Senate Intelligence Committee — Coats on Wednesday and Comey on Thursday.

Associates of Comey say that while it's expected he will be asked if he thinks the president was obstructing justice, he will limit his answers to a factual recitation of what happened.

Pool photo via Getty Images News/Getty Images