US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has brushed off sharp criticism from US President Donald Trump over his recusal from the Justice Department's Russia investigation, saying he loved his job and planned to continue serving.
"We love this job, we love this department, and I plan to continue to do so as long as that is appropriate," Mr Sessions said at a news conference announcing a cyber crime bust.
Mr Sessions was flanked by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who were both also criticised by the president in an interview with the New York Times yesterday.
Mr Trump took a broad swipe at his administration's top lawofficers in the interview, saying he would not have appointed Mr Sessions as attorney general if he had known he would recuse himself.
The Republican president also noted Mr Rosenstein's roots in Democratic Baltimore and that Mr McCabe's wife took money from a leading Democrat during a political campaign.
The public attacks came after a turbulent first six months in office during which Mr Trump fired national security adviser Michael Flynn and FBI Director James Comey, then the top official leading the probe into whether Russian meddled in the 2016 presidential election and possible ties to the Trump campaign.
Mr Sessions recused himself in March from the Russia criminal investigation.
He did so after failing to disclose at his confirmation hearing that he had held meetings last year with Russia's ambassador.
"Mr Sessions should have never recused himself and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else," the Times quoted Mr Trump as saying.
Mr Sessions was Mr Trump's first supporter in the US Senate and helped shape his political team throughout the campaign and into the transition period after the 8 November election.
He declined to acknowledge Mr Trump's criticism.
"I have the honour of serving as attorney general. It's something that goes beyond any thought I would have ever had for myself," Mr Sessions said.
Similarly, Mr Rosenstein, asked about Mr Trump's remarks that there were very few Republicans in Baltimore, declined to comment.
"I was proud to be here yesterday, I'm proud to be here today, I'll be proud to work here tomorrow," he said.
They took only a few questions before a spokesman asked if there were any questions about the department's dismantlement of AlphaBay, a "dark web" market.
Seeing no hands, Mr Sessions left as reporters shouted questions about whether he would resign.
An aide to Mr Sessions said the recent disparaging remarks from Mr Trump are "nothing new," given news media reports last month that the president was upset with his attorney generals decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.
A federal special counsel has been appointed to take over the Russia investigation, and several congressional committees are conducting their own probes.
Next week, Mr Trump's son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner, and the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, are scheduled to testify before Senate panels, as well as the president's former campaign manager Paul Manafort.
The Kremlin says it did not interfere in the election, and Mr Trump has denied any collusion between his campaign and Russia.
In the Times interview, the president also took aim at the special counsel appointed to take over the Russia investigation, Robert Mueller, saying Mr Mueller would be crossing a "red line" if he began investigating Mr Trump's personal finances.
"I think that's a violation. Look, this is about Russia", Mr Trump told the Times.
The newspaper also reported that Deutsche Bank AG has been in contact with federal investigators about Mr Trump's accounts, citing two people briefed on the matter.
And the bank was expecting to eventually have to provide information to Mueller, they said.
Deutsche Bank, which has loaned the Mr Trump Organization family business millions of dollars for real-estate ventures, late last month rejected demands by Democratic politicians in the US House of Representatives to provide details of Mr Trump's finances, citing privacy laws.
On Capitol Hill, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Mr Trump's pick to replace Mr Comey at the FBI, Christopher Wray. The full Senate was expected to take up Mr Wray's confirmation before its August recess.
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said at the hearing that Mr Trump's latest comments raised troubling questions about the independence and credibility of the Justice Department.
"Now what happens next as members close to the president, his own administration, and his family are being asked critical questions?" Mr Durbin asked.
"We have to make it clear that no one in this country, including the president of the United States,is above the law."
