In this July 13, 2018 photo, Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivers remarks in Portland, Maine. President Donald Trump is escalating his attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, suggesting the embattled... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this July 13, 2018 photo, Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivers remarks in Portland, Maine. President Donald Trump is escalating his attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, suggesting the embattled official should have intervened in investigations of two GOP congressmen to help Republicans in... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump escalated his attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday, suggesting the Department of Justice put Republicans in midterm jeopardy with recent indictments of two GOP congressmen. 
 
 In his latest broadside against the Justice Department's traditional independence, Trump tweeted that "Obama era investigations, of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department." 
 
 He added: "Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff......" 
 
 The president's striking suggestion that the Justice Department consider politics when making decisions showed his disregard for the agency's independence. Trump has frequently suggested he views Justice less as a law enforcement agency and more as a department that is supposed to do his personal and political bidding. Still, investigators are never supposed to take into account the political affiliations of the people they investigate. 
 
 Trump, who did not address the specifics of the charges, did not name the Republicans. But he was apparently referring to the first two Republicans to endorse him in the GOP presidential primaries. Both were indicted on separate charges last month: Rep. Duncan Hunter of California on charges that included spending campaign funds for personal expenses and Rep. Chris Collins of New York on insider trading. Both have proclaimed their innocence. 
 
 The Hunter investigation began in June 2016, according to the indictment. The indictment into Collins lays out behavior from 2017. He was also under investigation by congressional ethics officials. 
 
 Hunter has not exited his race, while Collins ended his re-election bid days after his indictment. Both seats appear likely to remain in GOP hands, but the charges have raised Democratic hopes. 
 
 A spokeswoman for Sessions declined comment, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 
 
 Trump did not have any public events Monday. He briefly exited the White House to a waiting motorcade, but then went back inside without going anywhere. 
 
 He has previously pressed Sessions to investigate his perceived enemies and has accused Sessions of failing to take control of the Justice Department. Trump has also repeatedly complained publicly and privately over Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the federal investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia because he'd worked on Trump's campaign. 
 
 Some of the issues Trump has raised have either already been examined or are being investigated. 
 
 The tension between Trump and Sessions boiled over recently with Sessions punching back, saying that he and his department "will not be improperly influenced by political considerations." Still, Sessions has made clear to associates that he has no intention of leaving his job voluntarily despite Trump's constant criticism. 
 
 Allies, including Republican members of Congress, have long advised Trump that firing Sessions — especially before the November midterm elections — would be deeply damaging to the party. But some have indicated that Trump may make a change after the elections. 
 
 "I think there will come a time, sooner rather than later, where it will be time to have a new face and a fresh voice at the Department of Justice," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told reporters recently. 
 
 -- 
 
 Eric Tucker contributed from Washington and Mike Balsamo contributed from New York City. ||||| "At your request I am submitting my resignation," Sessions wrote in a letter to White House chief of staff John Kelly. 
 
 Matthew Whitaker will take over as acting attorney general, the President said. 
 
 Whitaker is expected to take charge of the Russia investigation and special counsel Robert Mueller from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Whitaker has been openly critical of Mueller and the investigation and Democrats immediately called on him to recuse himself, just as Sessions had. 
 
 "We are pleased to announce that Matthew G. Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well ...We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date," Trump tweeted 
 
 JUST WATCHED Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired 01:52 
 
 The move is an abrupt end to what had been a tumultuous tenure for Sessions, originally one of Trump's earliest and most loyal surrogates as an Alabama Republican senator. He was a key figure in implementing Trump's vision for America and significantly rolled back Obama-era policies on immigration, police reform and civil rights. 
 
 Sessions was an enforcer of much of the Trump administration's hardline approach on immigration and regularly praised the President's tough words on crime. But even as he continued to carry out the Trump agenda, his relationship with the President remained strained and fraught for months due to the ongoing Mueller investigation. 
 
 Sessions received the request to resign from Kelly, not the President, on Wednesday morning, an administration official said. It is not clear whether Mueller was told ahead of time. 
 
 Sessions believed that Rosenstein has handled the investigation properly after it was dropped "right in his lap," according to a source familiar with Sessions' thinking. 
 
 "[Rosenstein is] a professional, he's tried to do the right thing and he's handled it as well as anybody could," the source said of Sessions' views on the matter. 
 
 However, the source said that Sessions himself has been frustrated that Mueller's investigation has not yet concluded, but DOJ officials have "tried to do the right thing every day and not be involved in arguing the case in the media." 
 
 In a statement, Whitaker said he will lead a "fair" department with high ethical standards. 
 
 "It is a true honor that the President has confidence in my ability to lead the Department of Justice as Acting Attorney General. I am committed to leading a fair Department with the highest ethical standards, that upholds the rule of law, and seeks justice for all Americans," he said. 
 
 Trump constantly criticized Sessions 
 
 Sessions' ouster came a day after the midterm elections saw Republicans hold onto control of the Senate -- which would confirm Trump's eventual permanent choice to head the Justice Department -- and just weeks after Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to multiple counts of campaign finance violations, tax fraud and bank fraud and Trump's former campaign chair Paul Manafort was found guilty of eight charges including tax fraud and bank fraud. 
 
 Sessions was aware that Cohen was facing bank fraud and tax violations but had been walled off from the campaign finance aspects of the investigation into Trump's former lawyer, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told CNN. 
 
 Trump's distaste for Sessions was well known -- and publicly reinforced by the President himself on a regular basis -- after the attorney general recused himself from all matters related to the 2016 campaign early in Trump's term. 
 
 The President mocked Sessions in August as " scared stiff and Missing in Action ." Later the same month as Trump continued to rail against him, Sessions issued a statement firing back at Trump and declaring, "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." 
 
 Just days later, Trump knocked the Sessions-led Justice Department for indicting two Trump-supporting Republican congressmen ahead of the midterm elections. Both lawmakers won their re-election bids Tuesday. 
 
 But Sessions hung on, and although there was no formal reconciliation, the President allowed him to stay, even despite the unwillingness of White House spokespeople to publicly confirm, for days, that Trump had confidence in the attorney general. 
 
 In early August, Trump tweeted that Sessions "should stop" Mueller's investigation, raising questions as to whether the President was attempting to obstruct justice. Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani told CNN's Dana Bash that Trump was merely "expressing his opinion on his favorite medium." 
 
 Sessions, for his part, consistently maintained that his recusal decision was made in consultation with career ethics officials at the Justice Department and was in the works from the time he was sworn in. 
 
 Democrats demand continued independence for Mueller 
 
 Top Democrats immediately called for Mueller's investigation to be allowed to proceed. 
 
 "Given his previous comments advocating defunding and imposing limitations on the Mueller investigation, Mr. Whitaker should recuse himself from its oversight for the duration of his time as acting attorney general," Schumer said. 
 
 Former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder declared interference with the special counsel "a red line." 
 
 "Anyone who attempts to interfere with or obstruct the Mueller inquiry must be held accountable. This is a red line. We are a nation of laws and norms not subject to the self interested actions of one man," Holder tweeted. 
 
 Anyone who attempts to interfere with or obstruct the Mueller inquiry must be held accountable. This is a red line. We are a nation of laws and norms not subject to the self interested actions of one man. — Eric Holder (@EricHolder) November 7, 2018 
 
 New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler tweeted a vow for accountability. Nadler is poised to chair the House Judiciary Committee next year. 
 
 "Americans must have answers immediately as to the reasoning behind @realDonaldTrump removing Jeff Sessions from @TheJusticeDept. Why is the President making this change and who has authority over Special Counsel Mueller's investigation? We will be holding people accountable," Nadler tweeted. 
 
 Immigration bonded him with Trump from the start 
 
 Sessions' campaign loyalty to Trump earned him a plumb spot in the administration as attorney general, and Sessions' former aides and allies, including prominent Trump adviser Stephen Miller, spread throughout the administration in key posts across multiple agencies. 
 
 Under Sessions, the Justice Department has been aggressive in trying to cut off funds to and punish sanctuary cities -- though the courts have repeatedly admonished many of those efforts -- and was the primary agency that justified the ending of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, a program that protected young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children. ||||| FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2011, file photo, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, left, administers the House oath to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., as his wife, Margaret, looks on during a mock swearing-in... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2011, file photo, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, left, administers the House oath to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., as his wife, Margaret, looks on during a mock swearing-in ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington. A federal grand jury in California on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018,... (Associated Press) 
 
 SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife were charged Tuesday with using more than $250,000 in campaign funds to finance family trips to Italy and Hawaii, golf outings, school tuition, theater tickets — even fast food purchases — and attempting to disguise the illegal spending in federal records, prosecutors said. 
 
 A 48-page federal grand jury indictment depicts the couple as binge spenders who over eight years pocketed a steady stream of dollars intended for campaign purposes, while their household budget was awash in red ink. 
 
 Prosecutors said the couple tried to conceal the spending, which ranged from the banal to lavish, by falsifying records. 
 
 In March 2015, Hunter told his wife he wanted to buy "Hawaii shorts" but ran out of money, the indictment said. She told him he should buy them at a golf pro shop so they could later describe the purchase as "some (golf) balls for the wounded warriors," according to court documents. 
 
 "The Hunters spent substantially more than they earned," the indictment said. "They overdrew their bank account more than 1,100 times in a 7-year period resulting in approximately $37,761 in 'overdraft' and 'insufficient funds' bank fees." 
 
 Asked for comment, a spokesman for Hunter sent an Aug. 6 letter from Hunter's attorney, Gregory A. Vega, to U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein asking him to postpone the indictment. 
 
 Vega contended that there was a "rush to indict." 
 
 There was "politically motivated" pressure to wrap up the investigation in order to tarnish Hunter before the general election after he handily won a June primary, Vega contended. 
 
 Hunter was among the earliest Republican members of Congress to endorse President Donald Trump and Vega's letter suggested his outspoken support made him a target for what he described as politically biased prosecutors. 
 
 Hunter, 41, the son of a longtime congressman, represents the strongly Republican 50th Congressional District in San Diego and Riverside counties. He faces the prospect of campaigning under the shadow of a federal indictment in a year when Democrats have targeted several Republican-held House seats across the state. 
 
 University of California, San Diego political scientist Thad Kousser said Hunter would be on safe ground if the race centered on the Trump agenda. 
 
 Now, the indictment "makes it a race about (Hunter), about corruption and in some ways ties him to Donald Trump's biggest vulnerabilities," Kousser said, referring to the guilty plea Tuesday of Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, on campaign-finance violations and other charges, on the same day Trump former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted of eight financial crimes. 
 
 Another early Trump supporter, Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Collins of New York, ended his re-election bid this month, days after his indictment on insider trading charges. 
 
 Hunter's Democratic opponent, Ammar Campa-Najjar, stopped short of calling on the congressman to resign. 
 
 "I think justice should run its course," he said. 
 
 Campa-Najjar said Hunter was "in it for his own interests" and that it is time to "get rid of the corruption and greed that has held Washington captive for too long." 
 
 The California secretary of state's office says there is no process in the elections code for Hunter to remove his name from the ballot, and there can be no write-in candidates for the November election. 
 
 In a statement, House Speaker Paul Ryan called the charges "deeply serious" and said Hunter will be removed from his committee assignments, pending resolution of the case. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Ryan should call on Hunter to resign. 
 
 In a statement, California Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte said "individuals are presumed innocent" until a jury convicts them. 
 
 "The congressman and his wife have a constitutional promise to their day in court and we will not prejudge the outcome," Brulte said. 
 
 The House Ethics panel had investigated allegations that Hunter improperly used campaign funds to pay for tens of thousands of dollars in personal expenses. The panel said in March that it was delaying the inquiry at the request of the Justice Department. 
 
 According to the indictment, in 2015 Hunter attempted to set up a day tour of a U.S. naval facility in Italy in order to justify the use of campaign funds during a vacation with his family. When the proposed date didn't work out, he told his chief of staff, "Tell the Navy to go (expletive) themselves," the documents said. 
 
 The couple spent more than $1,500 on video games in 2015; and spent $6,288.74 to take his family on a vacation to a resort in Lahaina, Hawaii, the same year, the indictment said. Other spending included dental work, lavish dinners and movie tickets, prosecutors said. 
 
 In April 2015, Margaret Hunter spent nearly $1,000 in campaign funds to fly her mother and her mother's boyfriend to Poland and later told the campaign treasurer they were campaign trips to New Orleans and Kentucky. 
 
 His lawyers said in 2017 that Hunter and his wife repaid the campaign about $60,000. 
 
 Hunter's office said at the time that one of the charges he repaid was a $600 fee for flying a pet bunny with his family. There was no intent to stick donors with the cost, then-Hunter spokesman Joe Kasper said at the time. 
 
 ___ 
 
 This story has been corrected to show indictment is 48 pages, not 48 counts. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Blood reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Christopher Weber, Robert Jablon and Michael Balsamo contributed to this report from Los Angeles.
– President Trump escalated his attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday, suggesting the Department of Justice put Republicans in midterm jeopardy with recent indictments of two GOP congressmen. Per the AP, Trump tweeted that "Obama era investigations, of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department." He added: "Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff......" The president's striking suggestion that the Justice Department consider politics when making decisions showed his disregard for the agency's independence. Investigators are never supposed to take into account the political affiliations of the people they investigate. Trump, who did not address the specifics of the charges, did not name the Republicans. But he was apparently referring to the first two Republicans to endorse him in the GOP presidential primaries. Both were indicted on separate charges last month: Rep. Duncan Hunter of California on charges that included spending campaign funds for personal expenses and Rep. Chris Collins of New York on insider trading. Both have proclaimed their innocence. A spokeswoman for Sessions declined comment, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump did not have any public events Monday. He briefly exited the White House to a waiting motorcade, but then went back inside without going anywhere.