Jeff Sessions says he doesn't regret recusing himself, is confident Mueller probe conducted "appropriately and with justification."

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• Recently ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions told the Wall Street Journal he is "confident" in Robert Mueller's probe of the Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.
• But Sessions also said he finds the investigation to be "unhealthy" for the country as it drags out over nearly the past two years.
• Sessions once again defended his decision to recuse himself from the special counsel investigation.

Recently resigned Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he is "confident" that the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign - headed by former FBI Director Robert Mueller - can continue to be handled "appropriately and with justification."

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Thursday, Sessions expressed confidence in the Mueller probe and noted that he made the right decision to recuse himself from the investigation in March 2017.

Sessions defended the investigation, telling the WSJ that "the country is committed to this course" but added he finds it to be "unhealthy" for the nation to have the probe drag on for as long as it has.

It is not the first time Sessions has opened up about the justification for his recusal. During a meeting with The Federalist Society, the then-attorney general said, "I think that's what I had to do."

And shortly after the investigation began, Sessions told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he took the correct course of action.

"I recused myself, not because of any asserted wrongdoing, or any belief that I may have been involved in any wrongdoing in the campaign," Sessions said, "but because a Department of Justice regulation ... I felt, required it."

But Sessions' decision was not without difficulties. President Donald Trump had reportedly pressured Sessions to rethink the recusal on multiple occasions, citing a desire to be protected by his cabinet.

Sessions resigned on Wednesday, just one day after the midterm elections concluded. Trump appointed Matthew Whitaker, his chief of staff, to be acting attorney general.