While attorney general, Jeff Sessions once complained about the racial composition of the FBI and reminisced about the "old days" where "you all only hired Irishmen," according to a memoir written by Andrew McCabe, the former deputy FBI director, and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

One person familiar with Sessions' thinking brushed off the claim and said "the idea of him ever saying a disparaging thing about anyone in law enforcement is laughable," according to The Journal.

McCabe reportedly wrote that during his encounters with Sessions, the attorney general was primarily focused on addressing immigration issues.

McCabe has said he kept contemporaneous notes about his interactions with various White House officials, including President Donald Trump and Sessions.

While serving as attorney general, Jeff Sessions once complained about the racial composition of the FBI and reminisced about the "old days" where "you all only hired Irishmen," according to a memoir written by Andrew McCabe, the former deputy FBI director.

"Back in the old days, he said, you all only hired Irishmen," McCabe recalled, according to an excerpt of his memoir that was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. "They were drunks but they could be trusted. Not like all those new people with nose rings and tattoos."

Sessions is of English, Irish, and Scottish heritage, according to a profile published by Cosmopolitan magazine in May.

One person close to Sessions apparently brushed off the claim, saying "the idea of him ever saying a disparaging thing about anyone in law enforcement is laughable," The Journal reported.

McCabe has said he kept contemporaneous notes of his interactions with various White House officials, including President Donald Trump and Sessions.

The former deputy FBI director wrote that during his encounters with Sessions, the attorney general was primarily focused on addressing immigration issues, The Journal reported. In cases involving counterterrorism, The Journal said, Sessions would inquire about the suspect's birthplace or parents' origin.

Previous reporting from The New York Times suggested McCabe's memos detailed turmoil inside the Justice Department during Trump's presidency. One of the memos indicated Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein considered recording his conversations with Trump and considered invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, The Times said.

Read more: Trump reportedly used similar tactics to get inside the head of another FBI official after he fired James Comey



Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe waits for the beginning of a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee with the other heads of the U.S. intelligence agencies in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill May 11, 2017 in Washington, DC. The intelligence officials were questioned by the committee during the annual hearing about world wide threats to United States' security. Alex Wong/Getty

The Justice Department denied those claims in a statement and described them as "inaccurate and factually incorrect," The Journal said.

McCabe said in a recent CBS interview that he became alarmed after the firing of FBI Director James Comey in May 2017. McCabe said he was "very concerned" following the abrupt firing and subsequently launched an investigation to determine whether Trump had undisclosed ties to Russia.

"I was very concerned that I was able to put the Russia case on absolutely solid ground in an indelible fashion that were I removed quickly, or reassigned, or fired, that the case could not be closed or vanish in the night without a trace," McCabe said in a "60 Minutes" interview set to air Sunday.

McCabe was fired last March, one day before he was expected to retire. An internal investigation concluded McCabe had authorized the FBI to disclose information related to the investigation of Hillary Clinton's private email server to the media but "lacked candor" when questioned about it.

During his tenure, McCabe often butted heads with Trump, who frequently railed against him, his wife, and the FBI.

"The work of the FBI is being undermined by the current president," McCabe reportedly wrote in his memoir. "He and his partisan supporters have become corrosive to the organization."

The memoir, "The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump," is scheduled for release on Tuesday.