WASHINGTON – Attorney General Jeff Sessions backtracked Sunday on his smear campaign against New York City and instead praised the NYPD as a model police department.

“For four decades, New York has been a fabulous city for law enforcement,” Sessions told ABC’s “This Week.” “They have developed some of the best techniques ever. They are so far ahead of many other cities. I think we all should study the tactics that have been developed.”

In a press release Friday to announce threats to the Big Apple and eight other jurisdictions to withhold federal funding to sanctuary cities, Sessions’ justice department besmirched New York as “soft on crime.”

“New York City continues to see gang murder after gang murder, the predictable consequence of the city’s ‘soft on crime’ stance,’” the statement said.

Felony crimes in New York City are at the lowest ever in recorded history.

The statement drew a quick rebuke from NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill who call ed the characterization “insulting” and made his “blood boil.”

Sessions clarified Sunday he meant no disrespect to the police department but believes if New York wants to be even safer it should get rid of sanctuary city policies that prevent police from turning over low-level offenders to federal agents for deportation.

“We want to improve law enforcement in America. Half of the murders in New York are gang-related. Many of those are people – gangs who have illegal aliens involved in them,” Sessions said. “So why would you not want to deport those and make the city even safer?”

The Justice Department on Friday sent letters to New York City, California, Chicago, Philadelphia and other localities asking for proof they are following federal immigration laws or else their federal grant funding could be revoked.



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