US President Donald Trump has escalated his attacks on Attorney-General Jeff Sessions, suggesting the Department of Justice put Republicans in mid-term jeopardy with recent indictments of two Republican congressmen.

Key points: Mr Trump sarcastically tweets "Good job Jeff"

Mr Trump sarcastically tweets "Good job Jeff" The Justice Department is not supposed to take political factors into account

The Justice Department is not supposed to take political factors into account Trump backers Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins were both indicted last month

In his latest comments undermining the Justice Department's traditional independence, Mr Trump tweeted that "Obama era investigations, of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicised charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department".

He added sarcastically: "Good job Jeff …"

Mr Trump then compared the Attorney General with "Lyin' James Comey", claiming the Democrats must love Mr Sessions now.

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The President's suggestion that the Justice Department consider politics when making decisions continued Mr Trump's disregard for the agency's independence.

Investigators are never supposed to take into account the political affiliations of the people they investigate.

The attack on Mr Sessions comes after Mr Trump last week said that Mr Sessions was safe in his job at least until after the November mid-term elections.

"I just would love to have him do a great job," Bloomberg quoted Mr Trump as saying.

The tension between Mr Trump and Mr Sessions boiled over recently with Mr Sessions punching back, saying that he and his department "will not be improperly influenced by political considerations".

Still, Mr Sessions has made clear to associates that he has no intention of leaving his job voluntarily despite Mr Trump's constant criticism.

Mr Trump has previously pressed Mr Sessions to investigate his perceived enemies and has accused Mr Sessions of failing to take control of the Justice Department.

He has also repeatedly complained publicly and privately over Mr Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the federal investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Mr Trump, who did not address the specifics of the charges, did not name the Republicans he was referring to on Twitter.

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: Duncan Hunter of California on charges that included spending campaign funds for personal expenses, and Chris Collins of New York on insider trading.

Both have proclaimed their innocence.

Mr Hunter has not exited his race, while Mr 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 Mr Sessions declined comment, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

AP