President Donald Trump last year rebuked Attorney General Jeff Sessions after he recused himself from the Russia probe in 2017, and told him he should reverse his decision as he needed a loyalist overseeing the investigation, an incident being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller, The New York Times reports.

Sessions recused himself from any investigations into Russia's role in the presidential election last March after his staff recommended he step away from the probe related to the Trump campaign since he had been involved in the campaign.

Trump said he was disappointed with Sessions' decision and unleashed a torrent of public criticism against his attorney general. His attacks even escalated into an apparent campaign to pressure Sessions to quit, and avoided Sessions' calls to the point Sessions had to fly to Florida to meet with the president about a pressing decision on the travel ban.

But when Sessions sat down with Trump at the president's Mar-a-Lago estate in March 2017, Trump expressed his disappointment about the recusal and asked him to change course. Sessions would not budge, and Trump has since distanced himself from his attorney general, even telling friends how he would like to get rid of him.

Mueller has interviewed current and former White House officials about Trump's treatment of Sessions and whether they believe the president was trying to obstruct the investigation by putting pressure on him.

Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani told the Times that Trump asking Sessions to reverse his recusal was not outside the bounds of the president's authority.

"'Unrecuse' doesn't say, 'Bury the investigation;' it says on the face of it: Take responsibility for it and handle it correctly," Giuliani said.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment to the Times.