Liberal Forum

Trump-Murdoch friendship will test Sessions, former U.S. attorneys say.

President Trump's friendship with Rupert Murdoch could soon become a liability for the Justice Department.

The president and the 21st Century Fox executive chairman talk almost every day, White House sources say.

Murdoch frequently offers Trump advice on policy, strategy and messaging. Murdoch's Fox News is favorable to Trump, and Trump is generous in giving praise -- and interviews -- to Fox News.

At the same time, Trump's Justice Department is conducting an investigation into 21st Century Fox's handling of financial settlements with women who accused Roger Ailes, the former Fox News chairman and CEO, of sexual harassment. (Ailes has denied all the allegations.)

The relationship between Trump and Murdoch will test the independence of the Justice Department and particularly Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who is also a close friend and influential adviser to the president, two former U.S. attorneys in another Republican administration told CNNMoney.

"This is a major test for Sessions," said Paul K. Charlton, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona. "He needs to show his independence from the president."

Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Sessions' predecessor, came under fire last year after she met privately with former President Bill Clinton while his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, was under an FBI investigation regarding her emails.

While Lynch said the conversation did not pertain to the investigation, she also said that because of the concern it raised she "certainly wouldn't do it again."

At the time, Trump called the meeting "terrible" and "horrible."

But given Trump's friendships with both Sessions and Murdoch, there are similar concerns regarding the investigation into Fox News.

Earlier this week, Murdoch called Trump a "friend" while introducing him at a World War II memorial event in New York.

Trump has praised Murdoch in the past, and in January tweeted, "Rupert Murdoch is a great guy who likes me much better as a very successful candidate than he ever did as a very successful developer!"