Attorney General Jeff Sessions had two conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign season last year, contact that immediately fueled calls for him to recuse himself from a Justice Department investigation into Russian interference in the election.
Sessions, an early supporter of President Donald Trump and a policy adviser to the Republican candidate, did not disclose those communications at his confirmation hearing in January when asked what he would do if “anyone affiliated” with the campaign had been in contact with the Russian government.
Sessions answered that he had not had communication with the Russians.
Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said Wednesday night that “there was absolutely nothing misleading about his answer.”
That answer did not satisfy Democrats who even before Wednesday had sought his recusal from the ongoing federal investigation and had raised questions about whether he could properly oversee it.
Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, accused Sessions of “lying under oath” and demanded that he resign. Other Democrats called on him to step aside from the investigation.
In a statement Wednesday night, Sessions said, “I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false.”
Sessions had more than 25 conversations with foreign ambassadors last year in his role as a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and had two separate interactions with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, the department said.
One was a visit in September in his capacity as a senator, the department said, and the other occurred in a group setting following a Heritage Foundation speech that Sessions gave during the summer, when several ambassadors — including the Russian ambassador — approached Sessions after the talk as he was leaving the stage.
Revelations of the contact, first reported by The Washington Post, triggered calls from members of Congress for Sessions to back out of any involvement in the FBI’s probe.
“If reports are accurate that Attorney General Sessions — a prominent surrogate for Donald Trump — met with Ambassador Kislyak during the campaign, and failed to disclose this fact during his confirmation, it is essential that he recuse himself from any role in the investigation of Trump campaign ties to the Russians,” said Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
“This is not even a close call; it is a must,” he said.
Asked by reporters Monday about the prospect of a recusal, Sessions said, “I would recuse myself from anything that I should recuse myself on.
At the confirmation hearing in January, Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota asked Sessions about allegations of contact between Russia and Trump aides during the 2016 election.
He asked Sessions what he would do if there was evidence that anyone from the Trump campaign had been in touch with the Russian government during the campaign.
Sessions replied he was “unaware of those activities.”
Then he added: “I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I didn’t have, did not have communications with the Russians, and I’m unable to comment on it.”
Flores, the Justice Department spokeswoman, said that response was not misleading.
“He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign — not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee,” she said in a statement.
Franken, in a statement Wednesday night, said he was troubled that the new attorney general’s response to his question was “at best, misleading.”
He said he planned to press Sessions on his contact with Russia.
“It’s clearer than ever now that the attorney general cannot, in good faith, oversee an investigation at the Department of Justice and the FBI of the Trump-Russia connection, and he must recuse himself immediately,” Franken said.
(AP)
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12 Responses
witch hunters
Anyone care for context?
> Sessions had more than 25 conversations with foreign ambassadors last year in his role as a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee
> “anyone affiliated” with the campaign
The question refers solely to the campaign. It is self-evident that in his role on the Senate Committee he had lots of contact with lots of foreign governments, and the members of the confirmation would have (or at least should have) known all about it.
FAKE NEWS AGAIN
OBAMA & CLINTON NETWORK
Fake News: Media, Democrats Distort Remarks to Target Jeff Sessions
Democrats and the media are once again targeting Attorney General Jeff Sessions — this time, over allegations that he met twice with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The Washington Post reports that Sessions met Sergey Kislyak once at a Heritage Foundation event in July 2016, where other ambassadors were also present. It also reports that Sessions met with Kislyak in his Senate office in September, in his capacity on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
But the Trump administration rejected the accusations as partisan attacks, and Mr. Sessions said in a statement issued shortly before midnight that he had not addressed election matters with the ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak.
“I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign,” Mr. Sessions said. “I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false.”
So he spoke with a Russian ambassador. So what? Still absolutely no proof that Russia interfered with the election.
However, there’s plenty of proof and very well known that the Saudi Arabia and China gave massive amount to Hillary to manipulate the election for her AND NOT A WORD IS SAID ABOUT IT ON ANY FAKE NEWS MEDIA. Liberal HYPOCRITES!
unbelievable! such bs its hard to believe. his communications had nothing to do with the campaign he wasn’t even part of the campaign! he was a senator at the time he can talk to who ever he wants. i think pelosi should resign
He was an advisor on the campaign not “just a senator”. So at the very least it raises a red flag. He could clear the matter up by disclosing what he and the ambassador spoke about.
Rt is not going to work
You need to Get it over with Stop Smoking the President is Donald Trump Not CLINTON
You friends in Washington Conpost report this read
The Washington Post reports that Sessions met Sergey Kislyak once at a Heritage Foundation event in July 2016, where other ambassadors were also present.
OTHER EMBASSADORS
Clearly, their obsession is to bring President Trump & the entire government down any WITCH way.
Today it’s Sessions, tomorrow it’s Moby Dick, and the day after it’ll be Jane Doe. Vicious, angry, disgusting and vile. The whole lot of them.
FAKE NEWS
Trump should come out and say we will ignore the fake news and no investigation will be called. Keep writing FAKE NEWS and your paper will go down the toilet!
If there is anyone who should resign…it is PELOSI. She is like a banana that is OVERRIPE. She is well past her prime. She has bee spouting really wacko things. According to her very public comments, Bush is still President and she can’t work with him…among other bizarre statements. Some Congressmen work well way into their 80s. She is 76, in need of retirement badly, and is totally out of it.
When Loretta Lynch has a 30 minute conversation with Bill Clinton she has to recuse herself because who knows what they talked about ? But when Jeff Sessions lies under oath about having no contact with the Russians we all believe that he had a discussion that had nothing to do with Trump? Trumpians can twist themselves into knots , but this is not going away.
I fully agree with all the Trumpkopfs above….it was entirely a coincidence that Sessions was the ONLY Senator among 22 members of the Armed Services Committee to meet with the Russian Ambassador. I’m shocked that anyone would think there might be any hidden agenda in such meetings. Sessions now says he recalls that the purpose of the meeting was to get the Ambassador’s special recipe for borscht…