Sessions uproar thickens the fog surrounding Trump’s Russia ties
Attorney general rejects calls for his resignation after admitting he failed to disclose meeting with Russian envoy
WASHINGTON— U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself Thursday from federal investigations related to the 2016 election campaign, including a probe of interactions between the Russian government and associates of President Donald Trump.
Sessions’ decision came the afternoon after the Washington Post revealed he had misled the Senate when he said under oath that he “did not have any communications with the Russians” during the campaign. In fact, he had at least two meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Sessions insisted at a Thursday news conference that his answer had been “honest.” But he conceded under questioning that he should have disclosed that he had met “one Russian official a couple of times.”
The uproar surrounding Sessions, who was a prominent Trump campaign adviser, is only the latest development in a sprawling Russia controversy that has alternated between a simmer and a blaze throughout Trump’s entire six-week-old presidency. Sessions is at least the second top Trump appointee to become engulfed by criticism over his inaccurate claims related to contact with Kislyak. The other one, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, resigned last month.
WASHINGTON— Under intensifying pressure, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions abruptly agreed Thursday to recuse himself from any investigation into Russian meddling in America’s 2016 presidential election. He acted after revelations he twice spoke with the Russian ambassador during the campaign and failed to say so when pressed by Congress.
Sessions rejected any suggestion that he had tried to mislead anyone about his contacts with the Russian, saying, “That is not my intent. That is not correct.”
But he did allow that he should have been more careful in his testimony during his confirmation hearing, saying, “I should have slowed down and said, ‘But I did meet one Russian official a couple of times.’ ”
The White House has stood by Sessions in the latest controversy to dog U.S. President Donald Trump’s young administration, though officials say they first learned about his contacts with the ambassador from a reporter Wednesday night. Trump himself said Thursday he had “total” confidence in Sessions and didn’t think he needed to recuse himself — not long before he did.
One of Sessions’ conversations with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak occurred at a July event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. At that same event, the ambassador also spoke with Carter Page, who briefly advised Trump’s campaign on foreign policy, according to a person with knowledge of the discussion.
Separately, a White House official said Thursday that Trump’s son-inlaw, Jared Kushner, and ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn met with Kislyak at Trump Tower in New York in December. The official described that sit-down as a brief courtesy meeting.
Flynn was fired last month for misleading Vice-President Mike Pence about his contacts with Kislyak. The Trump team’s account of Flynn’s contacts with the ambassa- dor has changed several times. The White House did not disclose the in-person meeting, or Kushner’s involvement, until Thursday.
Both the White House official and the person with knowledge of Page’s discussion insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly disclose the meetings.
Trump has been trailed for months by questions about potential ties to Russia, and allegations of Russian efforts to interfere in the U.S. election to help him defeat Hillary Clinton. The new president and his campaign officials have blamed such contentions on Democratic sore losers and have denied any contact with Russians concerning the election.
While there is nothing necessarily nefarious or even unusual about a member of Congress meeting with a foreign ambassador, typically members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee meet with foreign ambassadors, not Armed Services Committee lawmakers, such as Sessions, whose responsibility is oversight of the military and the Pentagon.
The latest development comes on the heels of what had been the high point of Trump’s presidency: a wellreceived address to Congress Tuesday night that energized Republicans and appeared to wipe away some lawmakers’ concerns about the administration’s tumultuous start.
But Sessions faced rising demands that he resolve the seeming contradiction between his two conversations in the summer and fall with Kislyak and his sworn statements to Congress in January, when he said he had not had communications with Russians during the campaign.
The Justice Department said he met with Kislyak in his role as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, not in his role as a Trump adviser with the campaign, and that led to his answers.
The attorney general, an early backer and key adviser for Trump’s campaign, said he decided to recuse himself for investigations underway and others to come after his staff recommended he do so. Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente will handle such matters for now.
Sessions added that his announcement “should not be interpreted as confirmation of the existence of any investigation.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who had accused Sessions of “lying under oath,” repeated her call for his resignation after he recused himself. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said a special prosecutor should be appointed to examine whether the federal investigation into Kremlin meddling — and into possible contacts between Trump associates and Russians — had been compromised by Sessions.
More than a half dozen Republican lawmakers, including some who consider themselves personally close to Sessions, had urged him to recuse himself from the probe. Sen. Tom Cole of Oklahoma said he didn’t believe Sessions could have colluded with Russia, but “If there is an investigation, he probably shouldn’t be the person leading it.”