Trump’s AG faces Senate grilling
Once a Trump campaign backer, Sessions may be out of favour
THE eyes of Washington turned again to the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday, where embattled Attorney-General Jeff Sessions faced questions over his Russian contacts and his role in the firing of FBI director James Comey.
It was the first sworn public testimony from Sessions, a longtime former senator, since he was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed as the nation’s top law enforcement officer in February. It comes as political intrigue pulses through the US capital following explosive testimony by Comey before the same panel last week.
Trump has expressed frustration with Sessions, one of his earliest high-profile campaign backers.
In his riveting appearance last Thursday, Comey said the Federal Bureau of Investigation was aware of information that would have made it “problematic” for Sessions to be involved in investigations into alleged Russian meddling in last year’s election.
Comey said he could address the details only in a classified setting – heightening the suspense about what might be asked and answered yesterday.
The president sacked Comey early last month. Given that as FBI director Comey was overseeing the probe into Russia and its possible collusion with the Trump team, the firing has led to questions about potential obstruction of justice.
But Sessions, who recommended in a signed memo that Comey be fired, may end up claiming executive privilege as a means of limiting the breadth of his testimony.
Whether executive privilege is invoked “depends on the scope of the questions”, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday.
“To get to a hypothetical at this point would be premature,” he added.
Although Sessions, a genteel 70-year-old from the southern state of Alabama, backed Trump’s campaign, he was also one of the first administration officials to fly into turbulence. During his January confirmation hearing, he failed to disclose meetings he held with Russian officials.
On March 1, The Washington Post reported that he met twice with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the campaign. Sessions recused himself from the Russia probe the next day.
“He didn’t tell us the truth,” Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy said.
There are now “things that indicate he had a third meeting”, Leahy added. “Let’s find out under oath what it was.” Sessions may be under another cloud after Comey suggested the attorneygeneral may have failed to take appropriate steps to protect the FBI chief.
At the conclusion of a February 14 meeting, Comey testified, Trump urged everyone else but Comey to leave the Oval Office, including Sessions.
Comey recalled that he felt “something big” was about to happen, and “my sense was the attorney-general knew he shouldn’t be leaving”.
Sessions headed to Capitol Hill in a perilous position with his boss, with US media reporting that Trump had grown displeased with his attorney-general, notably for his recusal on the Russia probe. — AFP