D.C. UPROAR
WASHINGTON — President Trump wasn’t the only one to feel the brunt of Hurricane Comey on Thursday.
James Comey’s dramatic testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee painted Attorney General Jeff Sessions in an unfavorable light, and suggested the AG may be facing some legal trouble as well.
Sessions was involved in Trump’s decision to fire Comey last month even though he’d recused himself from having anything to do with the FBI’s probe into Russian meddling — an investigation led by Comey.
“That’s a question I can’t answer,” he said when Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked him about why Sessions played a role in his firing. “I think it is a reasonable question. If, as the President said, I was fired because of the Russia investigation, why was the attorney general involved in that chain? I don’t know.”
What Comey didn’t say might be even more problematic for Sessions than what he did.
Comey pointedly demurred on the biggest question about Sessions — why he didn’t tell his thenboss about Trump asking him to drop the FBI’s probe into Michael Flynn — saying he couldn’t address it in public. That’s a sign the reason is part of the FBI’s ongoing investigation into whether Trump officials colluded with Russia during the 2016 election, as he didn’t want to get in the way of the ongoing probe.
“He was very close to and inevitably going to recuse himself for a variety of reasons. We also were aware of facts, that I can’t discuss in an open setting, that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic. So we were convinced — in fact, I think we’d already heard the career people were recommending that he recuse himself, that he was not going to be in contact with Russia-related matters much longer,” Comey said.
Sessions twice met with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the campaign, but didn’t mention those meetings when filling out his security clearance application, or when directly asked about them during his Senate confirmation hearing.
Comey also said Sessions had lingered when Trump tried to clear the room for a private meeting with him before being ordered out by the President, and that “my sense was the attorney general knew he shouldn’t be leaving.”
Later, Sen. Kamala Harris (DCalif.) asked Comey about Sessions’ reaction to his later request that Sessions not leave him alone with Trump again.
“I have a recollection of him just kind of looking at me. It was a danger I’m projecting onto him, so this might be a faulty memory. But I kind of got — his body language gave me a sense like, ‘What am I going to do?’ ” Comey said.
In a statement Thursday night, the Department of Justice said Comey told Sessions “that he wanted to ensure he and his FBI staff were following proper communications protocol with the White House. The attorney general was not silent. He responded to this comment by saying that the FBI and Department of Justice needed to be careful about following appropriate policies regarding contacts with the White House.”
Comey’s testimony led Democrats to demand answers from the attorney general, who is due to testify in the Senate early next week.
“The hearings raise serious questions about Attorney General Sessions that he and the Justice Department must answer immediately,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).