Sessions omitted meetings on security forms
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not disclose contacts with foreign dignitaries, including the Russian ambassador, on a security clearance form he submitted as a United States senator last year, the Justice Department acknowledged Wednesday.
The department said Mr. Sessions’ staff relied on the guidance of the FBI investigator handling the background check, who advised that meetings with foreign dignitaries “connected with Senate activities” did not have to be reported on the form.
The news comes just two months after Mr. Sessions recused himself from a Justice Department investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign after it was revealed that he had two previously undisclosed encounters, last summer and fall, with the Russian ambassador. Mr. Sessions said at his Senate confirmation hearing that he had not any communication “with the Russians.”
In a statement, Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said Mr. Sessions met with hundreds, if not thousands, of foreign dignitaries while in the Senate. Mr. Prior said Mr. Sessions’ staff consulted with the FBI and others familiar with the disclosure process, and was told not to list those meetings connected to his Senate job.
Also Wednesday, the FBI told a House committee that it would not be complying with a Wednesday deadline to turn over memos written by former FBI Director James Comey detailing his discussions with President Donald Trump. One memo reportedly recounts Mr. Trump pressuring Mr. Comey to shut down an investigation into the foreign ties of foreign national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Lawmakers conducting their own probe continued to pressure Mr. Flynn to cooperate by raising the prospect of additional subpoenas, while Carter Page, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, told The Associated Press he would testify next month before the House intelligence committee.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence services obtained information during the 2016 presidential election that showed senior Russian officials discussing how to influence Mr. Trump through his campaign advisers.
Citing current and former American officials, the Times said U.S. intelligence officials collected information last summer showing Russians zeroed in on Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, a former head of U.S. military intelligence who was a key Trump campaign adviser. The Russian officials thought Mr. Manafort — who reportedly turned over 305 pages of documents related to the Russia probe to the House and Senate intelligence committees this week — and Mr. Flynn could be used to influence Mr. Trump’sviews on Russia.
Meanwhile, longtime Trump attorney Mark Kasowitz is joining a stillforming legal team that will guide the president through intensifying investigations into Russian interference in the U.S. election.
It was also reported Wednesday that a secret file — described as a Russian intel document — that officials say played a key role in Mr. Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe has long been viewed within the FBI as possibly a fake, people familiar with its contents toldThe Washington Post.
Budget opposition
A day after the release of Mr. Trump’s budget proposal, senior administration officialsfanned out on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, facing questions from Democrats opposed to the blueprint for the upcoming fiscal year and Republicans skeptical about the administration’ s math.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos faced a grilling from Democrats over whether funding private schools with taxpayer money would condone discrimination of LGBT, special-needs and otherstudents.
Democrats charged that Mr. Trump’s cuts would rip apart the social safety net. WhiteHouse Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told the House Budget Committee that he went line by line through the federal budget and asked, “Can we justify this to the folks who are actuallypaying for it?”
Agriculture Secretary SonnyPerdue was lukewarm in defending Mr. Trump’s budget to lawmakers who rejected proposed cuts to farm programs and food stamps, and he affirmed his departurefrom the president’s plan tooverhaul U.S. food aid
Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly insisted that roughly $767 million intended to help local authorities prevent and respond to terrorism and other disastersis no longer needed.
Elsewhere, the U.N. said that the proposed cuts would “simply make it impossible” for the organization to maintain essential operations.
Body-slamming claim
Guardian newspaper reporter Ben Jacobs said Greg Gianforte, the Republican candidate for Montana’s sole congressional seat, bodyslammed him Wednesday, the day before the polls close in the nationally watched special election seen as a referendum on Mr. Trump’s presidency.
The wealthy Bozeman businessman is running against Democratic folksingerRob Quist.
Cash-flow worries
Mr. Mulvaney said Wednesday that tax receipts were coming in “slower than expected” and that the federal government could run out of cash sooner than it had thoughtto pay its bills.
A few hours later, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told another House committee that “I urge you raisethe debt limit before you leavefor the summer.”
Education official resigns
The Education Department’s top student financial aid officer, James Runcie, quit the position Tuesday night and sent an email to his staff warning about brewing management problems he perceivedwithin the agency.
Federal judges divided
Federal appeals judges are divided as they hear arguments over whether the president should be able to more easily fire the head of the government’s consumer finance watchdog agency.
Public asset sales
The Trump administration reportedly is eyeing plans to encourage the sale of public assets, such as airports and bridges, to help pay for a $1 trillion infrastructure overhaul.