Fresh questions for Sessions to answer in public
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions, facing fresh questions about his Russian contacts during the election campaign and his role in the firing of James Comey, will face tough questions in a public hearing by former Senate colleagues on Tuesday.
The appearance before the Senate intelligence committee comes one week after former FBI Director Comey cryptically told lawmakers the bureau had expected Mr. Sessions to recuse himself weeks before he did from an investigation into contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russia during the 2016 election.
Mr. Sessions, a close campaign adviser to President Donald Trump and the first senator to endorse him, stepped aside from the investigation in early March after acknowledging he had spoken twice in the months before the election with the Russian ambassador to the United States. He said under oath at his January confirmation hearing that he had not met with Russians during the campaign.
Since then, lawmakers have raised questions about a possible third meeting at a Washington, D.C., hotel, though the Justice Department has said that did not happen.
Mr. Sessions on Saturday said he would appear before the intelligence committee, which has been doing its own investigation into Russian contacts with the Trump campaign. There had been some question as to whether the hearing would be open to the public, but the Justice Department said Monday he requested it be so because he “believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him.” The committee shortly after said the hearing would be open.
Yet, in a move that could infuriate lawmakers, the attorney general also has told the committee he will refuse to discuss his conversations with the president, according to a person familiar with Mr. Sessions’ plan.
So long, Trump Tower
First lady Melania Trump and son, Barron, 11, moved into the White House on Sunday after spending the first several months of Mr. Trump’s presidency residing in their Trump Tower penthouse in New York City.
Bears Ears report
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Monday recommended that the new Bears Ears National Monument in Utah be reduced in size and said Congress should step in to designate how selected areas of the 1.3 millionacre site are managed.
Debt limit spotlighted
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for the first time Monday said the Treasury Department only has enough money to fund the government through early September.
Financial regulations
The Trump administration is proposing to curb the authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as it drives toward easing restrictions on financial institutions.