Dems: Sessions should drop out of any Russia probe

N.Y. senator cites potential conflicts of attorney general

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Wednesday called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from any executive branch investigation into possible ties between the White House and Russia.

Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sessions should not be involved because of potential conflicts of interest and because of Justice Department regulations that prohibit individuals with political ties to the subjects of an investigation from leading it. President Donald Trump nominated Sessions for attorney general, and the senator was one of his earliest backers in Congress.

“When the FBI looks into a matter, they do so alongside prosecutors from the Justice Department,” Schumer said. “Those prosecutors should not be reporting to the first senator who endorsed Donald Trump’s campaign.”

But Republicans continued to brush off demands for a Watergate-style probe, insisting investigations underway by the House and Senate intelligence committees are adequate.

Sessions is not required to appoint a special prosecutor. A statute mandating the use of independent counsel in certain situations was allowed to expire in 1999.

Schumer and other Democrats spoke to reporters as Trump criticized the intelligence agencies and the media for what he described as unfair treatment of his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and for “illegally leaked” information about reported contacts between his campaign aides and Russian officials.

Flynn was forced to resign Monday following reports he misled Vice President Mike Pence about contacts with a Russian envoy.

A group of 11 Democrats wrote to Sessions and urged him to appoint an independent special counsel to investigate possible illegal communications between Flynn and representatives of the Russian government. The special counsel would also examine any attempts by Flynn and other White House officials to hide any wrongdoing, they said.

The group included Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.