﻿ Jeff Sessions recuses himself from Russia probe | USA News | Al Jazeera

Jeff Sessions recuses himself from Russia probe

Democrats call for Jeff Sessions to resign; President Donald Trump calls controversy 'a total witch-hunt'.



    His comments came a day after the Washington Post reported that Sessions, a former senator who advised Donald Trump's campaign on foreign policy and other issues, met the Russian ambassador in July and September, just as accusations of Russian interference in the election were building.

    Transcript from Jeff Sessions' confirmation hearing
    FRANKEN: OK. CNN has just published a story and I'm telling you this about a news story that's just been published. I'm not expecting you to know whether or not it's true or not. But CNN just published a story alleging that the intelligence community provided documents to the president-elect last week that included information that quote, "Russian operatives claimed to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr Trump."
    These documents also allegedly say quote, "There was a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump's surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government."
    SESSIONS: Senator Franken, I'm not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I didn't have - did not have communications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on it.




    OPINION: Why is Russia so happy with Trump?

    His critics say his two conversations with Kislyak contradict Sessions' statements during his confirmation hearing, when he told Congress he had not had communications with Russians during the campaign.

    Calling for Sessions to resign, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi accused him of "lying under oath".

    The White House stood behind Sessions, with Trump saying he had "total" confidence in his attorney general.


    "Jeff Sessions is an honest man. He did not say anything wrong. He could have stated his response more accurately, but it was clearly not intentional," Trump said in a statement.

    "The Democrats are overplaying their hand," Trump continued. "It is a total witch-hunt!" 

    Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Virginia where the president visited a Navy aircraft carrier and addressed shipbuilders on Thursday, said that while Democrat politicians will not be satisfied with Sessions' recusal, Trump supporters will have a different reaction.

    Democrats: Sessions should quit for 'lying' about Russia

    "We often talk about Washington being something of a bubble. Once you go outside, it is a very different political reality," our correspondent said.

    "Many Trump supporters know they have an imperfect president, they know there may be problems with his cabinet, but they don't care. What they care about is what the president came to talk about today, and that is job creation. For them, what matters is putting food on the table, having a regular paycheck, and anything beyond that is simply background noise."

    The Justice Department has maintained that there was nothing improper about Sessions' contacts or his answers to Congress.



    SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies


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