Sessions met with Russian envoy twice last year, encounters he later did not disclose
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[quote]Then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) spoke twice last year with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Justice Department officials said, encounters he did not disclose when asked about possible contacts between members of President Trump’s campaign and representatives of Moscow during Sessions’s confirmation hearing to become attorney general.
One of the meetings was a private conversation between Sessions and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak that took place in September in the senator’s office, at the height of what U.S. intelligence officials say was a Russian cyber campaign to upend the U.S. presidential race.
The previously undisclosed discussions could fuel new congressional calls for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Russia’s alleged role in the 2016 presidential election. As attorney general, Sessions oversees the Justice Department and the FBI, which have been leading investigations into Russian meddling and any links to Trump’s associates. He has so far resisted calls to recuse himself. At his Jan. 10 Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, Sessions was asked by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) what he would do if he learned of any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of the 2016 campaign.
“I’m not aware of any of those activities,” he responded. He added: “I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians.”[/quote]
[media]https://twitter.com/CAPAction/status/837128474540322816[/media]
SOURCE: [url]https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/sessions-spoke-twice-with-russian-ambassador-during-trumps-presidential-campaign-justice-officials-say/2017/03/01/77205eda-feac-11e6-99b4-9e613afeb09f_story.html?utm_term=.947588d89cce[/url]
So he's confirming that he committed perjury by lying under oath during his confirmation hearing?
Edit: technically the justice dept confirming it, not him, rip.
Seeing as he wasn't yet confirmed to his position, isn't this the exact same offense that Michael Flynn resigned over?
[QUOTE=mcharest;51897342]Seeing as he wasn't yet confirmed to his position, isn't this the exact same offense that Michael Flynn resigned over?[/QUOTE]
No, he was asked this during the confirmation hearing, which means he was under oath.
As if misleading Al Franken during his confirmation hearing wasn't enough, the article also includes a second instance of Sessions lying about his contact with the Russian government to Senator Leahy:
[quote]In January, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) asked Sessions for answers to written questions. “Several of the President-elect’s nominees or senior advisers have Russian ties. Have you been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after election day?” Leahy wrote.
[B]Sessions responded with one word: “No.”[/B][/quote]
And he is currently in charge of the justice department and as an extension the FBI, who are involved in investigating the Russian ties. We need a special/independent prosecutor now
Yeah. Since he really is taking the justice department over, he needs to be criminally charged. No two ways about it.
Here's hoping. Appointing conservatives is one thing but with Sessions it was like they went out of their way to get the worst person they could find.
Frankly it's still blowing my mind that the whistleblowers on this came from within the Justice Department, the very department that Sessions himself now oversees. Truly incredible stuff.
Back to the subject of Sessions lying under oath, it seems like the context of the interaction between Franken and Sessions may be significant:
[quote]Justice officials said Sessions met with Kislyak on Sept. 8 in his capacity as a member of the armed services panel rather than in his role as a Trump campaign surrogate.
[B]“He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign — not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee,”[/B] Flores said.
She added that Sessions last year had more than 25 conversations with foreign ambassadors as a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, including the British, Korean, Japanese, Polish, Indian, Chinese, Canadian, Australian and German ambassadors, in addition to Kislyak.[/quote]
A bit more context...
[quote]The Washington Post contacted all 26 members of the 2016 Senate Armed Services Committee to see whether any lawmakers besides Sessions met with Kislyak in 2016. [B]Of the 20 lawmakers who responded, every senator, including Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), said they did not meet with the Russian ambassador last year.[/B] The other lawmakers on the panel did not respond as of Wednesday evening.[/quote]
If he met with the Russian ambassador in a different capacity to the one he was asked about during the hearing, he did not lie under oath. So we'll see where this goes.
What are the consequences of this?
[QUOTE=archangel125;51897452]If he met with the Russian ambassador in a different capacity to the one he was asked about during the hearing, he did not lie under oath. So we'll see where this goes.[/QUOTE]
Even if he was acting on official business, you'd think he would at least disclose that during the hearings. "I did not have communications with the Russians, outside of official ASC business that is" or something to that tune. Especially given Flynn's contact with Kislyak, this seems shady as hell.
[QUOTE=mcharest;51897470]Even if he was acting on official business, you'd think he would at least disclose that during the hearings. "I did not have communications with the Russians, outside of official ASC business that is" or something to that tune. Especially given Flynn's contact with Kislyak, this seems shady as hell.[/QUOTE]
It does. Given that he did not disclose that at all, it's pretty strange.
[QUOTE=shadow_oap;51897454]What are the consequences of this?[/QUOTE]
Well he committed perjury, which is a felony with ~5 years time. But he should be forced to resign as well and face the charges.
Donald Trump's ties with the Russians is impossible to ignore at this point.
[QUOTE=The Don;51897623]Donald Trump's ties with the Russians is impossible to ignore at this point.[/QUOTE]
I don't know whether Sessions really enters into that picture, but... yeah, this is becoming ridiculous. At first supporters of Trump could have been forgiven for calling it a conspiracy theory, because the links between his campaign and Russia were tenuous at best. Now there's Manafort, Cohen, Flynn, Sessions, and others, all against the background of the DNC leaks and Russian interference in the US election.
I believe coincidences can happen. I don't believe a string of coincidences are still coincidences at all.
:snip:
[media]https://twitter.com/michaeldweiss/status/837142268905652226[/media]
[editline]1st March 2017[/editline]
[media]https://twitter.com/whignewtons/status/837159285792600066[/media]
That last sentence does not make sense with the rest of the statement hmmmmmmmmm
Here's hoping this senile hillbilly fuck gets canned. Sessions is the biggest piece of shit in Trump's cabinet.
And to the staunch Donald supporters, this wouldn't matter anyway.
[QUOTE=Potus;51897802][media]https://twitter.com/_cingraham/status/837162434372730885[/media][/QUOTE]
Somewhere in the USA, a team of CIA agents smile and raise their glasses to Donald Trump's failing administration around a smokey table.
[media]https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/837153729157689345[/media]Trump seems to take everything personally.
[QUOTE=Lambeth;51897878][media]https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/837153729157689345[/media]Trump seems to take everything personally.[/QUOTE]
Trump suffers under delusions the whole world is conspiring against him. He's a professional victim. No surprise he'd take it personally. Remember how he reacted to corrections on his statements about his inaugural crowds?
It feels like we're living in The Winter Soldier, only Cap is still on ice somewhere.
[quote]Mr. Trump has denied that his campaign had any contact with Russian officials, and at one point he openly suggested that American spy agencies had cooked up intelligence suggesting that the Russian government had tried to meddle in the presidential election. Mr. Trump has accused the Obama administration of hyping the Russia story line as a way to discredit his new administration.[/quote]
lol
[QUOTE=DogGunn;51897825]And to the staunch Donald supporters, this wouldn't matter anyway.[/QUOTE]
[url=https://twitter.com/steph93065/status/837170542352322563][img]https://i.imgur.com/OGtjuPJ.png[/img][/url]
You mean like that? (Check her profile, she's a Trump supporter.) Apparently being against this sort of thing is somehow making us look ridiculous. I didn't know being against blatant corruption was so ridiculous, especially considering that a significant part of Trump's platform was to get rid of corruption in the first place. Though I suppose that's just like pursuing Clinton's email scandal. "It was just campaign talk" or whatever the quote was. :v:
Not only is he a racist, but a spineless liar too! OUT, OUT, OUT!!!,
Paul Manafort, Micheal Flynn, Carter Page, Jeff Sessions.
All connected to Trump.
All connected to Russia.
3/4 fired.
Investigation needed
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