{"articles":[{"id":274,"title":"Sessions to Recuse Himself From Trump Campaign Investigations","html_content":"

by Causes | 3.20.17

Update: Attorney General Jeff Sessions held a press conference Thursday afternoon to announce that he would recuse himself from any existing or future investigations involving President Donald Trump's campaign because of his status as a surrogate to the campaign. He said that he'd been in consultation with DOJ officials over the three weeks he's led the agency about recusing himself from and had previously planned a final decision on the matter this week.

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Additionally, Sessions clarified that his response to Sen. Franken's question at his confirmation hearing was in relation to his role with the Trump campaign, and that he'd send the Judiciary Committee a letter to formally convey that today or tomorrow. When asked about the subject of his meeting with the Russian ambassador in September, Sessions said that they discussed Ukraine, terrorism, and a 1991 trip Sessions took with a church group to Russia before Sessions declined an invitation to lunch. He said that he didn't recall any specific political discussions related to the presidential campaign.

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On Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions reiterated that \"whenever it’s appropriate, I will recuse myself\" from investigations the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) pursues in relation to alleged ties between associates of President Donald Trump and the Russian government. This comes after it was revealed by The Washington Post that then-Senator Sessions had met with Russia’s ambassador twice, in July and September 2016, which he didn’t disclose during the confirmation process.

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During his January 10 confirmation hearing, Sessions was asked by Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) about \"a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian government.\" Sessions replied that he’d been called a surrogate “a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians.” Later in January, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) asked Sessions if he had “been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after election day” to which Sessions succinctly replied, “No.”

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Sessions has said that he \"never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign,\" which could explain why he didn’t disclose the meetings when asked about election-related contact with Russian officials. The first meeting with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak occurred after a Heritage Foundation panel discussion about European relations at the Republican National Convention on July 18 that was attended by several ambassadors. Sessions met Kislyak again on September 8 in a private meeting at his office, which he has said was in his capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee rather than as a campaign surrogate.

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Democrats have escalated their calls for Sessions to recuse himself from investigations into Russia’s electoral meddling to demanding his resignation, including the top Democrats in Congress, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Some have speculated that Sessions may committed perjury because of his responses to confirmation questions. At this point several Republican lawmakers have also said that he should recuse himself from relevant investigations, and none have demanded that he resign.

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Meetings between members of Congress and foreign ambassadors are relatively common, as Sessions had more than 25 such conversations in 2016 according to a spokeswoman. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who has called for Sessions to resign, took to Twitter to point out that she’d never met with Russia’s ambassador while on the Armed Services Committee, only for it to be pointed out by National Review’s Charles C.W. Cooke that she’d tweeted about two meetings with the Russian ambassador in the past:

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Claire McCaskill says she’s had \"no call or meeting w/Russian ambassador. Ever.\" But she tweeted about two. It’s easy to forget. pic.twitter.com/kavd29WOg5
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) March 2, 2017\n

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Tell your lawmakers what you think of these developments and whether Sessions should recuse himself or resign using the \"Take Action\" button.

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— Eric Revell

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(Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Dominique A. Pineiro / Public Domain)

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