Sessions did not disclose two Russian envoy meetings

[Meathead]

Sessions met with Russian envoy twice last year, encounters he later did not disclose

 

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.

When Sessions spoke with Kislyak in July and September, the senator was a senior member of the influential Armed Services Committee as well as one of Trump’s top foreign policy advisers. Sessions played a prominent role supporting Trump on the stump after formally joining the campaign in February 2016.

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.”

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=.b16bfe7983d5

these guys are so fkd

the intelligence community is starting to release these damning bits of information now with regularity. other reports indicate theres a LOT more where that came from

ten months, actually nine months now, is my prediction when republicans will officially turn on the don. might not even take that long

edit: god i did it again and posted a link to these forums instead of the story. whytf do i keep doing that? at least you guys didnt notice this time

Edited March 2, 2017 by Meathead

[Nanker]

You're late to the party meatball.

You gotta get up pretty early in the morning if you're gonna try to scoop the great PastaGiussepi !

[PastaJoe]

Always good to have multiple sources, Meathead. The next question is, given that Reince Priebus said they investigated and found no one connected to the Trump campaign spoke to the Russians, was he lying or was he deceived by Sessions ala the VP and Flynn. Either excuse is not good for the already poor credibility of the administration.

 

Keep pulling the threads...

[meazza]

Always good to have multiple sources, Meathead. The next question is, given that Reince Priebus said they investigated and found no one connected to the Trump campaign spoke to the Russians, was he lying or was he deceived by Sessions ala the VP and Flynn. Either excuse is not good for the already poor credibility of the administration.

 

Keep pulling the threads...

 

[Meathead]

well i might not have been first but i think its pretty obvious this needed its own thread. these are the kinds of things that bring administrations down, and its likely only going to continue to get worse from here

 

the don has made enemies of the press and his own intelligence community. i hate the press too but combining those two as adversaries is a recipe for utter disaster for a president

[GG]

This is where Sessions will pull a favorite out of the Dems' basket. The communication he had with the Russians was part of his Senate office, and had nothing to do with his role in the Trump campaign.

[Tiberius]

Love how they are drip...drip...dripping this info out. As soon as the administration claims this has all blown over another leak drips out. There is probably tons more ready to come out in a drip drip manner.

[TakeYouToTasker]

well i might not have been first but i think its pretty obvious this needed its own thread. these are the kinds of things that bring administrations down, and its likely only going to continue to get worse from here

 

the don has made enemies of the press and his own intelligence community. i hate the press too but combining those two as adversaries is a recipe for utter disaster for a president

 

It is standard operating procedure for sitting members of the Armed Services Committee to speak with ambassadors of other nations. Sessions spoke with ambassadors of 25 different nations last year, and the contacts he had with the Russians were not as surrogates for the Trump administration. There was no Trump administration at that point. The first contact was in January 2016, and the second in September 2016.

 

Is your assertion that Sessions should have been clairvoyant and stopped doing the job he was elected to do in anticipation that a) Donald Trump would be elected President, and b) that President Trump would then name him AG?

[Tiberius]

 

It is standard operating procedure for sitting members of the Armed Services Committee to speak with ambassadors of other nations. Sessions spoke with ambassadors of 25 different nations last year, and the contacts he had with the Russians were not as surrogates for the Trump administration. There was no Trump administration at that point. The first contact was in January 2016, and the second in September 2016.

 

Is your assertion that Sessions should have been clairvoyant and stopped doing the job he was elected to do in anticipation that a) Donald Trump would be elected President, and b) that President Trump would then name him AG?

You seriously don't think this guy should be in charge of the investigation into Russian interference in the election? You are not that partisan are you?

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz on Thursday morning said Attorney General Jeff Sessions should recuse himself from the investigation into ties between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russian officials, joining a growing number of Republicans calling for such a move.

“AG Sessions should clarify his testimony and recuse himself,” Chaffetz tweeted, after a series of reports spilled out about Sessions meeting twice with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak last year, while Sessions served as a chief adviser to Trump’s campaign. Sessions, during his confirmation hearing, had testified that he did not have communications with the Russians during Trump’s campaign.

 

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/chaffetz-sessions-russia-probe-235603

[The Big Cat]

 

It is standard operating procedure for sitting members of the Armed Services Committee to speak with ambassadors of other nations. Sessions spoke with ambassadors of 25 different nations last year, and the contacts he had with the Russians were not as surrogates for the Trump administration. There was no Trump administration at that point. The first contact was in January 2016, and the second in September 2016.

 

Is your assertion that Sessions should have been clairvoyant and stopped doing the job he was elected to do in anticipation that a) Donald Trump would be elected President, and b) that President Trump would then name him AG?

Well that's a point nobody is making.

[Bob in Mich]

It seems the course of Sessions' denials is similar to Flynn's course.

1) Nope, never met with the Russians.

2) Oh, you know I did? OK, then what I meant to say is, 'I did meet with them but did not discuss the political campaign.'

3) Oh, you actually know what we talked about? OK, then what I meant to say is, 'I did meet with them, but I don't recall what was discussed.'

 

Denying under oath, when not actually asked by Franken, that he spoke to any Russians was position 1) above. Sessions is at position 2) now.

Edited March 2, 2017 by Bob in Mich

[Chef Jim]

I'll ask the same question here I did in the other thread.

 

What was Sessions' affiliation with the Trump campaign in 2016?

[Tiberius]

I'll ask the same question here I did in the other thread.

 

What was Sessions' affiliation with the Trump campaign in 2016?

Did you pay attention to the election at all?

[The Big Cat]

I'll ask the same question here I did in the other thread.

 

What was Sessions' affiliation with the Trump campaign in 2016?

Why does it matter?

[Chef Jim]

Did you pay attention to the election at all?

Not really.

Why does it matter?

Read the question he was asked.

[GG]

Why does it matter?

 

Because questions are being asked whether anyone in Trump's CAMPAIGN had contact with Russians in 2016.

[The Big Cat]

Not really.

 

Read the question he was asked.

Read the title of the thread.

 

Because questions are being asked whether anyone in Trump's CAMPAIGN had contact with Russians in 2016.

By whom? The repubs saying he should recuse himself for lying under oath?

[Chef Jim]

Read the title of the thread.

So we're only supposed to address the title of threads not the content? That only works in the "Marijuana Cures EVERYTHING!" thread

[The Big Cat]

So we're only supposed to address the title of threads not the content? That only works in the "Marijuana Cures EVERYTHING!" thread

What's there to debate in a thread like that!?

[GG]

Read the title of the thread.

 

By whom? The repubs saying he should recuse himself for lying under oath?

 

Which Repubs are saying that? I've only seen Graham's commentary. And all reports are focusing on Sessions' contact with Kislyak as a campaign surrogate, not chair of Armed Services Committee.