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Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III didn’t just disclaim any meeting with Russia once while delivering testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, he did it twice. First there was the direct question by Senator Al Franken (D-MN):
Franken: "If there was any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign, what would you do?”
Sessions: "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 did not have communications with the Russians. Uh. And I’m unable to comment."
Note that Franken doesn’t ask if Sessions himself had been in contact. Sessions volunteers this information. Almost as if he’s … nervous. Also note that Sessions never really answers the question which Franken asks.
Then there was also a written question from Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
Leahy: 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?"
SESSIONS: No.
That’s an extremely unequivocal answer, especially considering that Jefferson Sessions was not just a Trump surrogate he was “chairman of the campaign's National Security Advisory Committee” at the time he met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
This one-on-one meeting was unique among members of the Armed Services Committee. So the question is just what did Sessions talk about with Kislyak? Sessions’ own excuses may provide a clue.
When it comes to the subject of his two meetings with Kislyak, including a one-on-one meeting, Sessions’ memory has been decidedly poor.
In the case of the September meeting, one department official who came to the defense of the attorney general said, “There’s just not strong recollection of what was said.”
That initial fog lifted a bit later in the evening when Sessions remembered one thing that the conversation was not about.
In a statement issued Wednesday night, Session said he “never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false.”
Sessions had a meeting with the Russian ambassador in the midst of the story about Russian interference in the election, and with Sessions serving both as a Trump surrogate and the chairman of the campaign's National Security Advisory Committee. But he didn’t talk about the stories of Russian hacking? Or sanctions? Or anything about Trump?
Actually, that’s not what Sessions said. What does it mean to say he didn’t “discuss issues of the campaign?” Does that exempt campaign strategy? Does it leave out deals for what might happen should Trump win? It leaves out anything Sessions wants. It’s a nonsense phrase, purposely crafted to fit around any information that was actually exchanged so long as it wasn’t specifically about the campaign.
And even then, it’s still a lie.
So he had “superficial comments” with the Russian ambassador on the campaign.
That’s a bit hard to believe considering the location of one of his two meetings.
Sessions met with Kislyak twice, in July on the sidelines of the Republican convention, and in September in his office when Sessions was a member of the Senate Armed Services committee. Sessions was an early Trump backer and regular surrogate for him as a candidate.
Emphasis added.
Sessions’ meeting was not part of his normal duties as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. In fact, no other member of that committee has ever had a one on one meeting with the Russian ambassador. He had a meeting at the Republican Convention, where he was acting as a Trump surrogate … and he still claims they didn’t talk about the election.
Despite all the answers that Sessions has provided, it’s clear that Jefferson Sessions is still lying.