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Jeff Sessions has been quick to dismiss the fact that he lied under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee when asked directly about communications between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, stating unequivocally: “I did not have communications with the Russians.”
The phrasing is eerily reminiscent of Bill Clinton's infamous public statement: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman”—an assertion he also made under oath.
In 1999, when then-Sen. Jeff Sessions was asked about Clinton's comments, he had a very clear view:
I am concerned about a president under oath being alleged to have committed perjury. [...] There are serious allegations that that occurred. And In America, the Supreme Court and the American people believe: No one is above the law. The president has gotten himself into this fix that is very serious.
Subsequently asked in the interview about bias among his colleagues on the Clinton issue, Sessions said: "I don't think we need to be prejudging this matter.”
Fast forward to 2017: Sessions' current GOP colleagues—the two Republicans heading up the Russia/Trump investigations in the House and Senate—are already “prejudging the issue” by agreeing to talk to reporters on behalf of the White House.
As the attorney general, Sessions is in charge of overseeing the FBI investigation into Trump's ties to Russia. Following the new revelations of his contacts with Russian officials during last year’s campaign, Sessions has not yet committed to recusing himself from the Russia investigation. (Update: Sessions recused himself late Thursday from certain FBI investigations into Russian meddling in the elections.)
Thursday morning Sessions told NBC:
"I have said whenever it's appropriate, I will recuse myself," he said. "There's no doubt about that."
Let's just say, there's “no doubt” that Sessions, an early supporter and adviser of Trump, should recuse himself after lying under oath about the Russian meetings. Sessions is grasping at straws when he makes the distinction between meeting with Russian officials last year in his capacity as a senator vs. meeting with them as a campaign surrogate. The fact is, the meetings happened, and he lied about it.
Democrats are going further, maintaining that the nation's chief law enforcement official has proven himself unfit for office by breaking the law. Here's Nancy Pelosi:
The fact that the attorney general—the top cop in our country—lied under oath to the American people is grounds for him to resign.
Or as Sessions put it in 1999—“No one is above the law,” especially not the attorney general of the United States.
Watch Jeff Sessions’ 1999 interview; his perjury comments start in around the 9:40 mark.