Attorney General Jeff Sessions just called a surprise press conference. Maybe he has very big news for us, as the revelation that he lied to Congress about the two times he met with the Russian ambassador while he was also a prominent Trump campaign surrogate. Or maybe not. Watch with us here. It will be on the major cable news networks and also streamed at this link.
As these things always go, it’s not starting on the dot.
Here he is. “Let me share a few thoughts.” About what he said to the committee: I never had meetings with Russians “about the campaign.” It’s “totally false” that he had ongoing communications in the campaign.
My response to Sen. Franken was honest and correct as I understood. Will write the Judiciary Committee to clarify.
On Sessions “never” having meetings about “the campaign” and “no such things” being discussed: here’s a damning history of what was happening before his Sept. 8 meeting with Kislyak.
Quotes what he said at the confirmation hearing: If there was an issue in which he might need to recuse he would have those conversations. Says he met with senior officials to talk over the questions about recusal.
Says he asked for candid response from staff about what he should do on any campaign investigation, and they said recusal. He says he believes those comments were right and just and he is now recusing himself “from any existing or future investigations” relating to the campaign and the election.
Let’s remember that Sessions absolutely had a chance to update his comments to Sen. Al Franken after it became clear that this was a major problem following the Flynn resignation. He did not.
He looks very stressed out. “In the end, I am following the right procedure just as I promised the committee I would do.”
Let’s remember: Sessions recusing himself does nothing to address the fact that he perjured himself.
Question about the 9/8 meeting in his office: Says ambassador sent a staffer to his office to ask for the meeting, like they often do, and we set up a meeting and then met as we often do. Note that none of the other members of the Armed Services committee met with the Russian ambassador.
Now says Ukraine came up. Says it got tense or heated. Says the ambassador asked him to lunch sometime, he said no. Says he doesn’t recall ever meeting the ambassador before.
So Sessions is recusing cause he was part of Trump campaign but somehow wasn't part of it when meeting with the Russian ambassador— Joe Sudbay (@JoeSudbay) March 2, 2017
So Sessions is recusing cause he was part of Trump campaign but somehow wasn't part of it when meeting with the Russian ambassador
Says ambassadors are generally gossipy and always looking out for their interests so that’s why he met with him.
Sessions talking about meeting with Russian ambassador like it was routine, but no other Senate Armed Services Committee members did.
Asked if he was targeted by the Russian ambassador because of the campaign. “I don’t recall or having any idea of any connection at all”… That good old “I don’t recall.” Asked if he’s met with any other Russian officials since he joined the Trump campaign: “I don’t believe so.”
Says the President and Press Sec don’t know the ethics rules. Yeah, they refused the training.
This absolutely beggars belief, that he did not expect the Russia question at all, that he was totally unaware that anybody had been talking about connections between the Trump campaign and Russia. That there is some bullshit.
Sessions says ambassadors meet with people to make their case about govt. issues. Here is Sen. Marco Rubio’s description of why ambassadors meet with campaign surrogates:
Let's be frank, this is what all governments do—that's why they have ambassadors. They want to get close to the new administration—they want to influence people that are close to the administration. That's what ambassadors do.
Too bad the press corps there didn’t think to ask who would be taking on the investigations. But I guess he would have said he couldn’t confirm or deny whether there were actually investigations, so probably wouldn’t have gotten an answer anyway.