The strangest disconnect of the day was among Republicans and Democrats on the intelligence committee who agree that the Russians dangerously interfered with the 2016 election and will do so in future ones, and a White House that has a freaky lack of interest in what happened.
U.S. Attorney-General Jeff Sessions refused Tuesday to answer questions about the firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey, leading Democratic senators to accuse him of "obstructing" and "stonewalling" a legislative committee.
Sessions, a close Trump adviser during the battle for the presidency, said in his opening statement that it was a "detestable and appalling lie" to suggest he was aware of or participated in any collusion between Russian Federation and the Trump campaign. He was being asked about Comey's testimony.
Attorney General Jeff Session, right, and Vice President Mike Pence attend a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Monday, June 12, 2017, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington.
Comey referred frequently to the attorney general and included the tantalizing tidbit that there were "facts that I can't discuss in an open setting". "President, I can't talk about that, '" Sessions testified. Ron Wyden of OR asked Sessions whether there were any undisclosed reasons for his recusal from the Russian Federation probe.
But Sessions was less convincing in many other answers.
"I do want you to be honest", Harris said.
"Did you have any communications with Russian officials for any reason during the campaign that have not been disclosed, in public or to this committee?"
"Following a routine morning threat briefing, Mr. Comey spoke to me and my chief of staff". He does not acknowledge the unanimous conclusions of the US intelligence community that Russian Federation massively intervened in our election.
But Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, later noted that there seemed "to be a short memory about statements that Eric Holder (former attorney general under President Barack Obama) did or did not make".
US student freed by North Koreans is back home
The two bonded over their OH roots, and later lived together their junior year, when Warmbier was detained, Saulnier said. But efforts to convince North Korea to release the men now held had not been successful until Warmbier's release Tuesday.
The plea was made after Trump allegedly pressured Comey to drop an investigation into former national security advisor Mike Flynn.
Sessions denied meeting privately with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the Mayflower Hotel in April previous year.
"I am not able to discuss with you or confirm or deny the nature of private conversations that I may have had with the president on this subject or others", Sessions said. He said he had no memory of meeting Russian Ambassador Sergei Kisliyak at an event in April 2016, despite several media reports claiming he did.
But: Sessions also said he thought Comey should be fired.
Sessions confirmed that he had left Comey on his own with Trump in the Oval Office alone February 14, though declined to say whether he was ordered to do so by the President citing the need to keep his conversations with him private. Mr. Trump acknowledged the sacking was motivated in part by the FBI's Russian Federation probe.
"Further, I have no knowledge of any such conversations by anyone connected to the Trump campaign", Sessions said. "But that in itself is not problematic".
"Some of it's very compelling, and some of its import is unclear to me", said Democratic Congresswoman Jackie Speier, according to The New York Times. I'm following historic policies of Department of Justice.
The Attorney General's testimony comes one week after the Senate Intelligence Committee testimony of former FBI Director James Comey, who was sacked early on last month. He would not say that he was ordered out of the room as Comey testified last week.
But the majority of the responses from Sessions went around in circles, and some on the committee grew clearly frustrated. And asked about Trump's own contention that he fired Comey with the Russian Federation probe in mind, and regardless of any recommendation from anyone else, Sessions said: "I guess I'll just have to let his words speak for themselves".
Comments