Then-Sen. Jeff Sessions had two conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during the 2016 election, the Washington Post reported Wednesday night, but he did not mention it during his confirmation hearing to become US attorney general.
Sessions spoke to Sergey Kislyak in July and September last year, the Post reported. But during his confirmation hearing in January, Sessions said he “did not have communications with the Russians” while he served as a campaign surrogate for Donald Trump.
The news comes as lawmakers call for an independent investigation into Russia’s election-related meddling and alleged ties to various Trump associates. It comes less than a month after former national-security adviser Michael Flynn was asked to resign following revelations that he spoke with Kislyak about US sanctions on Russia before Trump was sworn in.
“I’m not aware of any of those activities,” Sessions replied when asked during the hearing whether he knew about contacts between Russia and Trump’s associates, which were at that point already being investigated by US intelligence officials.
“I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians,” Sessions said.
AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, file
Sessions did not consider his conversation with Kislyak relevant enough to disclose at the hearing, his spokesperson told the Post. Sessions did not even remember what he and Kislyak discussed, the spokesperson added.
The Senate confirmed Sessions as attorney general on February 8, giving him control of the Justice Department and the FBI, which are investigating Russia’s cyberattacks against the US. The House and Senate Intelligence Committees are also looking into the matter.
Sessions has slapped away suggestions that he should recuse himself from the investigation. Sen. Lindsey Graham commented on the Post’s report during a CNN event on Wednesday night, saying “for sure you need a special prosecutor” if Sessions indeed spoke with the Kremlin.
“Misleading the Senate in sworn testimony about one’s own contacts with the Russians is a good way to go to jail,” Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, said in a tweet on Wednesday.
The Trump administration has repeatedly denied all suggestions that it colluded with Russia’s interference activities. But The New York Times and CNN reported last month, citing US intelligence officials, that Russian operatives and people in Trump’s inner circle communicated frequently before the election.
The Times reported that the communications between people in Trump’s orbit and Russia ran deep on both sides. They were said to include other associates of Trump outside his campaign. And on the Russian side, people within the country’s government — in addition to intelligence officials — were also involved, according to The Times’ sources, who remained anonymous.
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