Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Attorney General Sessions Slams Door on Country's "Right to Know" About Russian Investigation

Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants you to believe that he's not a Russianizer, Russian sympathizer or involved in colluding with the Russians.  He likely will tell you he doesn't even use Russian dressing on his salads.

He just couldn't answer any specific questions before a Senate panel that would shed light on the firing of F.B.I. Director Comey and remembered very little about any contacts with Russian government officials in 2016-17.  

In Sessions' prepared opening remarks, he put controls on his forthrightness:  "But as I advised you, Mr. Chairman, and consistent with long-standing Department of Justice practice, I cannot and will not violate my duty to protect confidential communications with the President."
Senator Angus King

Senator Angus King, Maine, Independent, pressed Sessions:  “The president hasn’t asserted [executive privilege], you said you don’t have the power to exert, implying Sessions was trying to have things "both ways."
Senator Joe Manchin

Senator Joe Manchin asked Sessions if he knew of any contacts with the Russians by Trump campaign officials.  The senator ran down a list of names, asking the attorney general to simply answer “yes” or “no.”

Paul Manafort?   “I don’t have any information that he had done so.”

Steve Bannon: “I have no information that he did.”

Michael Flynn: “I don’t recall it.”

Reince Preibus: “I don’t recall.”

Stephen Miller: “I don’t recall him ever having such a conversation.”

Corey Lewandowski: “I don’t recall any of those individuals having any meeting with Russian officials.”

Cater Page: “I don’t know.”

Sessions elaborated a bit on Page. “There may have been some published account of Mr. Page talking with Russians but I’m not sure," he said.


Senator Kamala Harris

Sessions had the greatest difficulty fielding no-nonsense, prosecutorial style questions from Senator Kamala Harris.

Senator Harris:  "You  have several times this afternoon prefaced your responses by saying ‘to the best of your recollection’. Just on the first page of your three pages of written testimony you wrote, ‘nor do I recall’, ‘do not have recollection,’ ‘do not remember it.’ So my question is, for any of your testimony today, did you refresh your memory with any written documents, be they your calendar, written correspondence, e-mails, notes of any sort?”


Senator Harris: "And you referred to a long standing DOJ policy, can you tell us what policy it is you're talking about?"

Attorney General Sessions: "Well, I think most cabinet people as the witnesses you had before you earlier, those individuals declined to comment because we're all -- about conversations with the President -- because that’s a long standing policy --"

Senator Harris: "Sir, I'm just asking you about the DOJ policy you referred to."

Attorney General Sessions: "-- that goes beyond just the Attorney General."

Senator Harris: "Is that policy in writing somewhere?"

Attorney General Sessions: "I think so."

3 comments:

  1. Sessions is covering his own ass. He was the first Senator to back Trump, became an advisor to his campaign and in return was given the choice Attorney General spot. Trump rewards political loyalty.

    Sessions recused himself from the investigation on March 2 after reports emerged that Sessions had twice met with the Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, during the course of the election, contradicting statements he made during his Senate confirmation hearing, in which he said under oath that he did not have contacts with Russians during the campaign.

    “I am pleased to endorse Donald Trump for president,” Sessions said in 2016, giving Donald Trump his first Senate endorsement, just two days before Super Tuesday. One of Sessions's top aides, Stephen Miller, was also picked as a special adviser for Trump’s campaign.

    But now he can't remember nor recall.

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  2. Another demorat ass kicking. President Trump wins again.

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  3. Mr. sessions legacy will be " I don't remember" what are sorry asshole, after being a racist, no good SOB!

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