A.G. Sessions will not be involved in investigating the Trump campaigns involvement in the Russian campaign involvement
Attorney General Jeff Sessions stood at the podium at the Justice Department and his best to take the heat of his fellow Republicans. As Sessions spoke to the press and the nation, he said that he would recuse himself from all investigations related to presidential campaigns, including the probe into potential contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials.
Sessions, who maintained support from the White House and President Donald Trump himself, said he consulted senior DOJ staff for their “candid and honest opinion about what I should do.”
“My staff recommended recusal,” he said. “They said that since I had involvement with the campaign, I should not be involved in any campaign investigation. I have studied the rules and considered their comments and evaluation. I believe those recommendations are right and just.”
He added, however, “This announcement should not be interpreted as confirmation of the existence of any investigation or suggestive of the scope of any such investigation.”
The recusal came after a very tumultuous 24 hours for Sessions. At the end of the day recusing himself was likely cool things down for a while on Capitol Hill.
Most of the day senior Republicans said that Sessions, the U.S. attorney-general, should recuse himself from investigations into whether Russia interfered in the US election after it emerged that he had failed to disclose meetings with the Russian ambassador.
A.G. Sessions did not reveal during his confirmation hearings that he twice met Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak while acting as a close adviser to Donald Trump during last year’s presidential campaign.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Jason Chaffetz, House oversight and government reform committee chairman, tweeted on Thursday that the attorney-general should clarify his testimony and recuse himself. Kevin McCarthy, House majority leader, told MSNBC that it would help maintain public trust if Sessions does not take part in probes into the matter — although he later said he was not calling on the attorney-general to recuse himself.
In the Senate Jeff Flake, a Republican member of the judiciary committee, told Reuters that Mr Sessions would probably have to clarify his position and step aside from any investigations into Russia. Democratic party lawmakers went further, with Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the House, claiming Sessions had lied under oath and should resign.
