Sen. Tom Cotton Tuesday ripped Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday for not asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions about alleged Russian collusion with the Trump campaign during last year's campaign.
Sklansky: Sessions acted angry about Comey's suggestion that there were undisclosed facts that might have required Sessions to recuse himself from the Russian Federation inquiry.
Where Sessions looked shabbiest, though, was in his explanations of his reaction to complaints by Comey about Trump's improprieties.
Sessions opened his testimony to the panel with a fiery assertion that he never had any conversations with Russians about "any type of interference" in the 2016 presidential election. So I would say the mystery here only deepened.
"I did not have any private meetings, nor do I recall any conversations with any Russian officials at the Mayflower Hotel", said Sessions. "He wouldn't answer the most basic question under oath".
Sessions acknowledged that he had met twice with Kislyak - once during the Republican National Convention and once in his Senate office - and he did not disclose that during his confirmation hearing.
Sessions continued to insist that he could both recuse himself from the FBI's Russian Federation investigation and support the dismissal of Comey as the FBI director.
Though the Justice Department maintains that it has fully disclosed the extent of Sessions' foreign contacts a year ago, lawmakers have continued to press him for answers about an April 2016 event at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, where both Sessions and Kislyak attended a foreign policy speech by Trump.
Democratic senators expressed frustration with Sessions on several occasions.
The abrupt dismissal of Comey prompted Trump's critics to charge that the president was trying to interfere with a criminal investigation. That was not so, he said.
"America's very fortunate to have Jeff Sessions as attorney general, and I expect him to acquit himself very well", unusual said, adding that Sessions is to be commended for his willingness to testify: "It says everything about his character".
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of OR asked Sessions about suggestions arising from Comey's testimony last week that there was something "problematic" about his recusal. And if senators want to advance the inquiry rather than create a misimpression of obstruction, they can submit the questions in writing ahead of time and ask whether the president will waive the privilege.
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF)
The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link . The (Simple Month Average) SMA20 is at -1.21 percent, its SMA50 Value is -10.61% and SMA200 value is reported as -21.07 Percent.
"I. why don't you tell me?" There are none, Sen. "Wyden, there are none", Sessions insisted, his voice rising. " here Sessions inflected the word upward, as if it were a question - "which I have served with honor, for 35 years?".
Sessions reportedly disparaged allegations that he had some connection to possible Russian collusion with the Trump White House, and denounced the allegation that he met with Kislyak at the Mayflower as a "detestable lie", and "false", according to KRON.
The questions - and how they were asked - largely fit the increasingly partisan contours of an investigation that has hovered over the Trump presidency.
Sanders would not, however, say whether the President has confidence in Mueller in that role.
At a separate hearing Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, overseeing that effort since Sessions stepped aside, said he's seen no basis for firing Mueller, the former Federal Bureau of Investigation director he appointed as special counsel. A friend of the president suggested a day earlier that Trump was considering such an ouster. He said he would agree to dismiss Mueller only if there were a legitimate basis to do so, and an order from the president would not necessarily qualify.
Civility crumbled Tuesday in the Senate intelligence committee when Sen.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he never had conversations with FBI Director James Comey about his job performance before Comey's firing. "I am following the historic policies of the Department of Justice".
Sessions did sustain some damage, however, regarding Comey's firing. Republican U.S. Susan Collins questioned whether Sessions violated his recusal from the Russian Federation probe when he recommended Comey's dismissal. "I'm not sure what was in his mind specifically". But Sessions said he had no recollection of that.
Many questions aimed at Sessions had to do with Comey's firing by President Donald Trump.
He said Sessions had a right to either answer, ask for a private hearing, or invoke executive privilege. Comey reported that during this private exchange, the president tried to convince him to drop the FBI's investigation into Flynn, who has since been the target of a grand jury subpoena and has publicly tried to gain immunity in exchange for testimony. "I was taken aback by that explosive allegation". On another hot-button issue, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., asked Sessions whether Trump records his conversations in the White House. A friend of Trump's said Monday that the President was considering taking just such a step. "I did", Sessions said.
Would any such tapes have to be preserved? King, I know nothing but what I've read in the paper.
Comments