The Washington Post, citing unnamed current and former officials, reported that Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak claimed he discussed the 2016 campaign with Sessions during the race, possibly contradicting the attorney general's public comments about his interactions with Russian officials, according to a Washington Post report Friday.
According to unnamed US officials cited in the Post's report, Ambassador Sergey Kislyak told Russian officials he discussed "campaign-related matters, including policy issues important to Moscow" with Sessions.
And when he was asked by the Senate Intelligence Committee in June about his conversations with the Russians, Sessions narrowed his answer and said he had "never met with or had any conversation with any Russians or foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election in the United States". The new report also jibes with a report from someone who was in attendance at the Republican National Convention, where one of the meetings took place, who said Sessions and Kislyak discussed the campaign.
One current US intelligence official told the Post that Sessions' remarks about his contacts with Kislyak were "misleading" statements that are "contradicted by other evidence".
Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores denied Sessions had improper discussions with Kislyak or was untruthful about it later.
On social media some believe the Trump administration leaked the news to force Sessions to resign.
The Post notes that USA intelligence officials "acknowledged that the Russian ambassador could have mischaracterized or exaggerated the nature of his interactions". Trump went on to appoint him Attorney General, and yet in a recent interview with the New York Times, Trump said that he wouldn't have appointed Sessions to lead the Justice Department if he'd known Sessions would recuse himself from the Russian Federation investigation.
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"I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign". Russian diplomats, according to the Post, have tried to better their image by reporting false information to their superiors.
The Post notes that foreign diplomats are known to sometimes report misleading information to their superiors, but US officials "with regular access to Russian intelligence reports" said Kislyak has a reputation for accurately relaying his interactions with USA officials.
USA spy agencies intercepted the conversations between the ambassador and the officials, according to the report.
According to the Post's Friday report, however, Sessions did discuss campaign matters with Kislyak.
But when pressed for details, Sessions qualified many of his answers by saying that he could "not recall" or did not have "any recollection".
If Kislyak's comments are accurate, they contradict what Sessions has publicly said about his interactions with Russian officials. Officials declined to say whether U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted any Russian communications describing the third encounter. Telling the ambassador - as President Obama told the Russian president - that the candidate would be more flexible with Russia after the campaign would probably be a borderline case. Sessions has said he does not remember any encounter with Kislyak at that event.
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