If Jeff Sessions is the AG 24 hours from now, understand — Trump WH is fine with being lying, lawless & in bed with Russian intelligence.
— John Schindler (@20committee) March 2, 2017
McConnell and Ryan have received extensive intelligence briefings.
But they put their obedience to Trump ahead of their duty to country.
— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) March 2, 2017
"The FBI’s role in the investigation into Mr. Sessions’ conversations left the agency 'wringing its hands'" https://t.co/rAA6pX34Zf
— Stefan Becket (@becket) March 2, 2017
#EvenTheNotLiberal Wall Street Journal:
U.S. investigators have examined contacts Attorney General Jeff Sessions had with Russian officials during the time he was advising Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, according to people familiar with the matter.
The outcome of the inquiry, and whether it is ongoing, wasn’t clear, these people said. The contacts were being examined as part of a wide-ranging U.S. counterintelligence investigation into possible communications between members of Mr. Trump’s campaign team and Russian operatives, they said…
During his confirmation hearing for attorney general in January, Mr. Sessions, a Republican senator from Alabama, testified under oath that he had no contact with Russian officials as a campaign surrogate and never discussed the 2016 election with Russian officials.
But Mr. Sessions spoke with the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Sergei Kislyak, while the Republican National Convention was under way in Cleveland last summer, according to his spokeswoman, Sarah Flores. He also spoke with Mr. Kislyak on another occasion last year, in a meeting in his Senate office, she said, clarifying that the meeting was in person and not on the phone as she had initially said…
The focus of the U.S. counterintelligence investigation has been on communications between Trump campaign officials and Russia. The inquiry involving Mr. Sessions is examining his contacts while serving as Mr. Trump’s foreign-policy adviser in the spring and summer of 2016, one person familiar with the matter said.
The investigation is being pursued by the FBI, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency and Treasury Department, officials have said. Counterintelligence probes seldom lead to public accusations or criminal charges.
However, the probe, if ongoing, could create a highly unusual and sensitive political dynamic given that the FBI is part of the Justice Department that Mr. Sessions, as attorney general, now leads. Mr. Sessions has only been in office for under a month and the investigation began before he was nominated and approved by the Senate…
As a senator, Mr. Sessions was a sharp critic of Russia. He supported kicking the country out of the Group of Eight summit and called for sanctions against Moscow for its 2014 invasion of Ukraine.
“I believe a systematic effort should be undertaken so that Russia feels pain for this,” Mr. Sessions said at the time.
But his rhetoric softened after he endorsed Mr. Trump, and he advocated better relations with Russia.
Mr. Sessions joined the Trump campaign in February 2016 at a rally in the former senator’s home state of Alabama. Within days, Mr. Trump named him chairman of his campaign’s national-security advisory committee.
It is unclear whether anyone in Congress knew about the investigation into Mr. Sessions’ Russian interactions before Mr. Sessions was confirmed…
Evan Perez just said it on CNN, so I suppose I can here: Kislyak wasn't just ambassador, he was Russia's "top spy recruiter" in D.C.: SVR.
— Michael Weiss (@michaeldweiss) March 2, 2017