Sessions Was Linchpin For Trump On Capitol Hill When He Met Russian Ambassador

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo



By ALLEGRA KIRKLAND Published MARCH 2, 2017, 12:21 PM EDT

Facing growing pressure over the revelation that he failed to disclose two meetings with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 presidential campaign, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his backers are arguing that those meetings occurred in his capacity as a senator and not as a surrogate for Donald Trump.

“He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign—not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee,” Sessions spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores told the Washington Post Wednesday.

Yet Sessions was clearly identified as a senior adviser to the Trump campaign ahead of the first of his meetings with the ambassador, and his ties to Trump world are deep and far-reaching. Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump; served as chairman of his national security advisory committee; is seen as an intellectual godfather of key Trump administration policies, like the travel ban against citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries; was a frequent presence at Trump Tower during the post-election transition to the White House; and loaned key members of his senior staff to the Trump campaign, several of whom ended up with plum roles in the administration.

The intertwining of the Trump campaign and Sessions’ office doesn’t quite square with how he described the relationship in his testimony before Congress.

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/sessions-trump-surrogate-meetings-russian-ambassador

[mobeau69]

1. One more time: This Dog Won't Hunt.

“He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign—not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee,” Sessions spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores told the Washington Post Wednesday.

This is all they have? How about what he just "said" and not what he was necessarily "asked"?

Notice how the tRump defenders are fensing with words? Not a good sign for them!


A lie is a lie is a lie.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Yes. Wearing two hats does not give you a free pass to pretend you are only wearing one. . . . nt

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Thing is - Franken didn't ask about him about his personal involvement

yet Beauregard volunteered that info anyway, concluding with the denial that he had any communications. The current "excuse" would have been easy to admit and perhaps somewhat benign, but he chose not to do that.

[karynnj]

7. Even if I were to accept that parsing of his response, look at the response to Leahy.

Several of the President-Elect’s nominees or senior advisers have Russian ties. Have you been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after Election Day?

RESPONSE: No.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/03/02/what-jeff-sessions-said-about-russia-and-when/?utm_term=.54f0ca330748

The ONLY wiggle room here is "about the 2016 election". Here he might be on shaky ground as it is possible that the content is known and did include the campaign.

Consider that Lynch recused herself on Comey/Clinton after talking with Bill.

[Scarsdale]

9. Big difference

Democratic politicians resign, or recuse themselves from getting into the middle of "stuff" Republicans deny, deny, deny and their members gather around defending them. Cruz has said this investigation on Sessions is a "Big nothingburger" The repubs. voted unanimously for this little traitor. He is one of their own.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. Franken did not ask Sessions if he met Russians, but Sessions answered (lied) about himself.

Double coverup:

1) Diverting attention away from other tRump Campaign contacts that Sessions probably knew about.

2) Making a simple broad clear unmistakable statement and then later (now) claiming that it was nuanced and limited in scope. Sessions is a so-called lawyer and knows it is against the law not to tell the whole truth under oath.

[MFM008]

5. 10 dollars

says it was all about helping them win the election.
With maggots full approval, also a number of other repukes KNOW.
time to pour gasoline in this ant hole.

[cstanleytech]

6. He is a lawyer correct? Perhaps it's time for someone to file a complaint and

seek his disbarment?

[George II]

8. I'm sure that will come - there are a lot of wily Democratic lawyers probably drafting their suits..

....as we speak.

[rockfordfile]

10. true

[DK504]

11. If Sessions was meeting the ambassador as a senator the meeting should have been

conducted in his office as a senator. That he met him in Cleveland, during the convention and covered it up and lied about means he's in deep alot more than we know.

[UpInArms]

16. ↑ this ↑

eom

[dalton99a]

12. Kick.

[nocalflea]

13. anything to advance his christian racist agenda

-this man is truly evil.
cant wait to see how falwell and robertson explain why god wanted a traitor as president.

[DallasNE]

14. Two Questions

How many other members of the Armed Services Committee also met with the Russian Ambassador during that time frame and wouldn't the Chairman of that Committee have to approve of such a meeting.

Why did it take three full days after the meetings were leaked to come up with this rationale. It seems that Sessions himself would have said this when he announced he was recusing himself and frame it as an abundance of caution.

This doesn't come close to passing the smell test. Sessions is toast.

[Chasstev365]

15. Why did he used campaign funds to go to te RNC in Cleveland

if he was just meeting as a "senator?"