According to reports officials from the Ministry of justice, Geoff sessions (Jeff Sessions) last year when a Senator twice met with the Russian Ambassador in the USA, but did not mention it when, during confirmation as attorney General he was asked about possible contacts between the members of the electoral headquarters of the trump and the Russian representatives.
During one of the meetings, which took place in September in the office of the Senator, held a private conversation between Sessom and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. It was, according to the heads of U.S. intelligence, at the peak of the Russian cybercampaign, which aimed to radically change the course of the presidential race.
The news of the undisclosed contacts can amplify the calls of Congress to establish a special Commission to investigate the alleged Russian interference in the presidential elections of 2016. As attorney General, sessions monitored by the Ministry of justice and the FBI are conducting the investigation of the facts of Russian intervention and assistants trump. While sessions has refused the requirement to recuse himself or herself from participation in the case.
When Senator sessions in July and September last year had a conversation with Kislyak, he was a senior member of the influential Committee on armed forces and one of the main trump’s advisers on foreign policy. Sessions played a prominent role in the campaign, trump formally joined his campaign headquarters in February 2016.
Democrat Senator al Franken (Al Franken) from Minnesota asked nominated for attorney General Sesnse a few questions relating to information that the special agents told President-elect Trump about the possible existence in Russian of dirt on him.
During the hearing on 10 January in the legal Committee Franken asked and Roman sessions, what would he do, knowing that someone from the headquarters trump spoke with representatives of the Russian state during the campaign of 2016.
“I don’t know about this kind of contacts, sessions replied, and then added. — In the course of the campaign, I called a couple of times a confidant, and I did not communicate with the Russians.”
According to statements by officials, sessions does not believe that these interviews have some relevance to the questions of legislators, and not remember in detail what he discussed with Kislyak.
“This answer is nothing deceptive,” said press Secretary and Roman sessions Isgur Sarah Flores (Sarah Isgur Flores).
In January, democratic Senator Patrick Leahy (Patrick J. Leahy) asked and Roman sessions to provide answers to written questions. “Some of the nominees and senior advisors elected President has ties with Russia. Whether you have before or after voting day contacts with people associated with the Russian government on the subject of elections in 2016?” — reads one of his questions.
Sessions replied tersely: “No.”
Officials from the Ministry of justice said that the sessions met with Kislyak on 8 September as a member of the Committee on Affairs of armed forces, but not as the Trustee of a trump.
“During the hearings he was asked about contacts between Russia and the headquarters of the trump, but not about the meetings that he held as a Senator and as a member of the Committee on armed services,” said Flores.
According to her, in the past year, and Roman sessions as the senior member of the Committee on armed was more than 25 interviews with foreign ambassadors, including British, Korean, Japanese, Polish, Indian, Chinese, canadian, Australian, and German and from Kislyak.
Referring to the September meeting, one spoke in defense of the attorney General Ministry official said, “he Just can’t exactly remember what was discussed”.
The Russian Ambassador did not respond to a request to comment on his meetings with Sessom.
The Washington Post contacted all 26 members of the Senate Committee on the armed forces to find out who of the legislators, except and Roman sessions, met with Kislyak in 2016. Of the 20 respondents senators one and all, including the Chairman of the Committee John McCain, said that he met with the Russian Ambassador last year. Other members of the Committee on the questions of the newspaper has not responded yet.
“The members of the Committee did not beat a path to the office Kislyak,” said one senior Senate Committee on armed forces, citing the tensions with Moscow. In addition to and Roman sessions, he added, “very few members of the Committee strive to meet Kislyak on official business”.
Last month The Washington Post reported that national security adviser Michael Flynn a month before the arrival of the trump to power discussed Kislyak us sanctions, although Vice-President Mike Pence has publicly denied this fact. A week later, Flynn was forced to resign.
When Franken was asked to comment on the meeting with Kislyak and Roman sessions, he on Wednesday made a statement to The Washington Post: “If the Prosecutor General sessions did meet with the Russian Ambassador during the campaign, I am concerned that their answers to my questions during the appointment as it could mislead us, and this is the best”.
Franken added: “Now it becomes very clear that the attorney General is unable in good faith to oversee the investigation by the Department of justice and the FBI on the links between trump and Russia, and therefore he must immediately recuse himself”.
Current and former U.S. officials say they see in kyslyak diplomat, not intelligence. But they don’t know whether Kislyak aware of or involved in secret Russian operations during the elections, and if so, to what extent.
The former head of the Russian direction in CIA Steven Hall (Steven Hall) said that Russia could be very interested in networking with Sessom, as he worked in key congressional committees and was an adviser to trump.
As a member of the Committee on armed services, sessions could become a priority for the Russian Ambassador. “The fact that he had already acted on the side of trump, at least ideologically, could be a bonus for Kislyak,” said Hall.
Stanford University Professor Michael McFaul, who until 2014, he was the American Ambassador to Russia, said he was not surprised the possible desire Kislyak to meet Sessom. “The strange thing is that he hid it — said McFaul. Because the meeting took place just at the time when everybody was talking about what deals with Russia during the elections.”
Two months prior to the September meeting sessions attended at the event of the Foundation “Heritage”, which was held during the national Convention of the Republican party, which was attended by approximately 50 ambassadors. When the event ended, a small group of ambassadors came to coming down from the stage Sensu. Among them were Kislyak.
Sessions spoke to some ambassadors, including Kislyak. During informal conversations, the ambassadors praised his performance, and some of them invited and Roman sessions at their organized events. This was stated by the official from the Ministry of justice, citing former assistant and Roman sessions, the attendees of the Heritage Foundation.
The congressmen of the Democratic party, including high-ranking members of the Senate judiciary Committee, in recent times, require to sessions recused himself and refused to participate in the state investigation of possible relations assistants trump with Russia.
Last week the house of representatives, Republican Darrell Issa (Darrell Issa), a senior member of the judiciary Committee, and other Republican congressmen have publicly stated the need to conduct an independent investigation.
The official position of Russia and Roman sessions changed over time.
Giving in March 2015 an interview with RealClearWorld on the sidelines of the Brussels forum Marshall Fund “Germany-USA”, sessions said the United States and Europe “must unite” against Russia.
And after a year he started talking about the need to strengthen relations with the Kremlin. In July 2016 in an interview with CNN sessions spoke positively about trump’s plans to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Donald trump is right. We need to find a way to end this cycle of hostility which creates a risk for our country, costing us billions of dollars spent on defense, and creates an atmosphere of ill will,” said sessions.
And Roman sessions when asked, he considers Putin a good or bad leader, he replied: “there are bad leaders, whose actions for the United States are unacceptable. But the question is whether we can establish a more peaceful and efficient relations with Russia? Pragmatic use of similar interests to protect our world and to abandon the threat of confrontation with Russia? I think this is possible”.
Your story gave Julie Tate (Julie Tate), Robert Costa (Robert Costa) and Karun Demirchyan (Karoun Demirjian).
