Tonight, WaPo revealed that during his confirmation hearings, Jeff Sessions lied.
"Then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) spoke twice last year with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Justice Department officials said, encounters he did not disclose when asked about possible contacts between members of President Trump’s campaign and representatives of Moscow during Sessions’s confirmation hearing to become attorney general."
Back during the Judiciary Committee's hearings on Jeff Sessions' appointment, Senator Al Franken asked him, "If there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign, what will you do?"
Jeff Sessions, in an attempt to evade the question, walked around it, saying, "I’m not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians."
Jeff Sessions, in an attempt to evade the question, walked around it, saying, "I’m not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians."
Jump to 3:18 in the video below.
That's clearly a lie by omission. He volunteered information that was uncategorical -- I did not have communications with the Russians -- only to have to later qualify that statement by stating those conversations were unrelated to the campaign. By later qualifying his omission, Sessions makes clear that he adjudicated the value of his omission, rather than defer that process to Congress.
And this isn't the first time he's done this during the confirmation process. OGE revealed that he omitted his ownership rights to oil on 600+ acres of land in Alabama -- something that was required by federal law.
The highest prosecutor in the US lied, twice, in just one month. By definition, he is unfit to serve in the Department of Justice, as we cannot trust him to reveal all the facts for any given case. His selective facts present a problem for the courts and for the American people, particularly for defendants.
He either needs to resign or he needs to be impeached. Unfortunately for Americans, most Republicans in Congress do not take their role seriously, instead, placing politics ahead of the country.
And note, while Bush's own ethics lawyer suggests that Sessions may have paved his own road to jail, this isn't about punishment; it's about removing someone who cannot be trusted. It's why Congress did not confirm him as a federal judge back in 1986.
He either needs to resign or he needs to be impeached. Unfortunately for Americans, most Republicans in Congress do not take their role seriously, instead, placing politics ahead of the country.
And note, while Bush's own ethics lawyer suggests that Sessions may have paved his own road to jail, this isn't about punishment; it's about removing someone who cannot be trusted. It's why Congress did not confirm him as a federal judge back in 1986.
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