Sessions digs in amid growing row over Russia

UPDATE: Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday he will recuse himself from any federal investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

“I have decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for president of the United States,” he said at a news conference at the Department of Justice.

Sessions added that his announcement neither confirms nor denies an investigation is under way at the Department of Justice. He said he made the decision to recuse himself after consulting with his staff and reviewing ethics rules but was adamant he did nothing wrong.

“Let me be clear,” Sessions said. “I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign.”

The attorney general said he would work with the Senate Judiciary Committee to clarify his comments at his confirmation hearing.

Sessions did not deny meeting with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, saying a staffer to the ambassador came to his office in September and requested a meeting. Sessions explained he and two aides then met with Kislyak. Sessions said he didn’t remember everything they discussed at the meeting but he’s sure they didn’t discuss the Trump campaign.

“It was just normal things. I don’t remember a lot of it,” Sessions said. “I remember telling [Kislyak] I went to Russia with a church group in 1991, and he told me he’s not a believer himself.”

Sessions added that the conversation became heated when they discussed Ukraine. Sessions said the ambassador invited him to lunch at a future date, but he declined.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (2:12 p.m.): WASHINGTON—Lawmakers from both parties are joining a growing chorus of calls for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

According to a Washington Post report published late Wednesday night, Sessions spoke on two separate occasions with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, and failed to mention the conversations during his January confirmation hearings.

Democrats have asked Sessions for weeks to recuse himself from the investigation and are now demanding he resign from his position at the Department of Justice. No Republican has joined the resignation demand, but members on both sides of the aisle now believe the attorney general cannot fairly oversee the Russia probe.

In a press conference this morning, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for Sessions’ resignation and said the Justice Department should appoint a special, independent prosecutor to take over the investigation. Sessions cannot oversee an investigation he may now be the subject of, Schumer said.

“It would be of Alice in Wonderland quality if [the Trump] administration were to sanction Attorney General Sessions to investigate himself,” he added.

Sessions issued a brief statement just before midnight insisting he never met with Russian officials to discuss the presidential campaign.

“I have no idea what this allegation is about,” Sessions said. “It is false.”

He reiterated to reporters this morning that he never met with any Russian at any time to discuss the 2016 campaign. Sessions pledged to voluntary recuse himself from any investigation, when appropriate.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., defended Sessions this morning, pointing to the attorney general’s promise of voluntary recusal. Ryan said it’s not uncommon for lawmakers to meet with ambassadors, and noted it is difficult to recall each and every interaction.

But other Republicans are more worried about the allegations.

“Sessions should clarify his testimony and recuse himself,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz tweeted.

Other Republicans in both the House and the Senate issued similar statements. Several said at the very least Sessions needs to clarify what the meetings were about, if not the election.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said in a Thursday statement the optics are terrible, and it would be best for Sessions to distance himself from the Department of Justice’s Russia probe.

The White House called the allegations ridiculous, and President Donald Trump said he has “total” confidence in Sessions.

“There’s nothing to recuse himself,” said White House press secretary Sean Spicer in an interview with Fox News. “He was 100 percent straight with the committee and I think that people [who] are choosing to play partisan politics with this should be ashamed of themselves.”

During his January marathon confirmation hearing, Democrats pressed Sessions on possible connections to Russia.

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., asked Sessions to clarify if anyone on the Trump campaign communicated with Russian officials.

“I’m not aware of any of those activities,” said Sessions, who was Trump’s earliest supporter in the Senate and assisted him during the campaign. “I have been called a surrogate a time or two in that campaign, and I did not have communications with the Russians, and I’m unable to comment on it.”

After the hearing, Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., delivered written questions to Sessions asking if he ever connected with any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election.

Sessions gave a one-word response: “No.”

Schumer said it’s not a problem that Sessions had the meetings, but he should have been upfront about them.

Sarah Isgur Flores, a Sessions spokeswoman, said the attorney general had many conversations with foreign ambassadors in 2016 as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“There was absolutely nothing misleading about his answer,” she said in a statement. “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.”