Washington – Connecticut Democratic lawmakers joined a growing chorus of their colleagues Thursday in calling for the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, citing his testimony under oath denying he had contacts with Russian officials during the presidential campaign.
“Attorney General Sessions must resign,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D‑3rd District. “As more revelations regarding the Trump campaign’s collusion with the Russians continue to come to light, the president and his administration have a responsibility to call for a special investigation and give the American people the full story.”
DeLauro said Sessions “has shown that he is both not impartial on the matter and that he is willing to lie under oath in order to cover up his actions.”
“Recusing himself from the investigation into Russia’s meddling in our election is not enough, and he must step down immediately,” DeLauro said.
During two days of grilling by Senate Judiciary Committee members in mid-January, Sen. Al Franken, D‑Minn., cited a CNN story that said there was a continuing exchange of information between Trump campaign surrogates and Russian officials.
Franken asked, “If there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government, what would you do?”
“Senator Franken, I am not aware of any of those activities,” Sessions replied. “I have been called a surrogate at a time or two and I have not had communications with Russians and I am unable to comment on that.”
But according to Justice Department officials, Sessions met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice in 2016, including a private meeting in September in his office.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal said the revelation “begs serious questions about his fitness to lead the Department of Justice.”
“Unless Attorney General Sessions can provide a credible explanation, his resignation will be necessary,” said Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who opposed Sessions’ confirmation.
The revelations about Sessions also increased calls on Capitol Hill for a special prosecutor to investigate any ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.
“I have called repeatedly for such an independent prosecutor, and now there can be no question that possible perjury and other criminal violations demand it,” Blumenthal said. “After omitting key details and providing false information in his written responses to me and other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, we are left wondering what else is missing or misleading in his testimony.”
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, “That the top cop in our country lied under oath to the people is grounds for him to resign. He has proved that he is unqualified and unfit to serve in that position of trust.”
In a statement after the revelations, Sessions denied he had met with “any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign.”
“I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false,” he said.
Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D‑5th District, said, “If Attorney General Sessions is unable to provide a more credible explanation for his statements and actions involving the Russians in the course of this investigation, then he should resign.”
A White House official said, “(Attorney) General Sessions met with the ambassador in an official capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is entirely consistent with his testimony.”
Blumenthal said he also is a member of the Armed Services Committee “and did not meet with the Russian Ambassador at all last year.”
The revelations about Sessions’ meetings with Kislyak also reverberated in the Republican ranks Thursday.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said Sessions “should further clarify his testimony.”
Rep. Darrell Issa, R‑Calif, said, “We need a clear-eyed view of what the Russians actually did so that all Americans can have faith in our institutions.”
Sen. Rob Portman, R‑Ohio, said Sessions should recuse himself from the Justice Department’s probe into whether Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee this summer and otherwise meddled in the U.S. elections.
Late Wednesday, in a rare bipartisan accord, the House Intelligence Committee signed off on a plan to investigate Russia’s alleged interference in the U.S. election, which includes examining contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russia and determining who leaked the details of those contacts.
Rep. Jim Himes, D‑4th District, is a member of that committee. But many Democrats say an independent investigator is necessary.
Trump fired his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, last month after intelligence sources leaked that Flynn had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with Kislyak before Trump’s swearing-in on Jan. 20, and then misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.
This story first appeared in the CT Mirror.
Sen. Blumenthal when you step down due to your lies about serving in Vietnam you'll certainly set the example for other Gov't officials.Until that time you're in no position to call for Jeff Sessions resignation.