Jeff Sessions: US Attorney-General denies meeting with Russians during presidential campaign
Updated
US Attorney-General Jeff Sessions has denied meeting with any Russians during the US presidential campaign, despite the Justice Department saying two meetings took place.
Key points:
- Several Republicans call for Sessions to remove himself from investigation in Russian meddling in US election
- House Democratic leader accuses Sessions of lying under oath
- Sessions is said to have received the Russian ambassador in September
"I have not met with any Russians at any time to discuss any political campaign and those remarks are unbelievable to me and are false," Mr Sessions said.
In light of the claims, several congressional Republicans called on Mr Sessions to remove himself from investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the US presidential election.
But Mr Sessions said that was not necessary.
"Whenever it's appropriate I will recuse myself, there's no doubt about that," he said.
President Donald Trump told reporters he had "total" confidence in Mr Sessions, adding he "wasn't aware" the Attorney-General had any contact with the Russian ambassador during his presidential campaign.
When asked if he believed Mr Sessions should recuse himself, Mr Trump said: "I don't think so".
'Best for the country to recuse himself'
But Republican Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, maintained that Mr Sessions "should clarify his testimony and recuse himself".
Republican senator Rob Portman echoed that, saying: "I think it would be best for him and for the country to recuse himself from the DOJ [Department of Justice] Russia probe".
However, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said he saw no purpose in Mr Sessions recusing himself unless the Attorney-General himself was the subject of an investigation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters he did not know anything about the meetings last year between ambassador Sergei Kislyak and Mr Sessions.
Mr Peskov argued it was normal for an ambassador to meet with officials and politicians, adding that "the more such meetings an ambassador has, the more efficient his work is".
He described the reaction to the news of Mr Sessions' meetings as "an emotional atmosphere leading to resistance to the idea of any US-Russia dialogue".
"The negative effect for the idea to develop at least some dialogue with Russia is evident," Mr Peskov added.
Democrats demand resignation of Sessions
Top Democrats in Congress demanded the resignation of Mr Sessions, who was a close adviser to Mr Trump during his 2016 election campaign, and the appointment of an independent, impartial special prosecutor with no attachment to the Trump administration to examine the Russian role in the election.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi accused Mr Sessions of lying under oath during his Senate confirmation hearing.
"The law has been broken," she told reporters.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Mr Sessions had misled Congress over his contacts with the ambassador and should resign for the good of the country, adding it would be like "Alice in Wonderland" if the administration was to approve Mr Sessions' investigating himself.
Mr Sessions, a former US senator, received Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak in his office in September, the Washington Post reported.
The other encounter was in July at a Heritage Foundation event that was attended by about 50 ambassadors, during the Republican National Convention, the report said.
The Justice Department confirmed the two meetings, saying they were in Mr Sessions' capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and there was nothing untoward about them.
During his confirmation hearing in January, Mr Sessions responded to a question from Democratic senator Al Franken that he did not "have communications with the Russians" during the course of the presidential campaign.
Allegations over contacts between Mr Trump's aides and Russia before his inauguration on January 20, and the charge of Russian election interference that the Kremlin has denied, have swirled around since the early days of Mr Trump's presidency.
Mr Trump has accused officials in former Democratic President Barack Obama's administration of trying to discredit him.
US intelligence agencies concluded last year that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the election campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Mr Trump's favour.
As Attorney-General, Mr Sessions heads the Justice Department. The FBI, part of the department, has been leading investigations into the allegations of the Russian meddling and any links to Mr Trump's associates.
ABC/wires
Topics: donald-trump, us-elections, world-politics, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, united-states, russian-federation
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