Elizabeth Warren calls for Sessions to resign: ‘This is not normal

Top Democrats have called for Sessions to resign while members of both parties have called for Sessions to recuse himself from future investigations into Trump associates’ ties to Russian Federation. Federal investigators have been looking into possible contacts between Trump advisers and Russian Federation, while congressional committees are investigating Russia’s role in political hacking during the campaign.

Asked as he visited the USS Gerard R. Ford in Newport News, Virginia, Trump was asked if Sessions told a Senate panel the truth about the communications.

The Post report incited a swift backlash in Congress and prompted calls from both sides of the aisle for Sessions’s recusal from the Russian investigation.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Sessions should only recuse himself if he is a subject of the probe.

Sessions called a press conference late on Thursday to announce he would step back from any relevant investigations. However, the Kremlin has repeatedly denied that members of Russian government discussed USA elections with Trump’s team.

During the Senate confirmation process to become attorney general, Sessions denied contact with Russian officials during the campaign.

Sessions and spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores have said his statement was truthful because he met with the Russian ambassador in his capacity as a senator, not as a Trump campaign surrogate. “He could have stated his response more accurately, but it was clearly not intentional”, Trump said, CNN reports.

The attorney general confirmed a Washington Post story that he’d met Kislyak twice – once in his office on Armed Services Committee business. Should the Federal Bureau of Investigation decide to move forward with charges, Sessions would not be in a position to weigh in on whether the Department of Justice should take the case. The other 25 said they had no interaction with him. “Sessions at the time was a senator as well, and on key committees”.

Mr. Page said Thursday he was answering that question last month in the context of an investigation into possible contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian Federation.

Sessions did not disclose those conversations during his confirmation hearings for attorney general, testifying under oath that he “did not have communications with the Russians”.

First, the Sessions situation: The new Attorney General had earlier told a Senate committee during his confirmation hearing that he was “not aware” of any contact between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, said he thought Sessions “needs to clarify what these meetings were”.

One official said the memo from the counsel’s office instructs White House staff to preserve material from Trump’s time in office, and for those who worked on the campaign, relevant material from the election.

Meanwhile, ABC News reported Thursday that Sessions used political funds from his senatorial re-election account to meet with Ambassador Kislyak on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in July.

“Did you consult with the White House about your decision?” another reporter asked.

Members of Congress also expressed concern about whether Justice Department officials could be relied on to help investigations into Russian election meddling being carried out by the Senate and House of Representatives intelligence committees.

Senior Democrats have called for his resignation.

“Several of the President-elect’s nominees or senior advisers have Russian ties”.

Such, however, is the way of the Trump administration.