Just The Good Stuff From Jeff Sessions' Senate Testimony
Last week, former FBI Director James Comey testified in front of the Senate intelligence committee on the events that led up to his firing by President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified in front of the committee in an open hearing. Here are the highlights.
Clips appear in reverse chronological order, with clips from the end of the hearing appearing at the top.
Kamala Harris Pushes Sessions On His Unwillingness To Answer Questions
Senator Kamala Harris pushed Sessions on his refusal to answer many questions based on an apparent policy of the Justice Department to protect the president's power of executive privilege.
Sessions Says He's Never Received A Briefing On The Investigation Into Russia's Election Interference
Jeff Sessions was adamant about his recusal from the Russia investigation, claiming that he's never received a briefing on Russia's attempt to interfere with US elections.
Sessions Won't Answer Questions About Conversations With The Trump To 'Protect His Executive Privilege'
Senators became increasingly frustrated with Sessions' refusal to answer questions about his conversations with President Trump. Sessions told senators that the president wasn't invoking executive privilege at this moment, but that he would not discuss his conversations with Trump to protect his ability to invoke executive privilege later.
Sessions Says His Involvement In Comey's Firing Does Not Violate His Recusal From The Russia Investigation
It did not violate my refusal…the letter that I signed represented views that I held for a long time… the memorandum that deputy Rosenstein wrote represented my views.
Sessions Denies Knowing If Conversations Are Recorded In The White House
Sessions told senators that he does not know if conversations are recorded in the White House, and if there are, he doesn't know if those conversations should be preserved.
Sessions Did Not Raise 'Performance Concerns' With Comey
Sessions told ranking Democrat Warner that he did not have discussions with Comey about the supposed performance issues that led to his termination.
Jeff Sessions later affirmed his belief that Comey deserved to be fired based on performance issues:
There was a clear view of mine and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein…that we had problems there, and it was my best judgement that a fresh start at the FBI was the right thing to do.
Sessions Says He Has Confidence In Special Counsel Mueller
Following reports that President Trump was considering removing Special Counsel for the Russia investigation Robert Mueller, Jeff Sessions told senators that he has confidence in Mueller, and would not personally take actions to remove him:
I have confidence in Mr. Mueller but I'm not going to discuss hypotheticals… I wouldn't think [taking personal action towards Mueller's removal] would be appropriate to do.
Sessions Blames Comey For Inappropriate Contact With Trump
Jeff Sessions told Senators that Comey was to blame for his conversations with President Trump, saying:
There's nothing wrong with the president having a conversation with the FBI Director…what is wrong is the FBI Director talking to any high level employees on any ongoing investigations.
Sessions later told Senator Rubio that despite Comey's expression of concern around his conversations with the president, he believed that Comey could "handle himself well".
Sessions Disputes Comey's Account Of Conversations
In his testimony last week, Comey told senators that Jeff Sessions did not respond to his concerns about private conversations with Donald Trump. In his testimony, Sessions told senators:
I affirmed his concern that we should be following the proper guidelines of the Department of Justice, and basically backed him up in his concerns, and that he should not carry out any conversation with the president or anyone else about an investigation in a way that was not proper[.]
Sessions Insists That He Has Been Recused From The Russia Investigation, But Still Has Power To Hire And Fire
Jeff Sessions told Senators that he recused himself because of his personal and political relationship with Donald Trump. Despite his recusal, Sessions stressed that he still has the power to oversee the management of the department.
Sessions Says He Won't Recount Conversations With Trump
In his opening statement, Jeff Sessions said he will not discuss conversations that he's had with President Trump:
I cannot and will not violate my duty to protect the confidential communications I had with the president.
Sessions Says Suggestion That He Is Part Of Any Collusion Is 'Appalling'
In his opening statement, Sessions told senators that he did not have any additional private meetings or conversations with the Russian ambassador — events which have been speculated upon by various reports:
I did not have any private meetings or conversations at the Mayflower hotel…I attended a reception with President Trump…I do not have any recollection with any conversation with the Russian ambassador.
Sessions went further to say that such accusations were "appalling and detestable:
[W]hether I ever attended a reception with the ambassador is beside the point of this investigation…The suggestion that I participated…that I was aware of any collusion…is an appalling and detestable lie.
Burr Sets The Agenda
Senator Burr set the agenda by asking four opening questions:
1. Did you meet with Russian officials on behalf of the Trump campaign or as Attorney General?
2. What was your involvement with candidate-Trump's foreign policy team, and what were their possible interactions with Russians?
3. Why did you recuse yourself from the Government's Russia investigation?
4. What was your role in the removal of FBI Director Comey?
Jeff Sessions Has Arrived
Jeff Sessions arrived in the hearing room at 2:40. Cameras are clicking!
Get Caught Up
Why Did Comey Believe Sessions Needed To Recuse Himself?
While there were many explosive moments from Comey's testimony that will inevitably reverberate in Washington for years to come, one of the most immediately alarming was when he said he had a secret reason for believing that Sessions had to recuse himself from the Justice Department's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
What Did Sessions Know About Trump's Talks With Comey?
Comey told senators that he did not tell Sessions that Trump asked him to end the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, but that he did ask Sessions to make sure he wasn't left alone with Trump again. He claims Sessions did not respond.
What Role Has Sessions Played In The Russia Investigation?
Despite his recusal from the investigation into Russia's election interference, Sessions played a role in Comey's firing and helped interview candidates for Comey's replacement.
Did Sessions Have A Third Meeting With Kislyak?
Sessions recused himself from the investigation into the Trump administration's connections to Russia after it was revealed that he had failed to disclose two meetings he had with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Now, Sessions is under further scrutiny after Comey reportedly told senators in a closed hearing that Sessions may have had a third meeting with Kislyak.
