Democrats and some prominent congressional Republicans are calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from overseeing the investigation into contacts between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. The outcry began after it was reported that Sessions had spoken on more than one occasion to Russian officials, which contradicts the testimony he gave at his confirmation hearing.
The House majority Leader, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, was one of the first Republicans to recommend that Sessions recuse himself from Trump-Russia investigations. Representative Jason Chaffetz of Utah, the Republican who previously wanted to prolong investigations into Hillary Clinton's email server in the face of mounting evidence of Trump-Russia contacts, said on Twitter, "AG Sessions should clarify his testimony and recuse himself."
But Democrats were less tactful, and some went so far as to demand Sessions' resignation on the grounds that he had perjured himself. "Sessions is not fit to serve as the top law enforcement officer of our country and must resign," said Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland was another to call for Sessions' resignation. And Democratic senator Al Franken of Minnesota said in a statement, "It's clearer than ever now that the attorney general cannot, in good faith, oversee an investigation at the Department of Justice and the F.B.I. of the Trump-Russia connection, and he must recuse himself immediately."
The White House and Sessions himself dismissed the accusations as a partisan political maneuver. "I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign," Sessions said. "I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false."
Last month, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned after it emerged that he had lied about his contact with Russian ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak.
Source: nytimes.com
