It has recently come out that Attorney General for the Trump administration, Jeff Sessions, spoke with Russia’s ambassador to the United States twice last year, at times during which he was a part of Trump’s campaign team. One of these meetings took place during the height of what officials say was a Russian cyber campaign targeting the presidential race. During his confirmation hearing in January, Sessions said the following: “I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians.” All of his statements during his hearing were made under oath, which could mean he perjured himself by denying contact with Russia. Perjury has a prison sentence of up to five years.
Though, some argue that there is not enough to charge Sessions with a crime. Those speaking against Sessions being charged say that there is too much ambiguity in his statement to determine whether he was referring to communications as a surrogate or as an acting U.S. Senator. If just referring to his work regarding the campaign, one could argue that his communications with Russia were separate U.S. Senator matters. His spokesperson, Sarah Isgur Flores, is coming to his defense with this reasoning.
Democrats, such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, are encouraging Sessions to resign. As acting Attorney General, Sessions spearheads the Department of Justice. He is being encouraged by house Democrats to step down and appoint a special prosecutor, as he cannot investigate himself. Though Sessions has yet to release a statement regarding these new releases, he made a vague statement to reporters on Monday, saying that he would remove/rescue himself “on anything that I should recuse myself on”. Only time will tell if Sessions faces repercussions for his actions, though rule of law suggests he should
