Sessions claims he never met with Russia representatives. This lobbyist says they had dinner twice.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Attorney General Jeff Sessions was specifically asked Tuesday when he testified under oath before the Senate Intelligence Committee whether he'd had "any contacts with any representative, including any American lobbyist or agent of any Russian company" during the U.S. presidential election. Sessions responded, "I don't believe so." However, on Thursday, an American lobbyist who has represented Russian interests in Washington told The Guardian that Sessions hosted him twice for dinner during the campaign.
Sessions apparently invited lobbyist Richard Burt, who served as an ambassador to Germany during the Reagan administration, to talk about foreign policy and national security issues. The dinners happened right around when it was revealed to the public that Russia had meddled in the U.S. presidential election.
Burt said he "did not know" whether Sessions was aware of his lobbying work for Russian interests, which The Guardian noted is "disclosed in public records." Burt previously served on the advisory board of a private equity fund that Russia's Alfa Bank was an investor in, and last year he lobbied on behalf of a pipeline company controlled by a Russian state-run energy company.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 cinematic cartoons about Bezos betting big on 'Melania'Cartoons Artists take on a girlboss, a fetching newspaper, and more
-
The fall of the generals: China’s military purgeIn the Spotlight Xi Jinping’s extraordinary removal of senior general proves that no-one is safe from anti-corruption drive that has investigated millions
-
Why the Gorton and Denton by-election is a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’Talking Point Reform and the Greens have the Labour seat in their sights, but the constituency’s complex demographics make messaging tricky
-
TikTok secures deal to remain in USSpeed Read ByteDance will form a US version of the popular video-sharing platform
-
Unemployment rate ticks up amid fall job lossesSpeed Read Data released by the Commerce Department indicates ‘one of the weakest American labor markets in years’
-
US mints final penny after 232-year runSpeed Read Production of the one-cent coin has ended
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting