Jeff Sessions to be grilled by Congress over latest Russia revelations

Attorney General Jeff Sessions will appear in front of a House Judiciary Committee panel on Nov. 14, where he is expected to face questions about communications between the Russian government and President Trump's election campaign, Reuters reports. On Tuesday, 17 House Democrats signed a letter written to Sessions that announced their intent to press the attorney general on a statement made during his January confirmation hearing, when he claimed he was not aware of any contacts between Russian officials and members of Trump's campaign.

In March, The Washington Post reported that during his confirmation hearing, Sessions failed to disclose two meetings he'd had with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Court documents filed on Oct. 30 by Special Counsel Robert Mueller also revealed that former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos had proposed a meeting between then-candidate Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting Sessions attended. Sessions shot the proposal down and said "no one should talk about it," claimed J.D. Gordon, a former Trump campaign adviser who said he was present during the meeting.

Last week, Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Patrick Leahy (Vt.) released separate statements asking Sessions to reappear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to explain why he did not previously disclose the meeting where Papadopoulos proposed a summit between Trump and Putin, given he was asked directly about contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up