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Jeff Sessions: 'Not enough basis' for special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton Jeff Sessions: 'Not enough basis' for special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton
(about 1 hour later)
Jeff Sessions on Tuesday said there was “not enough basis” to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton, a day after reports surfaced that the attorney general had authorized senior prosecutors at the Department of Justice to evaluate an inquiry into the Clinton Foundation.Jeff Sessions on Tuesday said there was “not enough basis” to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton, a day after reports surfaced that the attorney general had authorized senior prosecutors at the Department of Justice to evaluate an inquiry into the Clinton Foundation.
Testifying before the House judiciary committee, Sessions also appeared to push back on Donald Trump’s repeated insistence that the FBI should focus on investigating Clinton as opposed to potential collusion between his own presidential campaign and Russia.Testifying before the House judiciary committee, Sessions also appeared to push back on Donald Trump’s repeated insistence that the FBI should focus on investigating Clinton as opposed to potential collusion between his own presidential campaign and Russia.
“The Department of Justice can never be used to retaliate politically against opponents. That would be wrong,” Sessions said when asked about Trump’s tweets calling on the DoJ to investigate his former rival in the 2016 presidential race.“The Department of Justice can never be used to retaliate politically against opponents. That would be wrong,” Sessions said when asked about Trump’s tweets calling on the DoJ to investigate his former rival in the 2016 presidential race.
“The president speaks his mind. He is bold and direct about what he says,” Sessions added. “We do our duty every day based on the facts.”“The president speaks his mind. He is bold and direct about what he says,” Sessions added. “We do our duty every day based on the facts.”
Trump and Republicans have been clamoring for the DoJ to examine the sale of a uranium company to a Russian agency in 2010. The deal, which was approved by the state department when Clinton was at its helm, has been newly seized upon by Trump and Republicans despite no evidence of impropriety.Trump and Republicans have been clamoring for the DoJ to examine the sale of a uranium company to a Russian agency in 2010. The deal, which was approved by the state department when Clinton was at its helm, has been newly seized upon by Trump and Republicans despite no evidence of impropriety.
Sessions said appointing a separate special counsel to investigate Clinton would require “a factual basis”.Sessions said appointing a separate special counsel to investigate Clinton would require “a factual basis”.
In a heated exchange with Jim Jordan, a Republican congressman from Ohio who asked what it would take to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations against Clinton, Sessions said: “We will use the proper standards, and that’s the only thing I can tell you.In a heated exchange with Jim Jordan, a Republican congressman from Ohio who asked what it would take to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations against Clinton, Sessions said: “We will use the proper standards, and that’s the only thing I can tell you.
“You can have your idea, but sometimes we have to study what the facts are, and to evaluate whether it meets the standards it requires.”“You can have your idea, but sometimes we have to study what the facts are, and to evaluate whether it meets the standards it requires.”
A fiery Jordan continued to allege misconduct by Clinton. Citing additional reports that her campaign and the Democratic national committee funded the Fusion GPS dossier into Trump’s ties to Russia, Jordan maintained it “looks like” there was enough evidence to warrant naming a second special counsel. A fiery Jordan continued to allege misconduct by Clinton. Citing additional reports that her campaign and the Democratic National Committee funded the Fusion GPS dossier into Trump’s ties to Russia, Jordan maintained it “looks like” there was enough evidence to warrant naming a second special counsel.
Sessions tersely responded: “I would say ‘looks like’ is not enough basis to appoint a special counsel.”Sessions tersely responded: “I would say ‘looks like’ is not enough basis to appoint a special counsel.”
During his confirmation hearing in the Senate earlier this year, Sessions had sworn under oath that he would recuse himself from any potential investigations pertaining to Clinton due to his role as a top surrogate on Trump’s presidential campaign.During his confirmation hearing in the Senate earlier this year, Sessions had sworn under oath that he would recuse himself from any potential investigations pertaining to Clinton due to his role as a top surrogate on Trump’s presidential campaign.
Sessions reaffirmed his commitment on Tuesday. He said: “I have not been improperly influenced and would not be improperly influenced.”Sessions reaffirmed his commitment on Tuesday. He said: “I have not been improperly influenced and would not be improperly influenced.”
He nonetheless demurred when asked to explicitly say whether he had recused himself from any such inquiry into Clinton at the moment.He nonetheless demurred when asked to explicitly say whether he had recused himself from any such inquiry into Clinton at the moment.
“To announce recusal in any investigation would reveal the existence of that investigation, and the top ethics officials have advised me I should not do so,” he said.“To announce recusal in any investigation would reveal the existence of that investigation, and the top ethics officials have advised me I should not do so,” he said.
The renewed scrutiny over Clinton comes as the federal investigation into Russian interference in the US election has intensified. Earlier this month, Robert Mueller indicted two top Trump campaign officials – Paul Manafort and business associate Richard Gates, on 12 charges that included conspiracy against the US. It was also revealed that former Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to perjury about his communications with the Russians.The renewed scrutiny over Clinton comes as the federal investigation into Russian interference in the US election has intensified. Earlier this month, Robert Mueller indicted two top Trump campaign officials – Paul Manafort and business associate Richard Gates, on 12 charges that included conspiracy against the US. It was also revealed that former Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to perjury about his communications with the Russians.
Sessions also defended himself against allegations that he had misled members of Congress about his knowledge of communications between Russians and the Trump campaign. Sessions’ testimony marked his most extensive public comments on the Russia investigation since Mueller handed down the indictments through a grand jury in Washington, escalating significantly the federal inquiry into whether Trump campaign officials colluded with Moscow to swing the presidential election against Clinton.
“In all of my testimony, I can only do my best to answer all of your questions as I understand them and to the best of my memory,” Sessions said. “But I will not accept accusations that I have ever lied under oath. That is a lie.” Sessions recused himself from the FBI’s investigation in March after it was revealed he failed to disclose at least two meetings with Sergey Kislyak, then the Russian ambassador to the US, during the campaign. Sessions made no mention of the meetings during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, telling lawmakers while under oath in January that he “never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign”.
Sessions, who as an Alabama senator led a foreign policy advisory council for the Trump campaign, has been dogged since January by his evolving explanations about his own foreign contacts during the campaign and about how much he knew of communication between Trump associates and Russia. During his testimony on Tuesday, Sessions denied he had misled members of Congress while claiming he simply did not recall many of the communications between Trump campaign officials and Moscow that have since been made public.
Those questions have only deepened since the guilty plea last month of Papadopoulos. Another aide, Carter Page, told Congress in private statements that he had alerted Sessions about a meeting he planned in Russia during the campaign. “In all of my testimony, I can only do my best to answer all of your questions as I understand them and to the best of my memory,” Sessions said.
Sessions said he had no recollection of the conversation with Page. And he said that though he did not initially recall a March 2016 conversation with Papadopoulos, he now believes that he told Papadopoulos that he was not authorized to represent the Trump campaign with the Russian government or any other foreign government. “But I will not accept, and reject, accusations that I have ever lied under oath. That is a lie.”
Papadopoulos was arrested by the FBI and pleaded guilty to lying to authorities about his own foreign contacts during the campaign. Sessions employed a similar defense when questioned on court documents which revealed he led a meeting in March of 2016 in which Papadopoulos acknowledged his own ties to Russia and offered to facilitate an encounter between Trump and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
“I pushed back, I’ll just say it that way,” Sessions said under questioning. “I had no recollection of this meeting until I saw these news reports,” Sessions said, while adding he still lacked a “clear recollection” of what exactly Papadopoulos said during the meeting.
The Associated Press contributed to this report Sessions’ memory was nonetheless far more clear on one aspect of his interactions with Papadopoulos – specifically that he discouraged the latter from setting up a meeting between Trump and Putin.
“After reading his account, and to the best of my recollection, I believe that I wanted to make clear to him that he was not authorized to represent the campaign with the Russian government, or any other foreign government, for that matter,” Sessions said.
“But I did not recall this event, which occurred 18 months before my testimony of a few weeks ago, and would gladly have reported it.”
This article was amended on 14 November 2017 to clarify that Sessions said there was “not enough basis” to appoint a special counsel, rather than “not enough evidence”, as we reported in the original version of the story. This has now been changed.This article was amended on 14 November 2017 to clarify that Sessions said there was “not enough basis” to appoint a special counsel, rather than “not enough evidence”, as we reported in the original version of the story. This has now been changed.