In the wake of news that Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III lied to the Senate about his contacts with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign, he must resign.
He did not simply lie in his testimony (shown above). He also lied about it in his written statements, and now he is trying to cover his lie. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that his spokesman is downplaying his contacts with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak as mere social interaction, but this runs counter to his own sworn statements that he had no contact with the Russians.
“The attorney general has been very clear that as a senator he had conversations with the Russian ambassador,” Ms. Flores said in a statement. “Last year, the senator had over 25 conversations with foreign ambassadors as a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, including the British, Korean, Japanese, Polish, Indian, Chinese, Canadian, Australian, German and Russian ambassadors.”
But of those countries she listed, none but Russia are hostile foreign powers.
Here's something to know about Sergey Kislyak, as discussed on CNN and MSNBC tonight:
His resignation must come swiftly. Top Democrats are already making the call:
Nancy Pelosi:
People For The American Way president Michael Keeganput out a brief statement saying, “If Jeff Sessions knowingly misled the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearings, he should resign. Full stop.”
MoveOn:
Attorney General Sessions occupies the highest law enforcement in the land. If Loretta Lynch had to recuse herself for a public meeting with Bill Clinton on the tarmac at an airport, this goes far beyond that. Recusal is not enough anymore. He lied, under oath. He must resign.
UPDATE:
Sessions' comments on Bill Clinton's acquittal by the Senate in 1999 could come back to bite him.
It has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty that President William Jefferson Clinton perjured himself before a Federal grand jury and has persisted in a continuous pattern of lying and obstructing justice. The chief law-enforcement officer of the land, whose oath of office calls on him to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, crossed the line and failed to defend and protect the law and, in fact, attacked the law and the rights of a fellow citizen. Under our Constitution, equal justice requires that he forfeit his office. For these reasons, I felt compelled to vote to convict and remove the President from office. . . .
It is crucial to our system of justice that we demand the truth. I fear that an acquittal of this President will weaken the legal system by providing an option for those who consider being less than truthful in court. Whereas the handling of the case against President Nixon clearly strengthened the nation's respect for law, justice and truth, the Clinton impeachment may unfortunately have the opposite result.
UPDATE 2: Hmmm.
