CNN: Congress Looking Into Whether Sessions Had Another Kislyak Meeting

Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at the Justice Department in Washington, Thursday, March 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at the Justice Department in Washington, Thursday, March 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Investigators with the congressional Russia probes are looking into whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions had another meeting with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 campaign, CNN reported early Thursday, citing unnamed sources on Capitol Hill and intelligence officials.

Those involved in the congressional probes are looking at an event on April 27, 2016 when President Donald Trump, then a candidate, gave a foreign policy speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., according to CNN. Kislyak was in attendance, and investigators on the Hill are looking into whether Kislyak met with Sessions in private at that time, per CNN. Hill investigators have requested schedules and other information from Sessions, according to CNN.

The FBI is also looking at how many members of Trump’s team interacted with Kislyak at that event, CNN reported. Neither probe has yet determined whether additional meetings took place, per CNN.

“The Department of Justice appointed special counsel to assume responsibility for this matter,” Sarah Isgur Flores, a spokeswoman for Sessions, said in a statement to CNN. “We will allow him to do his job. It is unfortunate that anonymous sources whose credibility will never face public scrutiny are continuously trying to hinder that process by peddling false stories to the mainstream media. The facts haven’t changed; the then-Senator did not have any private or side conversations with any Russian officials at the Mayflower Hotel.”

Sessions met with Kislyak twice during the 2016 campaign — once at an event during the Republican National Convention and once in his Senate office. Sessions did not disclose the meetings during his confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill. He also did not list the meetings in his security clearance application, though the Justice Department said that Sessions was instructed by FBI investigators not to list those meetings.

 

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: