Rep. Darrell Issa reaffirmed his call for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from investigations into Russia Thursday, following revelations that Sessions had twice spoken with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the campaign.
“The news breaking overnight reaffirms what I called for in an interview last Friday, that we need an independent review by a credible third party and that Attorney General Sessions should recuse himself from any investigation into Russia,” Issa said in a statement posted to his website. “We need a clear-eyed view of what the Russians actually did so that all Americans can have faith in our institutions.”
“The Putin government is a bad actor whose actions should be carefully scrutinized – and regardless of what side of the aisle you sit on – we have a vested interest in fully understanding exactly what happened and how to prevent it from happening again,” he continued.
On Friday, during an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time” with Bill Maher, Issa said of investigations into Russian interference into the 2016 election: “You’re going to need to use the special prosecutor’s statute and office to take — not just to recuse. You can’t just give it to your deputy. That’s another political appointee.”
He later qualified that statement, saying: “I think it’s very important to realize there’s been no allegation by any part of this administration or by anyone who’s been to the hearings about any crimes.”
