Attorney General Jeff Sessions is in for sharp questioning by senators Tuesday on the extent of his contacts with Russian officials during the presidential campaign and of his involvement in…<\/b>
\nWASHINGTON (AP) – Attorney General Jeff Sessions is in for sharp questioning by senators Tuesday on the extent of his contacts with Russian officials during the presidential campaign and of his involvement in the firing of FBI chief James Comey. Whether that hearing will be public or closed is not known. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R. I., said Sunday \u00ab\u00a0there’s a real question of the propriety\u00a0\u00bb of Sessions’ involvement in Comey’s dismissal, because Sessions had stepped aside from the federal investigation into contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign. Comey was leading that probe. Reed said he also wants to know if Sessions had more meetings with Russian officials as a Trump campaign adviser than have been disclosed. Trump on Sunday accused Comey of \u00ab\u00a0cowardly\u00a0\u00bb leaks and predicted many more from him. \u00ab\u00a0Totally illegal?\u00a0\u00bb he asked in a tweet. \u00ab\u00a0Very ‘cowardly!'\u00a0\u00bb Several Republican lawmakers also criticized Comey for disclosing memos he had written in the aftermath of his private conversations with Trump, calling that action \u00ab\u00a0inappropriate.\u00a0\u00bb But, added GOP Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, \u00ab\u00a0releasing his memos is not damaging to national security.\u00a0\u00bb Lankford is on the intelligence committee, the forum for last week’s riveting Comey testimony and Tuesday’s hearing. The New York City federal prosecutor who expected to remain on the job when Trump took office but ended up being fired said he was made uncomfortable by one-on-one interactions with the president – just like Comey was. Preet Bharara told ABC’s \u00ab\u00a0This Week\u00a0\u00bb that Trump was trying to \u00ab\u00a0cultivate some kind of relationship\u00a0\u00bb with him when he called him twice before the inauguration to \u00ab\u00a0shoot the breeze.\u00a0\u00bb He said Trump reached out to him again after the inauguration but he refused to call back, shortly before he was fired. On Comey’s accusations that Trump pressed him to drop the FBI investigation of his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, Bharara said \u00ab\u00a0no one knows right now whether there is a provable case of obstruction\u00a0\u00bb of justice. But: \u00ab\u00a0I think there’s absolutely evidence to begin a case.\u00a0\u00bb Sessions stepped aside in March from the federal investigation into contacts between Russia and the campaign after acknowledging that had met twice last year with the Russian ambassador to the U. S. He had told lawmakers at his January confirmation hearing that he had not met with Russians during the campaign. Sessions has been dogged by questions about possible additional encounters with the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak. As for the timing of his recusal, Comey said the FBI expected the attorney general to take himself out of the matters under investigation weeks before he actually did. Comey declined to elaborate in an open setting. In a letter Saturday to Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., Sessions said that he had been scheduled to discuss the Justice Department budget before House and Senate committees but it had become clear some members would focus their questions on the Russia investigation. Sessions said his decision to accept the intelligence committee’s invitation to appear was due in part to Comey’s testimony. He wrote that \u00ab\u00a0it is important that I have an opportunity to address these matters in the appropriate forum\u00a0\u00bb and he would have his deputy deal with the budget hearings. Briefing congressional appropriators on the Justice Department’s budget is a critical part of the attorney general’s job. The fact that Sessions would delegate that task showed the Russia investigation was distracting him from his core duties. Lankford appeared on CBS’ \u00ab\u00a0Face the Nation.\u00a0\u00bb Reed was on \u00ab\u00a0Fox News Sunday.\u00a0\u00bb Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n

\n

Similarity rank: 8.5<\/div>\n

Sentiment rank: 0.6<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n