US attorney general under fire over Russian contacts

White House quickly labels report an 'attack' by partisan Democrats

WASHINGTON - US Attorney General Jeff Sessions came under fire on Wednesday after The Washington Post reported he met twice last year with Russia's ambassador to Washington, seemingly contradicting statements he made in Senate confirmation hearings in January.

The revelation cast a fresh cloud over President Donald Trump's administration - which has denied any suspected ties between members of his election team and Russia - which US intelligence said interfered in the 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton.

The White House quickly labeled the report an attack by partisan Democrats, confirming the meetings but arguing Sessions did nothing wrong.

In a statement Sessions said: "I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false."

But with US intelligence agencies, the Department of Justice, and four Congressional committees examining the Russia scandal, Democrats demanded that Sessions - the Trump administration's top law enforcement official - recuse himself from investigations, and for Congress to name an independent special investigator to oversee a broad probe.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Sessions - formerly a senator who advised Trump's campaign on foreign policy and other issues - met Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in July and September, just as accusations of Russian interference in the election were mounting.

Sessions, however, told his confirmation hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan 10 that he did not know of contacts between Trump campaign members and Russia.

"I did not have communications with the Russians," he said under oath.

Calls to resign

Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the Senate, called for Sessions to step down.

"After lying under oath to Congress about his own communications with the Russian, the attorney general must resign," she said.

A White House official dubbed the latest report an "attack". "This is the latest attack against the Trump administration by partisan Democrats," the official said.

"Sessions met with the ambassador in an official capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is entirely consistent with his testimony."

Sessions was confirmed as attorney general on Feb 8, moving in place to oversee Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation probes into the alleged communications between Trump campaign officials and Moscow.

(China Daily 03/03/2017 page12)