Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee want Attorney General Jeff Sessions to testify again after questions were raised this week about his testimony during his confirmation hearing about his contacts with Russia.
In a letter to the committee’s chairman, Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, the committee’s Democrats wrote: “The attorney general’s responses to our questions during his confirmation process were, at best, incomplete and misleading.”
It was reported this week that Sessions had met Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak before, despite saying during his confirmation hearing he had not talked with the Russians during the campaign. Sessions defended himself Thursday by saying he meant he didn’t meet with anyone in his capacity as a campaign surrogate, not a U.S. senator.
“Unfortunately,” they continued, “he has not explained why he failed to come forward and correct the record before reports of his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak became public, why there was a delay in recusing himself until those public disclosures, and why he only recused himself with respect to campaign-related investigations and not Russian contacts with the Trump transition team and administration.”
The Democrats added: “We therefore ask that you schedule a hearing for Attorney General Sessions to appear before the Committee.”
The committee’s Democrats include California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono.
Grassley responded to the letter Friday evening by saying: “Attorney General Sessions did the right thing by recusing himself, and he did exactly what he said he’d do regarding potential recusals when he was before our committee. It’s unfortunate that the Democrats didn’t even have the decency to give him an opportunity to clear up confusion to the statement in writing.”
