Trump administration again noisy scandal of contact with Russia

New US Attorney General Jeff Sessions met twice last year with the Russian ambassador in Washington, who also spoke with Mike Flynn in the scandal that forced the general to leave his position as national security adviser.

The information has just been confirmed by the US Department of Justice. According to CNN, Mr. Sessions did not mention these meetings during his confirmation hearing in the Senate. At that time, he pledged that he did not know of any contact between Mr. Trump's representatives and the Russians. A Justice Department official affirmed that Sessions did not lie to senators during the hearing.

Mr. Jeff Sessions. (Photo: CNBC)

The Washington Post first reported Sessions’ meetings with Russian officials. He met Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice, in July on the sidelines of a Republican conference, and in September in his office as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Sessions was an early supporter of Donald Trump and a frequent surrogate of the Republican presidential candidate.

Responding immediately to the above information, the new US Attorney General declared that he had never discussed any issues related to the election campaign with anyone from Russia.

"I have never met with any Russian officials to discuss campaign matters. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It's not true," Mr. Sessions said.

Recently, General Flynn had to leave his position as national security advisor because he hid the fact that he had talked with Ambassador Kislyak.

Immediately after the news broke, key Democratic lawmakers called for Attorney General Sessions to resign. Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, called Sessions' comments during his confirmation hearing "perjury."

During his confirmation hearing to be Attorney General, Sessions was asked about Russia and replied that he had “no contact with the Russians.” Sessions’ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores explained that there was nothing “misleading about his answer” to Congress, as the Alabama Republican was asked “about contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign – not about meetings he had as a Senator and member of the Armed Services Committee.”

"Last year, the Senator had 25 conversations with foreign ambassadors as a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, including ambassadors from the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Poland, India, China, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Russia," Isgur Flores said.

A Justice Department official confirmed Sessions' two meetings but said he met the ambassador "in his capacity as a senator on the Armed Services Committee," CNN reported.

A White House official commented: "This is the latest attack by Democrats on the Trump administration. Secretary Sessions met with the ambassador in his official capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is entirely consistent with his testimony. It is no surprise that Senator Al Franken is raising this issue so soon after President Trump's successful speech to the nation."

According to Vietnamnet.vn