Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) didn’t buy for a second that Jeff Sessions didn’t understand his question when he lied under oath in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Franken accused Sessions of trying to whitewash and downplay his lie and urged the Attorney General to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In a statement provided to PoltiicusUSA, Sen. Franken said:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testimony in the Senate Intelligence Committee was very unsettling,†said Sen. Franken. “We know that a hostile foreign power—Russia—sought to undermine our democracy by meddling in the 2016 presidential election. But our attorney general, who is the top law enforcement official in the country, and the rest of the Trump administration seem unconcerned by that disturbing truth. They seem to have collective amnesia about meeting with Russian officials during and after the campaign and only remember when they have been caught. They are not acting like a group of people with nothing to hide.
I also think it’s very clear, despite what he attempted to assert in his testimony, that Attorney General Sessions wasn’t actually confused by my question during his January confirmation hearing. Rather, I believe he’s trying to downplay the gravity of and whitewash the fact that he misled the Senate Judiciary Committee under oath and failed to correct the record until he was forced to do so seven weeks later after reporting by the Washington Post.
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Here’s my message to Jeff Sessions: stop misleading the American public, stop making excuses, and start being more forthcoming. Come before the Senate Judiciary Committee to speak honestly and openly with those who you first misled.
Sen. Franken has been persistent on one of the key pieces of the Russia investigation. If Jeff Sessions has nothing to hide why does he lie under oath, give misleading testimony, and refuse to answer questions? Sessions may not have personally colluded with Russia, but he has broken the law by not disclosing meetings with Russians, and he is Donald Trump’s firewall against the FBI investigation in the Justice Department.
Jeff Sessions raised more questions than he answered in front of the Intelligence Committee, which is why Senator Franken and his colleagues on the Judiciary Committee deserve the opportunity to question the man who lied to them.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
