Jeff Session’s Intense Hearing

This Tuesday, Jeffrey Sessions riled up Democratic senators by repeatedly dodging their efforts to shed light on the recent firing of former FBI director James Comey. He instead chose to blast secret innuendo and leaks over his own conduct.

During the intense Senate intelligence committee hearing, Sessions furiously rejected claims that he colluded with Russian during the 2016 election. He regarded the allegation as an “appalling and detestable lie.” Sessions further antagonized Democrats as he declined to speak about his private conversations with Trump. They excused him of “stonewalling” in order to shield the administration.

As an Alabama Senator, the Attorney General used his skills in filibustering and diversion in order to come out of the testimony with minimal political damage. Sessions resistance may also provide a push to the White House who has been unable to escape the ongoing Russia investigation.

Sessions former Senate colleagues were beseeched to believe the Attorney General when he claimed that he did not hold an undisclosed meeting with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, at a speech by then presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington last year. However, he was not able to recall whether or not he had any informal interactions with Russians during the event.

He defended his decision in playing a role in the firing of James Comey, although he recused himself from the Russian situation. Sessions claims that, “I recused myself from any investigation into the campaign for president, but I did not recuse myself from defending my honor against scurrilous and false allegations.”

Democratic senators were left deeply frustrated when Sessions declined to comment on the reasons for Comey’s firing and would not say whether or not Trump ordered him out of the Oval Office so that he would be able to talk with Comey privately on February 14th. Comey claims that this encounter also included a request by the president to go easy on Michael Flynn, former national security adviser.

Senator King asked Sessions if Trump invoked executive privilege in order to prevent his testimony, to which he replied with  “I am protecting the right of the President to assert it if he chooses; and there may be other privileges that could apply in this circumstance.”