Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has been a harsh critic of Attorney General Jeff Sessions since his confirmation hearing. And now, after some of the revelations during former FBI Director James Comey’s Senate hearing regarding the Russia investigation and his subsequent firing, Leahy had some even more chilling threats for the rosy-cheeked AG.
After Comey’s testimony, which revealed that the link between Sessions and Russia may be even stronger than initially thought, Sessions cancelled a public testimony, prompting this response from Leahy in a series of tweets:
“Atty Gen. Sessions provided false testimony in response to questions from me and @SenFranken [Senator Al Franken] about his contacts with Russian officials. Now, twice in 2 mos., AG Sessions cancels an Approps hg in which I could Q him about his false testimony and half-hearted Russia recusal. My mssg to AttyGen Sessions: Approps & Judiciary have oversight of DOJ. You need to testify before both in public. You can’t run forever.”
Atty Gen. Sessions provided false testimony in response to questions from me and @SenFranken about his contacts with Russian officials. (1)
— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) June 10, 2017
(2) Now, twice in 2 mos., AG Sessions cancels an Approps hg in which I could Q him about his false testimony and half-hearted Russia recusal
— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) June 11, 2017
3) My mssg to AttyGen Sessions: Approps & Judiciary have oversight of DOJ. You need to testify before both in public. You can't run forever.
— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) June 11, 2017
The question that Leahy asked of Sessions during his confirmation hearing before the Senate that we now know Sessions lied about is this:
“Several of the President-elect’s nominees or senior advisers have Russian ties. Have you been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after election day?”
Sessions responded that he did not, which we know is untrue; Sessions met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on multiple occasions during the campaign, a statement which Comey seemed to corroborate during his testimony. Some believe that this lie amounts to perjury. Whether or not it was a federal crime, it has been reported that Sessions was already on rocky ground with President Donald Trump.
Sessions allegedly offered his resignation at one point, and the fact that he is the latest in the crosshairs of the Russia investigation makes it seem likely that his time as AG is going to be remarkably short.
Watch Leahy going after Sessions about consent and Donald Trump’s… Grabby habits below (after the jump):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaLoH8PTwlE
Featured image via Flickr user Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0.
