BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a sweeping denial of any personal involvement in Russian interference in last year’s presidential campaign on Tuesday, calling accusations that he even discussed such an effort with officials from that country an “appalling and detestable lie.”
“I have never met with, or had any conversation with, any Russians or any foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election in the United States,” Sessions told the Senate Intelligence Committee. “Further, I have no knowledge of any such conversations by anyone connected to the Trump campaign.”
The comments came as Sessions testified at a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee about his meetings with Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak, and any discussions he had with the president before former FBI director James Comey was fired.
Last week, Comey appeared before the same committee and shared that he and members of the FBI leadership team did not discuss President Donald Trump’s alleged request for the FBI director’s loyalty as the group believed Sessions would inevitably recuse himself from the Russia investigation. Sessions ultimately stepped away from all matters related to the presidential campaign in March.
Comey further claimed that Sessions was among a group of people asked to leave the Oval Office ahead of a conversation in which Trump told Comey he hoped he could let go of the investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Comey said he later told Sessions about the dialogue, and asked that he “prevent any future direct communication” between Trump and himself.
Rosenstein pledges “independence” for Mueller, sees no evidence for firing
Earlier Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testified that he has not seen evidence of good cause to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, whom he appointed in May to lead the inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, including any possible collusion with Trump campaign associates.
Rosenstein appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee at a hearing originally scheduled to be attended by Session Tuesday morning. After learning that members of the appropriations committee intended to ask him questions about the Russia investigation, Sessions notified the House and Senate committees’ leadership that he would be changing his schedule because “the Senate Intelligence Committee is the most appropriate forum for such matters.”
The deputy attorney general assured the Senate Appropriations Committee that Mueller will have “full independence.”
“The chain of command for the special counsel is only directly to the attorney general, or in this case, the acting attorney general, so nobody else in the department would have the authority to do that, and you have my assurance that we are going to faithfully follow that regulation and Director Mueller is going to have the full degree of independence that he needs to conduct that investigation appropriately,” said Rosenstein.
Though he’s the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein would have the authority to fire Mueller since Sessions recused himself in March from any probes related to campaigns for the presidency, like the Russia investigation.
When asked if he would do if Trump ordered him to fire Mueller, Rosenstein said, “I am not going to follow any orders unless I believe those are lawful and appropriate orders.”
Rosenstein added that if there were a good cause, he would consider firing the special counsel. However, if there were not “good cause” to get rid of Mueller, Rosenstein said, “It would not matter to me what anybody says.”
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