One of the meetings was a private conversation between Sessions and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak that took place in September in the senator’s office, at the height of what US intelligence officials say was a Russian cyber campaign to upend the US presidential race, the Post reported.
The previously undisclosed discussions could fuel new congressional calls for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Russia’s alleged role in the 2016 presidential election, the Post said.
Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was fired last month after he discussed US sanctions on Russia with Kislyak before Trump took office and misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.
As attorney general, Sessions oversees the Justice Department, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which have been leading investigations into Russian meddling and any links to Trump’s associates. Sessions has so far resisted calls to recuse himself.
When Sessions spoke with Kislyak in July and September, he was a senior member of the influential Senate Armed Services Committee as well as one of Trump’s top foreign policy advisers, according to the Post.
Sessions played a prominent role supporting Trump after formally joining the campaign in February 2016.
At his Jan. 10 Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, Sessions was asked by Democratic Senator Al Franken what he would do if he learned of any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of the 2016 campaign, the Post reported.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on February 14 the Senate intelligence committee was "highly likely" to look at contacts between Michael Flynn, who resigned as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser on February 13, and Russia’s Washington ambassador.
US House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign on Wednesday after the Washington Post reported he failed to disclose two meetings he had with Russia’s ambassador before Donald Trump was inaugurated as president.
Citing Justice Department officials, the Post said Sessions spoke twice last year with Russia’s ambassador while he was still a US senator. He failed to disclose the encounters when asked during his confirmation hearing to become attorney general about possible contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials, the newspaper said.
Pelosi, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, called for Sessions to resign and for an independent, bipartisan investigation into Trump’s possible ties to Russians.
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