Attorney General Jeff Sessions Hearing Before Senate Intelligence Committee Talking Points Still No Evidence of Wrongdoing by President Trump and the White House

Topline Messaging:

 Attorney General Jeff Sessions agreed to meet with the Senate Intelligence Committee in an open setting, showing just how eager the Trump Administration is to cooperate with the investigative process so it can finally come to an end.  AG Sessions asked for his hearing with the Senate Intel committee to be OPEN, in full view of the American public; this is the action of a public servant with nothing to hide.  AG Sessions is a public servant who has dedicated his life to this country. Attempts by the Left and the media to smear his reputation by drumming up interest in meetings between himself and Russian officials, which were completely normal for a sitting senator to conduct, are baseless and have no place in civilized discourse.  Both Democrats and Republicans agree - there is no evidence of collusion. With no evidence of wrongdoing, collusion, or obstruction of justice, we need to get back to the issues Americans care about, like health care, tax reform, strengthening our infrastructure and creating jobs.

No Wrongdoing by President Trump:

 Despite an ongoing months-long investigation, President Trump has done nothing wrong and there is still no evidence of collusion of any kind between the Trump campaign and Russia.  Last week Former FBI Director James Comey confirmed multiple times that President Trump or White House staff did not ask him to stop the Russia investigation.  It was also confirmed President Trump was not under investigation.  Where we can agree with Director Comey is that so much of the reporting on the Russia investigation is dead wrong.  Director Comey admitted that he leaked his memos about the president to the press, showing extreme political shrewdness on his part to clear his name but not President Trump’s.  If Director Comey was so concerned about his conversations with President Trump, why didn’t he alert anyone to his concerns. His “I don’t know” answer should raise serious questions about just how legitimate the concerns were.

AG Sessions Continues to be Open, Honest, and Transparent:

 AG Sessions has acted with honesty, integrity, and professionalism throughout this entire process.  Almost immediately after being sworn in, AG Sessions consulted with career ethics attorneys at the Department of Justice, and shortly thereafter recused himself only because of his participation in President Trump’s campaign. Since the day he submitted his recusal, the attorney general has not been briefed on or participated in any investigation within the scope of his recusal.  Director Comey stated in last week’s testimony that he was “not…aware of any kind of memorandum issued from the Attorney General or the DOJ to the FBI outlining parameters of [the Attorney General’s] recusal.”  However, Director Comey and other relevant officials received an email from the Attorney General’s Chief of Staff on March 2, 2017. The email detailed the Attorney General’s decision to recuse himself and the extent of this recusal. These officials and their staff were told “not to brief the Attorney General…about, or otherwise involve the Attorney General…in, any such matters described.”  At no time did Director Comey inform AG Sessions of his concerns about the substance of any one-on-one conversation he had with the President, something that Director Comey himself confirmed in his sworn testimony last week.  When Director Comey did raise the issue of he and his FBI staff following proper communications protocol with the White House, the attorney general responded by saying that the FBI and DOJ needed to be careful about following appropriate policies regarding contacts with the White House.

Meeting with Foreign Dignitaries is Standard Procedure:

 U.S. Senators meet with hundreds of foreign dignitaries and ambassadors as part of their duties as Members of Congress.  In fact, Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and other Russian officials have met with dozens of Democrats in recent years, including Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Claire McCaskill, Maria Cantwell, Bob Casey, Jack Reed – the list goes on and on.  AG Sessions’ meetings are hardly scandalous, despite efforts by Democrats to make them so. One of the meetings was an international outreach gathering that the Obama State Department organized for 80 diplomats during the Republican National Convention.  In response to criticism that AG Sessions did not disclose certain meetings - The Attorney General's staff consulted with those familiar with the disclosure process, as well as the FBI investigator handling the background check, and was instructed not to list meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staff connected with his Senate activities.  Kislyak even met with staff members of the Obama administration 22 times between 2009 and 2016.  DOJ has consistently denied the existence of “third meeting” at the Mayflower Hotel with the Russian ambassador since March 2, 2017.

Background on United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions:

 At the age of 27, Jeff Sessions took his first oath, swearing to protect and uphold the Constitution when he joined the United States Army Reserve.  He has proudly carried this sense of loyalty and duty to country during his time in the Army, as US Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, as Alabama Attorney General, and as a United States Senator for 20 years.  The notion that he would collude to undermine the country he has sworn to protect for almost 50 years is completely unsubstantiated.

We Need More Answers on Lynch and Comey Interactions:

 Director Comey’s testimony was tough for a presidential administration, but not President Trump’s administration, rather President Obama’s.  However, Director Comey confirmed he was very concerned about the Obama administration’s interference in the Clinton email investigation, including interference by Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch.  Attorney General Lynch has a lot of explaining to do.