Sessions’ Russian woes

The Attorney General of United States, Jeff Sessions, reportedly met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak to discuss the presidential elections during the campaign.

According to a report from Washington Post, Kislyak divulged details of this meeting to his superiors in Kremlin.  

Background  

The 84th Attorney General, served as the junior United States Senator from Alabama from 1997 until 2017. He was the senior foreign policy adviser to Trump during the presidential race and one of the earliest Republican lawmakers to endorse him.

When Trump assumed office, he nominated Sessions as AG. During his Senate confirmation, Sessions said that he did not “have communications with the Russians” during the campaign. He had responded to a query about the ongoing investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Details later emerged that Sessions had met with Kislyak on three different occasions during the campaign. He then testified to the Senate in a public hearing stating that while he had met with Kislyak, he had not discussed anything in relation to the campaign itself.

Later, Sessions recused himself from all investigations pertaining to Russia’s interference in the US election. Trump has expressed regret in having nominated Sessions for the position.

Analysis

The Washington Post report cited current and former US intelligence officials to corroborate its story. Reportedly, Kislyak and Sessions spoke about Trump’s stance on Russian policies and matters of interest to the Russian government.

If true, this contradicts the assertions from Sessions.

A spokesperson of the Department of Justice said, “Obviously I cannot comment on the reliability of what anonymous sources describe in a wholly uncorroborated intelligence intercept that the Washington Post has not seen and that has not been provided to me.”

Sessions continues to stand by his earlier statements.

Assessment  

Our assessment is that the latest revelation casts a shadow on Sessions’ future in the administration. He has fallen out of favor with the American president, who has publicly rebuked him. Additionally, intelligence leaks paint a picture of him as someone who may not be trustworthy -a characteristic trait for the chief law enforcement officer of the country.