Jeff Sessions is the was confirmed to Attorney General of the United States on February 9, 2017. He was the first seated official to endorse Donald Trump in the 2016 election. He’s appointed to chair of the national security advisory committee for the Trump campaign.
In the lead up to the election, Sessions met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and with Richard Burt, a lobbyist working for Russian AlfaBank. The first meeting was in April 2016 at the Mayflower Hotel. The second meeting occurred on July 18, 2016 at the Republican National Convention at a Heritage Foundation panel that included discussion on Russia’s seizure of Crimea and fight with Georgia over South Ossetia.
His second meeting with Amb. Kislyak occurred on September 8, 2016 in his senate office. The discussions included a visit he took to Russia with a church group in 1991, terrorism and Ukraine.
On January 10, 2017, during his confirmation hearings he was asked by Sen. Al Franken about any contacts he or other Trump campaign staff might have had with Russian officials or Russian intelligence. He denied any conversations or contacts at the hearing.
“Senator Franken, I’m not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I didn’t have — did not have communications with the Russians, and I’m unable to comment on it.”
Sessions was confirmed then sworn in on February 9, 2017. On March 1, 2017, news broke Sessions had at least meetings with Amb. Kislyak contrary to his statements in confirmation hearing. Three months later, it is later revealed he met with Kislyak the first time in April 2016 at the Mayflower Hotel as part of a reception with Donald Trump.
As the chair of the Trump Campaign’s national security committee, Sessions invited lobbyist Richard Burt to contribute to Trump’s policy development. Richard Burt was working as for Russian interests including AlfaBank where he served on the advisory board. Sen. John McCain asked Sessions if he was ever in contact with agents of Russia including “any American lobbyist” during the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing into these meetings on July 13, 2017.
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