Washington
Sessions, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it was “the first time I’m aware of” in which an FBI director had performed the traditional role of Justice Department prosecutors by announcing on his own the conclusion of a federal investigation — that no charges would be brought against Clinton.
He said he was further galled when Comey, one week before his firing, insisted to Congress that he would have taken the same actions again.
Sessions’ insistence that Comey’s firing was motivated by displeasure over the Clinton email case is consistent with the initial White House explanation. But Trump himself has at times appeared to undercut that explanation, saying he would have fired Comey even without the recommendation of the Justice Department and that he was thinking of “this Russia thing” when he dismissed him on May 9.
Trump has accused Comey of having prematurely exonerated Clinton, even though the Justice Department’s own explanation for the firing cited his decision to effectively reopen the probe days before the November election.
The FBI’s investigation is now being run by the Justice Department’s special counsel, Robert Mueller. After initially balking at the question, Sessions said that he had not been questioned by Mueller’s team of investigators. He has been seen as a possible witness in the case given his involvement in the firing of Comey.
Sessions stressed at the outset that he would not discuss any private conversations with the president and he largely abided by that principle, deflecting questions not only about the Russia investigation but also about the president’s pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, among other topics.
The Russia probe has shadowed much of Sessions’ tenure as attorney general, even though he recused himself in March because of his role as a staunch Trump campaign ally.
It was a central focus of the oversight hearing, too, as lawmakers repeatedly pressed Sessions about his contacts with the former Russian ambassador to the U.S., his discussions with Trump about the investigation and his involvement in the firing of Comey.
Though he refused to say whether he discussed with Trump Comey’s involvement in the Russia investigation, or his private conversations with Trump, Sessions did say that the president had asked him and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for their recommendations about what to do with Comey.