US attorney general discussed Trump campaign with Russia envoy: report

Embattled US Attorney General Jeff Sessions discussed campaign-related issues with the Russian ambassador to Washington during the presidential race - something Sessions has insisted he did not do, The Washington Post reported late Friday.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, Friday,

Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia in 2017. Source: AAP

The paper quoted current and former administration officials who cited US intelligence intercepts of Ambassador Sergey Kislyak's accounts to his bosses in Moscow of two encounters he had with Sessions, then an adviser to Trump, during the campaign.

The report is certain to add more pressure on Sessions, whose job security is seen as being in jeopardy after President Donald Trump criticised him in scathing terms in an interview this week with The New York Times, saying he was sorry he had hired him.

Trump said he regretted the hiring because Sessions in March recused himself from overseeing an FBI-led probe into Russian meddling in the election in Trump's favor and whether the Trump team colluded in that effort.

Sessions recused himself in March after it was disclosed that he had in fact met with the ambassador during the campaign, after saying during his confirmation hearing that he had not met with any Russian officials during that period.

But Sessions insisted when he recused himself that he had not talked about the US election campaign with the ambassador.



"I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign," he said at the time.

However, Kislyak, in briefing his superiors on the meetings, said he and Sessions discussed campaign-related matters including policy issues important to Moscow, the Post said.

It quoted one former official as saying the intercepts suggest Sessions and Kislyak had "substantive" talks on issues including Trump's positions on Russia-related subjects and prospects for bilateral relations in a Trump administration.

Sessions' account - he has said he recalls meeting only once with the ambassador - provided "misleading" statements that are "contradicted by other evidence," a separate US official said.

Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AFP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world