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Sessions’s Senate Testimony: How to Watch and What to Expect Rosenstein Vows Mueller Will Have Independence in Russia Inquiry
(about 1 hour later)
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is scheduled to testify on Tuesday, starting at 2:30 p.m. Eastern, before the Senate Intelligence Committee about matters linked to the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. Follow our briefing here throughout the day for the latest updates and live video once the hearing begins. Hours before Attorney General Jeff Sessions was to begin his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee starting at 2:30 p.m. eastern, his name was invoked. And not in a way he would like.
• In March, Mr. Sessions recused himself from any Russia-related inquiry related to the 2016 presidential campaign. Although he justified that decision as stemming only from the fact that he had played a role in the Trump campaign, it came after a report that he had two contacts with the Russian ambassador last year despite having testified at his confirmation hearing that he had not communicated with the Russians. (He has argued that his testimony was accurate in context.) • Mr. Sessions quickly came under criticism from his former Democratic colleagues in the Senate for sending Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday morning. A former colleague accused Mr. Sessions of giving “false testimony” to his former colleagues.
• He has been under renewed scrutiny since his role came up several times during testimony before the Intelligence Committee last week by James B. Comey, whom President Trump fired as F.B.I. director. In a letter to Congress on Saturday, Mr. Sessions said he wanted to address those matters before the same panel. • And Mr. Rosenstein was soon the subject of vigorous questions about reports that President Trump was considering dismissing the special counsel in the inquiry, Robert S. Mueller III.
• President Trump is awake and tweeting, venting about the news media, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Loretta Lynch, who served as attorney general under former President Barack Obama. • Mr. Rosenstein told senators he would not carry out any order from the president to fire Mr. Muller unless there were good cause to do so.
First, Mr. Comey told the committee that after a Feb. 14 meeting, Mr. Trump cleared the Oval Office of other officials — including Mr. Sessions — and then made private comments that Mr. Comey interpreted as an improper order to drop a criminal investigation into Michael T. Flynn, Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser. Mr. Comey implored Mr. Sessions never to leave him alone again with the president, but Mr. Sessions did not reply. Track our briefing here throughout the day for the latest updates and live video once the hearing begins.
Mr. Rosenstein began his testimony parrying questions from Democrats both about Mr. Sessions and about the role of Mr. Mueller. He vowed to protect the integrity of the Russia investigation.
“I’m not going to follow any orders unless I believe that those are lawful and appropriate orders,” Mr. Rosenstein said, adding: “If there were good cause, I would consider. If there were not good cause, it would not matter what anybody says.”
Mr. Rosenstein made his remarks in response to questions from several senators after a friend of Mr. Trump said on Monday that he was considering whether to fire Mr. Mueller. Mr. Rosenstein appointed Mr. Mueller as special counsel and is overseeing his investigation because Mr. Sessions has recused himself.
At the hearing, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, noted that the Justice Department regulations for special counsels place restrictions on firing Mr. Mueller: only the attorney general — here, Mr. Rosenstein — may do so, and only for good cause, say, if Mr. Mueller committed misconduct or violated department rules.
Ms. Shaheen asked Mr. Rosenstein whether he had seen any sign that Mr. Mueller had committed some breach that would constitute good cause for firing him.
“No, I have not,” Mr. Rosenstein replied, adding: “You have my assurance that we are going to faithfully follow that regulation, and Director Mueller is going to have the full independence he needs to conduct that investigation.”
Soon after, Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, asked him what he would do if Mr. Trump ordered him to fire Mr. Mueller, leading to his response that he would not do so unless there were good cause in accordance with the regulation.
Mr. Rosenstein did not say what he would do if Mr. Trump first ordered the department to rescind the regulation, which would permit Mr. Mueller to be fired for any reason.
Mr. Sessions may have sent a stand-in to the Appropriations Committee, but that did not stop Democrats there from venting their frustrations at him.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the committee’s top Democrat, criticized Mr. Sessions for opting to appear in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee rather than at his planned appearance to make the case for the Justice Department’s budget, saying attorneys general do not “cower” when called upon by Congress.
Mr. Leahy said he has his own questions about the role of Mr. Sessions in the firing of Mr. Comey, as well as what he called “false testimony” by Mr. Sessions about his interactions with Russian officials during his confirmation hearing — questions he could not ask Mr. Rosenstein.
“I won’t mince words,” he said to Mr. Rosenstein, “You’re not the witness we were supposed to hear from today. You’re not the witness who should be behind that table. That responsibility lies with the attorney general of the United States.”
Mr. Sessions will be questioned about any connections he may have to the Russia investigation.
Mr. Comey told the committee that after a Feb. 14 meeting, Mr. Trump cleared the Oval Office of other officials — including Mr. Sessions — and then made private comments that Mr. Comey interpreted as an improper order to drop a criminal investigation into Michael T. Flynn, Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser. Mr. Comey implored Mr. Sessions never to leave him alone again with the president, but Mr. Sessions did not reply.
In a statement issued after the testimony, the Justice Department denied that account on behalf of Mr. Sessions.In a statement issued after the testimony, the Justice Department denied that account on behalf of Mr. Sessions.
“The attorney general was not silent; he responded to this comment by saying that the F.B.I. and Department of Justice needed to be careful about following appropriate policies regarding contacts with the White House,” the statement said.“The attorney general was not silent; he responded to this comment by saying that the F.B.I. and Department of Justice needed to be careful about following appropriate policies regarding contacts with the White House,” the statement said.
Mr. Comey testified that he did not tell Mr. Sessions specifically about what Mr. Trump had said because he and other F.B.I. officials expected that Mr. Sessions would soon have to recuse himself, based on classified facts “that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic.”Mr. Comey testified that he did not tell Mr. Sessions specifically about what Mr. Trump had said because he and other F.B.I. officials expected that Mr. Sessions would soon have to recuse himself, based on classified facts “that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic.”
That led officials to believe that “he was not going to be in contact with Russia-related matters much longer,” Mr. Comey said.That led officials to believe that “he was not going to be in contact with Russia-related matters much longer,” Mr. Comey said.
Mr. Comey saved the details of that matter for testimony he delivered behind closed doors last week. CNN has reported that it appeared to center on intercepted “Russian-to-Russian conversations” suggesting that Mr. Sessions may have had a third undisclosed contact with the Russian ambassador at an April 2016 reception at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington.Mr. Comey saved the details of that matter for testimony he delivered behind closed doors last week. CNN has reported that it appeared to center on intercepted “Russian-to-Russian conversations” suggesting that Mr. Sessions may have had a third undisclosed contact with the Russian ambassador at an April 2016 reception at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington.
The Huffington Post first reported on March 8 that Mr. Sessions and the ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, had attended that event, at which Mr. Trump was also present, but the Justice Department has said Mr. Sessions did not speak with the ambassador then. Two weeks ago, after CNN resurfaced the idea that there may have been a third meeting, Sarah Isgur Flores, a spokeswoman for Mr. Sessions, reiterated a denial.The Huffington Post first reported on March 8 that Mr. Sessions and the ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, had attended that event, at which Mr. Trump was also present, but the Justice Department has said Mr. Sessions did not speak with the ambassador then. Two weeks ago, after CNN resurfaced the idea that there may have been a third meeting, Sarah Isgur Flores, a spokeswoman for Mr. Sessions, reiterated a denial.
“The facts haven’t changed; the then-senator did not have any private or side conversations with any Russian officials at the Mayflower Hotel,” she said in a statement.“The facts haven’t changed; the then-senator did not have any private or side conversations with any Russian officials at the Mayflower Hotel,” she said in a statement.
A Democratic senator asked Mr. Comey last week about whether Mr. Sessions was adhering to his recusal from matters related to the Russia investigation in light of the fact that when Mr. Trump fired Mr. Comey, the White House released a memo from Mr. Sessions recommending his removal.A Democratic senator asked Mr. Comey last week about whether Mr. Sessions was adhering to his recusal from matters related to the Russia investigation in light of the fact that when Mr. Trump fired Mr. Comey, the White House released a memo from Mr. Sessions recommending his removal.
The memo did not mention Russia, but Mr. Trump separately told NBC News that he was thinking about the Russia investigation when he decided to fire Mr. Comey.The memo did not mention Russia, but Mr. Trump separately told NBC News that he was thinking about the Russia investigation when he decided to fire Mr. Comey.
“If, as the president said, I was fired because of the Russia investigation, why was the attorney general involved in that chain?” Mr. Comey testified on Thursday. “I don’t know.”“If, as the president said, I was fired because of the Russia investigation, why was the attorney general involved in that chain?” Mr. Comey testified on Thursday. “I don’t know.”
Just hours before Mr. Sessions was to testify on Tuesday, the president accused Mr. Sessions’s predecessor, Ms. Lynch, of acting illegally. Mr. Rosenstein demurred when pressed by Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, to describe the scope and limits of Mr. Sessions’ recusal.
“A.G. Lynch made law enforcement decisions for political purposes,” Mr. Trump tweeted, apparently a reference to testimony by Mr. Comey that Ms. Lynch pressed him to call the Hillary Clinton email investigation “a matter” rather than an investigation. Mr. Schatz noted that when Mr. Sessions announced his recusal in early March, he phrased it in terms of investigations that touched on the 2016 presidential campaigns. But the senator asked where the boundaries of that were, suggesting that it was murky whether potential counterintelligence matters about Russia that did not involve the campaign, or potential criminal matters like obstruction of justice allegations, fell into it.
“Gave Hillary Clinton a free pass and protection. Totally illegal!” Mr. Trump added. Mr. Rosenstein suggested that he would control what matters reached Mr. Sessions because of how the Justice Department hierarchy works: matters go through the Office of the Deputy Attorney General before getting to the Office of the Attorney General. But he refused to detail the scope and limits of Mr. Sessions’ recusal beyond what has already been said, saying he had a responsibility not to talk publicly about what investigations were focusing on.
Mr. Trump’s comment about Ms. Lynch on Tuesday morning was one of a blizzard of tweets by Mr. Trump in which the president also railed against the news media. “I know what we’re investigating,” Mr. Rosenstein said of Mr. Sessions. “He does not.”
“The Fake News Media has never been so wrong or so dirty. Purposely incorrect stories and phony sources to meet their agenda of hate. Sad!” Mr. Trump wrote at 6:35 a.m. It was not clear which articles he was referring to. Speaker Paul D. Ryan said on Tuesday that Mr. Mueller should be allowed to continue his work.
Later, he added: “Fake News is at an all time high. Where is their apology to me for all of the incorrect stories???” “I think the best thing to do is to let Robert Mueller do his job,” Mr. Ryan said at a news conference. “I think the best vindication for the president is to let this investigation go on independently and thoroughly.”
Mr. Trump also expressed frustration about the appeals court, which ruled on Monday against the president’s revised travel ban.
“Well, as predicted, the 9th Circuit did it again — Ruled against the TRAVEL BAN at such a dangerous time in the history of our country. S.C.,” he wrote.