Jeff Sessions to face tough Russia questions at House hearing
Jeff Sessions
Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE President Donald Trump says  he  asked Vladimir Putin about Russian interference in the 2016 president election while in Vietnam. Video provided by  Newsy Newslook
Attorney General Jeff Sessions  is sworn-in to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Department of Justice on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 18  2017. (Photo: Michael Reynolds  european pressphoto agency)
 WASHINGTON â Attorney General Jeff Sessions  could not have been more definitive when  he  told a Senate panel last month that  he  had no knowledge of Trump campaign contacts with Russia.
âI did not  and Iâm not aware of anyone else that did â  Sessions  told the Senate Judiciary Committee. âI donât believe that happened.â
Democrats and Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are preparing a strong challenge to  Sessions â assertions at a hearing Tuesday  based largely on the guilty plea of George Papadopoulos  who served as a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign and admitted to the FBI  he  attended a national security meeting in March 2016 with then-candidate Donald Trump  Sessions and other advisers.
"Itâs time for Jeff Sessions to name a Special Counsel and get answers for the American people " the two congressmen wrote. "If not  he should step down."
In addition to the Russia investigation  Rep. Trey Gowdy  R-S.C.  said  Sessions  should expect "spirited questioning" on recent spikes in violent crime  firearms policy in the wake of two mass shootings  immigration enforcement and the Justice Department's recent move to support harsher sentencing policy.
But  Sessions  likely will be hard-pressed to move beyond the cloud of the Russia investigation and his association with it.
Sharman said the recent Papadopoulos and Page disclosures make Sessions at least a "witness" in the Mueller inquiry as it churns on. ( Sessions  told the Senate committee last month that the special counsel had not yet sought to interview him.)
And Trump has taken no pleasure in  Sessions  or the Justice Department. Earlier this month  the president said he was "disappointed" in the department for not pursuing Clinton and Democrats further.
More: AG Jeff Sessions declines to answer questions about the firing of FBI director
Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE President Donald Trump says  he  asked Vladimir Putin about Russian interference in the 2016 president election while in Vietnam. Video provided by  Newsy Newslook
Attorney General Jeff Sessions  is sworn-in to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Department of Justice on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 18  2017. (Photo: Michael Reynolds  european pressphoto agency)
  [TGT] could not have been more definitive when   [TGT]   told a Senate panel last month that   [TGT]   had no knowledge of Trump campaign contacts with Russia.
âI did not  and Iâm not aware of anyone else that did â   [TGT] told the Senate Judiciary Committee. âI donât believe that happened.â
Democrats and Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are preparing a strong challenge to  Sessions â assertions at a hearing Tuesday  based largely on the guilty plea of George Papadopoulos  who served as a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign and admitted to the FBI  he  attended a national security meeting in March 2016 with then-candidate Donald Trump  Sessions and other advisers.
"Itâs time for  [TGT]  to name a Special Counsel and get answers for the American people " the two congressmen wrote. "If not  he should step down."
In addition to the Russia investigation  Rep. Trey Gowdy  R-S.C.  said   [TGT] should expect "spirited questioning" on recent spikes in violent crime  firearms policy in the wake of two mass shootings  immigration enforcement and the Justice Department's recent move to support harsher sentencing policy.
But   [TGT] likely will be hard-pressed to move beyond the cloud of the Russia investigation and his association with it.
Sharman said the recent Papadopoulos and Page disclosures make Sessions at least a "witness" in the Mueller inquiry as it churns on. (  [TGT] told the Senate committee last month that the special counsel had not yet sought to interview him.)
And Trump has taken no pleasure in  Sessions  or the Justice Department. Earlier this month  the president said he was "disappointed" in the department for not pursuing Clinton and Democrats further.
More:  [TGT]  declines to answer questions about the firing of FBI director