Leader of House Democrats Calls for Attorney General's Resignation

Following the revelation of another Trump administration official's connection to Russia, Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the House Democrats, called for the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and for an investigation into "his connections with Russia." On Wednesday, March 2, Pelosi accused Sessions of "perjury." The new news about the connections of Mr. Trump's associates with Russian officials comes just two weeks after the resignation of his National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, for the same reason. Several other Democratic Party members also called for the resignation of the Attorney General and an investigation into his connections with Russia. Democrats and critics of the Trump administration claim that Mr. Sessions denied any connection with Russian officials during his congressional confirmation hearing as Attorney General. However, Jeff Sessions and the Department of Justice deny these allegations. In a statement, the Attorney General stated that he "never met with Russian officials regarding [Donald Trump's] election campaign" and that the allegations against him are "false." The Department of Justice also stated that during the congressional hearing, Mr. Sessions was asked about "the campaign's connections" with Russia, not his meetings as a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice noted that the current Attorney General "last year, as a senator and senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke with ambassadors from 25 countries, including the UK, Korea, Japan, Poland, India, China, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Russia. During the congressional hearing, he was asked whether there were any connections between Donald Trump's election campaign and Russia; he was not asked about his meetings as a senator and senior member of the Armed Services Committee." Meanwhile, Adam Schiff, a California representative in the House, stated: "If reports are accurate that the Attorney General met with the Russian ambassador during the election campaign and failed to disclose it during his hearing, it is essential that Jeff Sessions resign to avoid any role in the investigation into the Trump campaign's connections with Russia." The implication of this Democratic representative is that Mr. Sessions cannot play an impartial role in the mentioned investigations in his current position. According to video from the congressional hearing, Al Franken, a Democratic representative from Minnesota, asked Mr. Sessions: "If there is any evidence of any connection between Trump campaign affiliates and the Russian government, what would you do?" John Sessions replied: "I am not aware of any of these activities... I had no connections with the Russians and cannot comment on this matter." Previously, Michael Flynn, the National Security Advisor to the President, resigned from his position due to insufficient explanations regarding his communications and phone calls with the Russian ambassador in Washington. Donald Trump has firmly denied any connections or assistance from Russia to his election campaign. In this context, White House lawyers have asked staff to "not destroy documents related to Russian interference."