U.S. Attorney General removes self from investigation of Russia-Trump contacts

WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself Thursday night from investigations into the ties between Russia and members of Donald Trump’s presidential administration.

Ohio’s U.S. senators expressed concerns earlier in the day regarding reports that Sessions spoke twice with the ambassador from Russia leading up to the U.S. presidential election, including once at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

Democrat Sherrod Brown’s office said that Sessions “therefore lied under oath during his Senate confirmation hearing.”

Brown, who voted against confirmation for Sessions, has called on the attorney general to appoint a special counsel to investigate the ties between officials in the Trump campaign and administration with Russia.

The U.S. intelligence community has stated that Russia was behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee emails, which were published by Wikileaks, in an attempt to influence the presidential election in favor of Republican Donald Trump.

On Thursday, Brown called for Sessions to resign from office.

“It is deeply alarming that Attorney General Sessions would lie under oath, especially concerning his dealings with the Russian Ambassador, as both Republicans and Democrats have called for investigations into the Trump Administration’s ties to Moscow,” Brown said in a statement. “It is no longer enough that the attorney general recuse himself in these investigations. He must resign his post immediately. Ohioans deserve a top law enforcement official they can trust, who doesn’t lie to the American people under oath.”

Brown’s call echoed those of his party’s leaders in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, who have asked for his resignation

Brown and his Republican counterpart, Rob Portman, have been working on legislation to keep sanctions in place against Russia regarding the hacking. The bills were proposed following reports that the Trump administration has considered lifting the sanctions.

Portman, like many leaders of his party, did not call for Sessions to resign, but, on Thursday, issued a call for him to recuse himself from investigation of the Russia matter.

“Jeff Sessions is a former colleague and a friend, but I think it would be best for him and for the country to recuse himself from the DOJ Russia probe,” Portman said in a statement released by his office.

Trump’s national security advisor, Michael Flynn, resigned on Feb. 13, following a report from the Wall Street Journal that he was under investigation over contacts with Russian officials. Intelligence officials said Flynn had discussed sanctions with Russia before Trump took office, contrary to his prior denials. The White House also confirmed on Thursday that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who serves as advisor to the president, met with a Russian diplomat at the same time as Flynn.