On this weekend’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday,” host Chris Wallace questioned Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) over comments he made during an MSNBC interview last Friday where he said that the intelligence community had transcripts of conversations between Russia and the Trump campaign. After playing the video clip of Coons saying there are transcripts that provide”very critical insights” into whether Russia was “colluding with the Trump campaign,” Wallace asked, “Senator, we’re talking here about the President of the United States, isn’t there more than a whiff of McCarthyism for you as a U.S. Senator to say there are transcripts out there that provide insight into whether or not there was collusion, but you don’t know whether they exist?” After initially defending his comments as an attempt to encourage the Senate Intelligence Committee to be given access to the raw intelligence, Coons admitted there is no “hard evidence of collusion,” and apologized. Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
Author: Pam Key
Mark Levin on Trump Wiretapping Claims: ‘The Evidence Is Overwhelming’
Sunday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” while discussing President Donald Trump’s tweets accusing the former Obama administration of wiretapping Trump Tower before the election, conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin broke down the wiretapping reporting. Levin said, “Well, a pleasure to be here. The evidence is overwhelming. This is not about President Trump’s tweeting. This is about the Obama administration spying, and the question is not whether it spied. We know they went to the FISA court twice. The question is who they did spy on and the extent of the spying that is the Trump campaign, the Trump transition, Trump surrogates.” Levin then read several news articles about the surveillance. Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
Former Bush AG Mukasey: Trump ‘Right’ That There Was Surveillance
Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” while discussing President Donald Trump’s tweets accusing the former Obama administration of wiretapping Trump Tower prior to the election, former Attorney General Michael Mukasey said that Trump was “right” that there was surveillance on Trump Tower for intelligence purposes. Mukasey said, “This is the difference between being correct and right. The president was not correct in saying President Obama ordered a tap on a server in Trump Tower. However, I think he’s right in that there was surveillance and that it was conducted at the behest of the attorney general – at the Justice Department through the FISA court.” (h/t The Hill) Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
Attorney General Jeff Sessions Recuses Himself From Russia Investigations
Thursday at a press conference addressing the possible controversies regarding his association with the Trump presidential campaign, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced he would recuse himself from any federal investigations involving the 2016 election. Sessions said, “I have recused myself in the matters that deal with the Trump campaign.” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
Trump: ‘Total’ Confidence in Sessions, He Should Not Recuse Himself
On Thursday, after President Donald Trump delivered remarks from the USS Gerald R. Ford in Newport News, VA, he addressed allegations Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with Russian officials as reported in a Washington Post story published late Wednesday night. Trump said he had “total” confidence in Attorney General Jeff Sessions while touring the aircraft carrier. When asked if Attorney General Sessions should recuse himself in the Russia investigations President Trump said, “I don’t think so at all.” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
Maxine Waters: Sessions’ Russia Connections Will Lead To Trump Impeachment
Thursday on MSNBC while discussing allegations Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with Russian officials as reported by The Washington Post late Wednesday night, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said an investigation into the Trump administration’s connections with Russia “will lead to impeachment of the president.” Partial transcript as follows: MELVIN: Do you think Senator Jeff Sessions perjured himself? Do you remember that confirmation hearing? WATERS: I do. I think it’s very clear. He did not qualify that meeting in any way. He did not say, yes, I’m a surrogate working in the campaign for the president — for Donald Trump, and I met with the Russian ambassador on a couple of times, but it had nothing to do with sanctions or anything else. He could have said that if he had wanted to. But when you listen to him and his response, it’s very clear that he omitted sharing that information that he had met with him, period. MELVIN: What’s the appropriate response here? WATERS: Well, you know, he really should step up to the plate and recuse himself. That may make people think better about him. But I think he should resign. I think he should get out. I think it
Spicer: Sessions Should Not Recuse Himself Over ‘False Narrative for Political Purposes’
Thursday in preview clips of an interview with “‘Fox & Friends,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Attorney General Jeff Sessions should not recuse himself over allegations that he met with Russian officials from a Washington Post story published late Wednesday night. He added Democrats were “continuing to push a false narrative for political purposes.” Spicer said, “I think Senator Sessions did his job. He was asked very pointedly if there had been any contact with the Trump campaign in the capacity of him being a surrogate. There was not. He was 100 percent straight with the committee. He did he acknowledge that he met in his capacity as a United States senator on the Armed Services committee with the ambassador on a couple occasions, one being after he had given a speech and someone approached him. As you have seen, senators like Ted Cruz have come out and said this is a perfectly normal course of business. I think this is Democrats continuing to push a false narrative for political purposes.” He added, “There is nothing to recuse himself. He was 100 percent straight with the committee. And I think that people who are choosing to play partisan politics with
Graham on Sessions: ‘Those Who Call for His Resignation, They Are Crazy’
Thursday, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said those calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign over allegations he met with Russian officials from a Washington Post story published late Wednesday night are “crazy.” Graham sad, “Jeff Sessions has done nothing wrong.” (h/t Grabien) Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
Ryan: Sessions Should Recuse Himself Only If He Is Focus of Russia Probe
On Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) addressed allegations Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with Russian officials from a Washington Post story published late Wednesday night and said Sessions should only recuse himself if he becomes the focus of any of the investigations. When asked if Sessions should recuse himself Ryan said, “I think he answered that question this morning, which is if he himself is the subject of an investigation, of course, he would. But if he’s not, I don’t see any purpose or reason to doing this. Let’s take a step back for a second here. Number one, we know that Russia tried to meddle in the election. Why do we know this? Because we in congress and the intelligence community did an investigation after the election which discovered Russia was trying to meddle in the election.” “This is something we all well know,” he continued. “Here’s another thing. We have seen no evidence from any of these ongoing investigations that anybody in the Trump campaign or the Trump team was involved in any of this. We have been presented with no evidence that an American was colluding with the Russians to meddle in the elections.” He added,
Pelosi: Sessions ‘Lied Under Oath,’ He Should Resign
Thursday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign over allegations he met with Russian officials from a Washington Post story published late Wednesday night. Pelosi said, “What a week, huh? Last night we learned that Jeff Sessions, the attorney general of the United States, lied under oath to his colleagues in the Senate and to the American people about his communications with the Russians. There are standard of professional conduct for attorneys, especially the top law enforcement officer in our country.” “What is the message that that sends to the country, to the lawyers in the State Department, to the American Bar Association, which has standards of moral and professional conduct, to the state of Alabama, which has standard for professional conduct for its attorneys?” she continued. “The fact that the attorney general, the top cop in our country, lied under oath to the American people is grounds for him to resign. It’s grounds for him to resign. He has proved that he is unqualified and unfit to serve in that position of trust.” Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN