Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Senators Patrick Leahy Bernie Sanders and Congressman Peter Welch issued the following statements Thursday after it was reported that Attorney General Jeff Sessions misled the Senate Judiciary Committee about previous contacts withRussia’s ambassador to the United States. Sanders and Welch called for his immediate resignation while Leahy wants a special counsel appointed to investigate.
Senator Patrick Leahy: “My message to the Attorney General is this: No more excuses, recuse yourself and appoint a Special Counsel immediately, and come clean about any contacts you had with the Russians.
“I am deeply concerned that Attorney General Sessions, under oath, misled the Senate Judiciary Committee in response to direct questions from myself and Senator Franken about his contacts with Russian officials. It is an egregious breach of public trust that Attorney General Sessions has not already recused himself. Now we must ask whether he has perjured himself.
“We all know Russia tried to meddle in our elections and its role has to be fully investigated. The Attorney General has shown he cannot be allowed to conduct the investigation.”
Senator Bernie Sanders said: "Millions of Americans are deeply concerned about the possibility that the Trump administration colluded with President Putin and the Russian authoritarian government to win the presidential election. It is deeply disturbing that then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, under oath at a Senate confirmation hearing, falsely denied having met with the Russian ambassador.
"We need a Justice Department that will give us the facts about Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election and their ties to the Trump campaign, not one led by someone who deliberately misled Congress about his own communications with the Russian government. We also must find out what President Trump knew about meetings involving his campaign and the Russians.
"Attorney General Sessions should resign and a special prosecutor should be appointed to give the American people credible answers about Russia’s involvement in the US election."
Congressman Peter Welch was equally blunt: "Attorney General Sessions, while under oath, at best misled the Senate Judiciary Committee about his contacts with Russian officials. At worst, he committed perjury. He can no longer serve as America’s chief law enforcement officer, let alone oversee an investigation into Trump campaign officials' contacts with Russians during the election. He should resign from office immediately."
Source: Congressional Delegation. March 2, 2017