It is another day and another controversy has erupted in the United States. We have already had one high-ranking figure leave the Trump Administration with Michael Flynn being fired last month after he misled the White House, particularly Vice-President Mike Pence, about his ties and communications with Russia. The latest individual who is at risk of a similar fate to Flynn is Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Why is he at risk?
The Washington Post, who cited U.S. Justice Department officials, reported that Jeff Sessions met Sergei Kislyak, a Russian ambassador, in July and September last year.
This contradicts Sessions’ statement at his confirmation hearing on 10th January 2017 where he stated, under oath, that he “did not have communications with the Russians”.
He has again reiterated that he has “not met with any Russians at any time to discuss any political campaign, and those remarks are unbelievable to me and are false”.
The Backlash
The revelations which have come out about Sessions have sparked outrage in the United States. This is especially the case within the Democratic Party. They argue that, because he lied under oath to Congress, Sessions should resign from his position as Attorney General or step aside from an FBI probe he is overseeing into the claims of hacking in the 2016 presidential election.
We are far past recusal. Jeff #Sessions lied under oath. Anything less than resignation or removal from office is unacceptable.
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) 2 March 2017
And we need Attorney General Jeff Sessions – who should have never been confirmed in the first place – to resign. We need it now.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) 2 March 2017
Despite this, The White House has backed Sessions by criticising this "latest attack against the Trump administration by partisan Democrats".
What happens now?
We are certain to get more developments regarding this latest incident in the days and weeks to come. Still, in the immediate future, this incident enhances the controversy surrounding the Trump Administration in regards to its ties with Russia and it worsens the tension within the United States at this moment in time.
However, this incident could also, to some degree, unite the Democratic and Republican Part. Indeed, they could agree to finally have an independent panel that will thoroughly investigate the issue of Russian hacking into the election and give us the truth about the extent to which Russia interfered in the election.
