Here Are The Members Of Congress Calling For Sessions To Recuse Himself Or Resign

Sessions said during testimony he had no contact with the Russians during the presidential campaign — but he did.

President Trump's Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, said during his confirmation hearings that he "did not have communications with the Russians" during the presidential campaign — but it was revealed Wednesday night he did, twice.

Recuse:

Sen. Al Franken, Democrat

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Republican

AG Sessions should clarify his testimony and recuse himself

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Republican

.@GOPLeader says on Morning Joe that AG Sessions should recuse himself from Russian investigation

Win Mcnamee / Getty Images

Rep. McCarthy later backtracked, saying that his statement was misconstrued: "I'm not calling on him to recuse himself. I was asked on Morning Joe, if he needs to recuse himself as going forward. As you just heard, Attorney General Sessions said he would rescue himself going forward - appropriate, and that’s all my answer was. It’s amazing how people spin things so quickly.”

Sen. Brian Schatz, Democrat

Only way to staunch bleeding today is for Mr. Sessions to remove himself, have independent inquiry. Anything else will make it worse.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, Democrat

Rep. Linda Sanchez, Democrat

This is why we need an independent investigation. We have no idea how far #Russia’s influence reaches into the… https://t.co/zMIUYlqJAK

Rep. Raul Labrador, Republican

Top Republican @Raul_Labrador tells @mkraju "It's time for Jeff Sessions to recuse himself" https://t.co/yIrRpSVkGA

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Democrat

Sen. Rob Portman, Republican

Sen. Rob Portman statement on Sessions: "I think it would be best for him and for the country to recuse himself from the DOJ Russia probe.”

Rep. Darrell Issa, Republican

Rep. Darrell Issa says Sessions news reaffirms where he was at last week. "I called for his recusal last Friday... I was already there."

Rep. Barbara Comstock, Republican

Statement on Attorney General Sessions #VA10

Sen. Bill Nelson, Democrat

Sen. Bill Nelson: "Sessions should recuse himself. And there should be an independent commission and special prosecutor appointed."

Sen. Ron Wyden, Democrat

Given AG Sessions’ false statements about contacts with Russia, we need a special counsel to investigate Trump associates' ties to Russia

Sen. Wyden also said that recusal is not enough, but did not call for Sessions to resign. He said, "only a fully independent special counsel will give Americans confidence there will be a real investigation."

Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrat

Rep. Elizabeth Esty, Democrat

Sen. Susan Collins, Republican

Senator Collins’ Statement on Attorney General Sessions’ Communications with Russian Ambassador… https://t.co/xKB3SKJ7t0

Rep. Mike Doyle, Democrat

AG Sessions must step aside, and there must be a completely independent investigation into all Trump campaign contacts with the Russian govt

Rep. Brian Mast, Republican

My statement on the Russia investigation:

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat

I have called repeatedly for independent prosecutor&now there is no question possible perjury&other criminal violations demand it #Sessions

Sen. Blumenthal later said that "Unless #Sessions can provide a credible explanation, his resignation will be necessary."

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Democrat

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Democrat

Re Sesssions story: Now more than ever we need a special prosecutor to look into all contacts with Russian officials.

She also released a statement, saying "the American people deserve answers":

Attorney General Sessions must agree to come before the Judiciary Committee immediately so that we can determine whether he lied to the committee and the American people as well as how this relates to the question of Russian interference in our election. We need to know what happened at that meeting, whether he communicated with the Trump campaign before or after the meeting, and whether this is part of a bigger pattern.

Three days before Attorney General Sessions' September meeting with the Russian ambassador, President Obama made it clear to Vladimir Putin and the world that the U.S. would not roll back sanctions on Russia. This resembles news that broke just a few weeks ago that Michael Flynn contacted the Russian ambassador on the same day the U.S. expanded sanctions on Russia.

There is nothing less at stake here than the preservation of our democracy. The American people deserve answers.

Sen. Jack Reed, Democrat

We need honesty and transparency from the Attorney General, our nation’s chief law enforcement officer. It turns out Jeff Sessions didn’t provide that in his testimony, but he must do so now.

At a bare minimum, Attorney General Sessions needs to recuse himself and an independent special prosecutor must be put in place to probe the serious and mounting allegations about contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives and officials. After misleading Congress, Attorney General Sessions is incapable of leading the investigation. In fact, he could be a subject of it.

Jeff Sessions knows he should have disclosed these meetings before his confirmation vote. Now he needs to answer legitimate questions about his actions and why he withheld this information.

And look, this goes beyond the Attorney General. The President needs to come clean and Republicans in Congress need to put the good of our country and the strength of our democracy ahead of partisan interests. U.S. intelligence clearly shows that the Russians interfered with our election. If Republicans impede fair and open investigations, wherever they lead, then Russia will continue its misconduct and Republicans will have enabled it to continue.

Sen. Dick Durbin, Democrat

AG Sessions must recuse himself from any #RussianConnection investigation. https://t.co/VQavEeHlaV

Resign:

Rep. Elijah Cummings, Democrat

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Democrat

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat

And we need Attorney General Jeff Sessions – who should have never been confirmed in the first place – to resign. We need it now.

Rep. Eric Salwell, Democrat

“He’s got to step aside on anything to do with this. It’s an inherent conflict now,” Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California who has been pushing for an independent commission to investigate foreign interference in the 2016 election, told BuzzFeed News. “He should welcome the opportunity to recuse himself.”

Sen. Claire McCaskill, Democrat

Sen. Claire McCaskill: Attorney General Jeff Sessions should resign

Sen. Kamala Harris, Democrat

“Attorney General Sessions deceived Congress and the American people, irreparably damaging his integrity, and is therefore ineligible to serve as the top law enforcement official of our country. He must resign immediately. In sworn testimony, Sessions said he had not communicated with Russian officials at a time when Russia was actively interfering with our election and he was serving as an official advisor to the Trump campaign. It is now clear that was a lie," Harris said in a statement Thursday morning.

“The faith Americans have in both a fair election and their elected officials has been fundamentally damaged and cannot be restored until there's a full accounting of the facts. This is critical to combating future Russian intrusion in our government and electoral process. Attorney General Sessions is a roadblock to that goal. It is essential to doing the work of justice that the American people believe that the top prosecutor is honest and unbiased. In the best interest of the nation, Attorney General Sessions must vacate his position immediately.”

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Democrat

Under oath, Jeff #Sessions said: "I did not have communications with the Russians." He did. That's perjury. He must resign.

Sen. Ed Markey, Democrat

AG #Sessions should resign. This is exactly why we need an independent special counsel to investigate #TrumpRussia https://t.co/9oLhAONPQX

Sen. Charles Schumer, Democrat

Sen. Chuck Schumer calls for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Democrat

“Attorney General Sessions’ actions undermine the integrity of the office and the Department that he has been trusted to oversee in a fair and impartial manner, and he must immediately resign," Cortez Masto said in a statement.

"Even the appearance of impropriety is inherently disqualifying for anyone serving as our nation’s top law enforcement official. Sessions has been in office less than one month and it is already clear that he cannot be trusted to uphold our nation’s laws, let alone our basic principles of transparency and honesty.”

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat

Recusal is no longer an option. AG Sessions betrayed the trust of the American people and must step down immediately #SessionsLied

Rep. José Serrano, Democrat

Someone that lied under oath about his connections with Russia should not be our nation's top law enforcer. #Sessions should resign now.

https://twitter.com/RepJoseSerrano/status/837323740023308289

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Democrat

Rep. Ted Lieu, Democrat

As Member of Judiciary Committee w/ oversight over Justice Dept, I call on Sessions to resign for lying under oath. https://t.co/M85V3i6Hi4

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat

It's clear that AG Sessions gave false testimony under oath at his hearing. This should disqualify him from leading the Justice Department.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, Democrat

"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 told BuzzFeed News.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, Democrat

Rep. Maxine Waters, Democrat

Those of us who opposed Sessions from the beginning saw him for who he was -- a throwback and a liar. Sessions needs to resign, immediately.

Rep. Donald Norcross, Democrat

Last night, we learned that Attorney Jeff #Sessions may have lied under oath. I believe he needs to resign. https://t.co/W4BSiyDlHx

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, Democrat

Rep. Donald Payne Jr., Democrat

Rep. Eleanor Norton, Democrat

AG #Sessions compromised his position as nation’s top law enforcement officer by lying during his confirmation hearing. He should resign.

Fire:

Rep. John Yarmuth, Democrat

“Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied under oath and has to go. It shouldn’t even be his decision to resign—President Trump must fire him immediately. Nearly every single day, new information emerges that only proves the need for an independent investigation into President Trump’s personal, political, and financial ties to the Russians. The American people deserve answers,” Rep. Yarmuth said.

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