DOJ responds to Comey's testimony about Sessions
The Department of Justice is pushing back against fired FBI Director James Comey's testimony, in which Comey said he couldn't discuss in public why the FBI believed Attorney General Jeff Sessions would need to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian election meddling and any ties between Russians and the Trump campaign.
The DOJ said it was Sessions' involvement in the Trump campaign -- and that alone -- that led to his March 2 recusal from any existing or future investigations into the 2016 presidential race. In his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday, Comey said he couldn't discuss details related to why Sessions recused himself in an open setting. Comey said the FBI had "facts … that would make his continued involvement in a Russia investigation problematic."
"Given Attorney General Sessions' participation in President Trump's campaign, it was for that reason, and that reason alone, the Attorney General made the decision on March 2, 2017 to recuse himself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States," DOJ spokesman Ian Prior said in a statement.
The DOJ also said Comey claimed he was not aware of any memo Sessions or the DOJ issued to the FBI outlining the parameters of Sessions' recusal. But on March 2, Prior said, Sessions' chief of staff Jody Hunt sent an email informing Comey and other department officials about the recusal and its scope. The brief email released to the press did not have much detail.
"In conclusion, it is important to note that after his initial meeting with career ethics officials regarding recusal (and including the period prior to his formal recusal on March 2, 2017), the attorney general has not been briefed on or participated in any investigation within the scope of his recusal," Prior said in the statement.
The White House for most of the week wouldn't comment on whether the president has confidence in Sessions. On Thursday, White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president "absolutely" has confidence in his attorney general and entire cabinet.
