ATTORNEY GENERAL/FBI/INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/RUSSIA/JEFF SESSIONS: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions, facing a chorus of criticism over his contacts with the Russian ambassador, recused himself Thursday [3-2-17] from any current or future investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. His conversations with the ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, came amid suspected Russian hacking directed at Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Mr. Sessions said he made the decision after meeting with senior career officials at the Justice Department. He said he would not take part in any investigations ‘related in any way to the campaigns for president of the United States.’
Mr. Sessions said ‘I don’t recall’ whether Mr. Trump or the presidential election, which was then two months away, came up in the discussion with the ambassador.
The remarks by Mr. Sessions came not long after President Trump on Thursday expressed his support for Mr. Sessions and said he should not recuse himself from the investigation. Mr. Sessions was a key adviser and surrogate for Mr. Trump’s campaign.”
– Eric Lightblau, Michael D. Shear, and Charlie Savage, “Jeff Sessions Recuses Himself From Russia Inquiry,” The New York Times online, March 2, 2017