2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/JEFF SESSIONS/LEGAL/RUSSIA: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Tuesday [11-14-17] that he now recalls a 2016 meeting with a Trump campaign adviser at which the aide spoke about contacts with Russians, after earlier saying he knew of no such contacts.
Mr. Sessions’ comments, in an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, highlighted the challenges facing investigators, lawmakers and others in assembling a precise account of the communications between Trump campaign officials and people connected to the Russian government.
In a five-hour appearance that became combative at times, Mr. Sessions defended his changing statements, blaming a turbulent campaign and faulty memory for his failure to recall contacts that two former Trump campaign advisers have disclosed in recent weeks…
Mr. Sessions, a former senator from Alabama, served as a senior adviser to the Trump campaign on national-security issues, and he has been dogged by the continuing investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign. Russia has denied meddling in the election, and Mr. Trump and his team have said their campaign didn’t collude with the Kremlin…
But much of the hearing was dominated by questions about the Russian contacts, weeks after Trump campaign foreign-policy advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos said they had informed Mr. Sessions about contacts or interactions with Russians during the campaign. Mr. Sessions has several times testified before the Senate that he was unaware of any contacts between Russians and campaign officials.”
-Aruna Viswanatha and Byron Tau, “Sessions Recalls Adviser Mentioning Contacts With Russia,” The Wall Street Journal online, Nov. 14, 2017 06:44pm