Trump Defends Sessions Days After Saying He Regrets Tapping Him For Attorney General
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/CBSNews) – President Donald Trump is now defending U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, just days after he said he regrets choosing the Alabama senator for the role.
The president unleashed a series of tweets Saturday morning criticizing a Washington Post article focused on the attorney general, calling it an illegal intelligence leak.
CBS News has confirmed American intelligence intercepted Russian reports claiming Sessions discussed campaign related matters with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 presidential race.
Sessions denied ever talking about the campaign when he recused himself from the Russia investigation in March.
"Let me be clear, I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign," he said at the time.
He now says he never had any conversations about Russian interference with the campaign.
Lawmakers announced a bipartisan deal Saturday to sanction Russia for its meddling in the election. The bill will come up for a vote Tuesday and is expected to easily pass the House and the Senate.
Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill that same day about possible Trump campaign ties with Russia.