Pressure mounts as Sessions backs off from Russia probe

Attorney General Jeff Sessions may not have been clear about his contacts with Russian officials during the 2016 election, but this much is evident: The controversy over any Kremlin involvement in American politics is not going to fade away anytime soon. Sessions on Thursday became the second high-ranking member of the Trump administration to take a hit over conversations with Russia’s envoy to the U.S., recusing himself from any probe that examines communications between Trump aides and Moscow.

Russian ambassador in eye of storm over Trump campaign ties

The Trump administration’s back-to-back controversies over its Russian ties now have at least one thing in common: Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Moscow’s top diplomat is a Washington fixture with a sprawling network, and he has emerged as the central figure in the investigations into Trump advisers’ connections with Russia.

The field, a year out

Can it be that this far in advance, the main components of the 2018 governor’s race already are coming into view? Last week gave us some additional clarity, and at least a preliminary picture, enough to hang some thoughts around, is emerging. Last week, after all, was when three-term Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter confirmed he would not seek another term and would instead support his long-time lieutenant, Brad Little, for the job.

Mike Pence Used Private Email for State Business as Indiana Governor, and Got Hacked

Mike Pence used a private email account to conduct state business while Governor of Indiana, according to the Indy Star : Emails released to IndyStar in response to a public records request show Pence communicated via his personal AOL account with top advisers on topics ranging from security gates at the governor’s residence to the state’s response to terror attacks across the globe. In one email, Pence’s top state homeland security adviser relayed an update from the FBI regarding the arrests of several men on federal terror-related charges.

Sound familiar? Mike Pence used a private email account for…

Vice President Mike Pence may have denounced Hillary Clinton’s private email server as “the kind of double standard that the American people are weary of,” but that didn’t stop him from using his own private email account for state business as governor of Indiana. A public records request revealed that Pence used his personal account for a number of sensitive governmental matters, from discussing security at the governor’s residence to being updated by his homeland security adviser on a federal terror-related case, according to the Indianapolis Star .

Scumbag Congressman Makes Sexual Joke About Kellyanne Conway- She Puts Him In CHECK

It’s interesting how the left loves to focus on the cracks in the ground when as opposed to the pieces of sky that are falling down. Really though, how could they be making such a big deal about the way Kellyanne Conway sat on a couch for a short period of time to take get the right angle for a picture she was taking? What with the nation in a divide, the world in turmoil and being terrorized by ISIS, women and children being tortured, raped, and beaten because Sharia Law, and much much moreyet, here the are, unable to get over the way a woman sat on a couch.

Mike Pence

Vice President Mike Pence used a private email account to conduct public business as Indiana’s governor, according to public records obtained by the Indianapolis Star. The newspaper reported Thursday that emails provided through a public records request show that Pence communicated with advisers through his personal AOL account on homeland security matters and security at the governor’s residence during his four years as governor.

Gizzi: House Conservatives Split Over Sessions

The major news Thursday from Washington, D.C., was U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ late afternoon announcement he would recuse himself from oversight of the FBI’s investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election. But there was also a little-reported side to the Sessions saga: How many Republicans in the House – who are considered decidedly more conservative than their GOP counterparts in the Senate – were critical of the then-senator from Alabama meeting twice with the Russian ambassador last year and then failing to acknowledge the meetings at his confirmation hearings to be attorney general.

See ‘Grace and Frankie’ Pitch Sex Toys in Funny New Trailer

With Sheen and Waterston as the said husbands, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated series has followed the couples in the sudden new state of their lives at a time when at least Grace and Frankie themselves thought things were going to be smooth sailing – which they have proved to distinctly not be. Unfortunately for them – and fortunately for us – Grace and Frankie weren’t as financially well off: at the end of the second season, Grace and Frankie made a decision to come together and form a company that specializes in sex toys for older women, and if the trailer is any indication, additional hijinx will ensue.

Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy asks Health and Human Services…

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price isn’t a month into his new job and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is already asking him to take a weed-whacker to President Barack Obama’s abortion legacy. Specifically, the majority leader wants Price to enforce what’s known as the Weldon Amendment to kill an abortion-related government mandate in California.

Hundreds chant ‘Coward!’ amid Paul Ryan’s Rhode Island visit

Around 200 people chanted “Coward!” and booed as Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan was attending an event in heavily Democratic Rhode Island FILE – In this Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, file photo, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington before President Donald Trump’s speech to the nation. Ryan is scheduled to visit Democratic-leaning Rhode Island.

No Resignation, but Pressure Forces Jeff Sessions to Recuse Himself

Responding to growing pressure both from his colleagues and the public at large, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Thursday that he is recusing himself from federal investigations into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election. Though he continued to deny the accusation that he lied under oath as “totally false,” he said he spoke with his staff and they recommended recusal.

Partisanship rift continues in House panel probing Russia

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., right, and the committee’s ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., leave after talking to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 2, 2017, following a briefing with FBI Director Jim Comey about Russian influence on the American presidential election. less House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., right, and the committee’s ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., leave after talking to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, … more House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

Read a Transcript of Paul Ryan’s Press Conference on Jeff Sessions

House Speaker Paul Ryan said that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should only recuse himself from investigations into Russia if “he himself” is the subject of the investigation. Speaking at a brief press conference on Capitol Hill, the Wisconsin Republican said he “hadn't read” the transcripts of what Sessions told the Senate Judiciary Committee at his confirmation hearing about whether he met with Russia and could not speak to whether it was accurate.

Calls grow for Sessions to withdraw from Russia probe

A growing number of Republicans joined Democratic leaders Thursday in calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step aside from an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 White House election. Top Democrats demanded that Sessions go further and resign as the nation’s top law enforcement officer after the revelation that he had twice talked with Moscow’s U.S. envoy during the campaign.

U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, other GOP leaders discuss ‘Obamacare’ plans with President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump dines with several Republican congressional leaders, including U.S. Majority Whip Steve Scalise on Wednesday, March 1. U.S. Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, was one of several Republican Congressional leaders who met over lunch with President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss plans for the repeal and replacement of the federal Affordable Care Act. “We are here to start the process.

Russia: The problem Trump can’t escape

The first weeks of a US presidency are usually filled with optimism — a fresh face with a clean slate settles into the White House and maps out a vision for the next four years. A scandal over communications between key Trump aides and Russian officials ahead of the President’s inauguration has widened yet again — this time to include Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Sessions spoke with Russian envoy in 2016, Justice Dept says

Attorney General Jeff Sessions talked twice with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign, the Justice Department confirmed, a seeming contradiction to sworn statements he gave to Congress. The revelation spurred growing calls in Congress in both parties for him to recuse himself from an investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election.

White House defends Jeff Sessions from partisan Democrats

White House defends Jeff Sessions from ‘partisan Democrats’ who demand special prosecutor into Moscow’s election meddling – following claim he lied to senators after he twice met Russian ambassador during Trump campaign Attorney General Jeff Sessions failed to disclose during his confirmation hearing that he spoke with Russia’s ambassador twice last year A September meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak came at the height of the Russian cyber campaign to influence the presidential race Some Democrats have requested a special prosecutor but Sessions claimed on Monday he could ‘recuse myself from anything that I should recuse myself on’ The White House is defending him, saying the senator who asked him the question during the January hearing is playing politics Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was fired for lying to VP Mike Pence about his own contacts with Kislyak … (more)

House oversight panel chair – Sessions should ‘clarify his testimony’

Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said on Thursday that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions should “clarify his testimony” about his contacts with Russian officials during the Trump presidential campaign. Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, said in a Twitter post, “AG Sessions should clarify his testimony and recuse himself.”

The most important word Trump didna t say Tuesday

Trump uttered some 5,000 words and spoke for 60 minutes, but not one of those words was “Russia,” and not one of those minutes was devoted to the so-far-successful effort by our geopolitical adversary to undermine American democracy. The FBI and intelligence community have unanimously charged that Vladimir Putin’s government interfered in the U.S. elections in its successful attempt to get Trump elected.

Justice Dept. says Sessions spoke with Russian envoy during campaign

Attorney General Jeff Sessions had two conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign season last year, contact likely to fuel calls for him to recuse himself from a Justice Department investigation into Russian interference in the election. Sessions, an early supporter of President Donald Trump and a policy adviser to the Republican candidate, did not disclose those communications at his confirmation hearing in January when asked whether “anyone affiliated” with the campaign had contact with the Russians.