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pnwmom

(108,973 posts)
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:10 PM May 2017

First on CNN: AG Sessions did not disclose meetings with Russian officials, DOJ says

Source: CNN

Washington (CNN)Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not disclose meetings he had last year with Russian officials when he applied for his security clearance, the Justice Department told CNN Wednesday.

Sessions, who met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at least two times last year, didn't note those interactions on the form, which requires him to list "any contact" he or his family had with a "foreign government" or its "representatives" over the past seven years, officials said.

The new information from the Justice Department is the latest example of Sessions failing to disclose contacts he had with Russian officials. He has come under withering criticism from Democrats following revelations that he did not disclose the same contacts with Kislyak during his Senate confirmation hearings earlier this year.

Sessions initially listed a year's worth of meetings with foreign officials on the security clearance form, according to Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores. But she says he and his staff were then told by an FBI employee who assisted in filling out the form, known as the SF-86, that he didn't need to list dozens of meetings with foreign ambassadors that happened in his capacity as a senator.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/24/politics/jeff-sessions-russian-officials-meetings/

31 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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First on CNN: AG Sessions did not disclose meetings with Russian officials, DOJ says (Original Post) pnwmom May 2017 OP
Trump hires all the best people! NastyRiffraff May 2017 #1
There really is a God! MelissaB May 2017 #2
well let's see he'll get a chance to amend what? or retroactively apply for Ohioblue22 May 2017 #3
well of course! He didn't need to list dozens of meetings with foreign ambassadors Thomas Hurt May 2017 #4
Wolf Blitzer seems to have actually grown himself a pair. The Velveteen Ocelot May 2017 #5
No cable, details, please? furtheradu May 2017 #12
He was arguing with him about Flynn's security clearance - The Velveteen Ocelot May 2017 #14
Thanks for this! furtheradu May 2017 #22
... CatWoman May 2017 #30
He blinks too much. A tell. panader0 May 2017 #31
Isn't this old news? nycbos May 2017 #6
I think the recusal was because... Peachhead22 May 2017 #15
Got it nycbos May 2017 #20
My thoughts as well.. "First On CNN" I guess... vkkv May 2017 #21
Mr. fucking tough on crime Sessions habitual offender. Freethinker65 May 2017 #7
So somebody, somewhere, do it! Charge him and get his shrimpy, lying ass in court! mpcamb May 2017 #19
The Trump daily scandal show begins! furtheradu May 2017 #8
Mind boggling PatSeg May 2017 #9
Ohhh, another Felony Peachhead22 May 2017 #10
There is no way this was an accident on his part as an accident cstanleytech May 2017 #11
Freaking Republican perjurers Achilleaze May 2017 #13
NEVER HIS FAULT.... bresue May 2017 #16
Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up! Dopers_Greed May 2017 #17
I wonder if Trump had to go thru the security clearance investigations like a government employee captain queeg May 2017 #18
Here are the SF-86 instructions that the US AG found so complicated... MedusaX May 2017 #23
Seems like there is a disagreement within the DOJ as to whether or not he needed to iclude riversedge May 2017 #24
Sessions is full of bull. The people who are responsible for providing assistance politicaljunkie41910 May 2017 #28
K&R orangecrush May 2017 #25
Hey Sessions remember these days ................ turbinetree May 2017 #26
Dumpty and his crew all believe they are above the law. I DESPISE them all. nt iluvtennis May 2017 #27
Didn't we know this the first week of February when Sen. Franken asked TheDebbieDee May 2017 #29
 

Ohioblue22

(1,430 posts)
3. well let's see he'll get a chance to amend what? or retroactively apply for
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:16 PM
May 2017

something else . rhe news is almost meaningless . so and so did something illegal and nothing happens no arrests because so and so was allowed to change things so that now presto no illegality

Thomas Hurt

(13,903 posts)
4. well of course! He didn't need to list dozens of meetings with foreign ambassadors
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:18 PM
May 2017

that happened in his capacity as a senator, because they were in his capacity as Senator not as a member of Trump's transition team (wink, wink).

The Velveteen Ocelot

(115,661 posts)
5. Wolf Blitzer seems to have actually grown himself a pair.
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:20 PM
May 2017

He's arguing pretty aggressively with that weasel Chaffetz.

The Velveteen Ocelot

(115,661 posts)
14. He was arguing with him about Flynn's security clearance -
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:30 PM
May 2017

Chaffetz kept claiming it was up to the Obama admin to have vetted him and it was their fault if he didn't have the proper clearance, and Wolf insisted (correctly) that Flynn's previous clearance from Flynn's former job as DNI would have had to have been renewed and Flynn would have had to have been re-vetted by The Trump admin to get the clearance he needed for NSA. It got a bit heated but Wolf didn't back down.

nycbos

(6,034 posts)
6. Isn't this old news?
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:22 PM
May 2017

Isn't why he allegedly recused himself from the Russia investigation?

Keyword being allegedly.

Peachhead22

(1,078 posts)
15. I think the recusal was because...
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:33 PM
May 2017

...Sessions failed to mention it to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearings. A major no-no, but I think he was allowed to amend his testimony. So technically not illegal.

Lying/omitting something that big on his security clearance is a whole different kettle of fish.

Freethinker65

(10,009 posts)
7. Mr. fucking tough on crime Sessions habitual offender.
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:22 PM
May 2017

If he is not forced to resign the Justice Department is a joke.

mpcamb

(2,870 posts)
19. So somebody, somewhere, do it! Charge him and get his shrimpy, lying ass in court!
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:40 PM
May 2017

I'm not a lawyer.
I can't argue a case.
But I'm less blind than that justice statue.

How about some Courage here!?!
Somebody take it on and put him whimpy, sorry, dishonest butt in a courtroom!

furtheradu

(1,865 posts)
8. The Trump daily scandal show begins!
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:23 PM
May 2017

Thanks for this! Love to think this racist hypocrit is going DOWN!

PatSeg

(47,370 posts)
9. Mind boggling
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:23 PM
May 2017

Did all these people really think that no one would find out about their associations with an adversarial foreign government? Are they honestly that stupid? The person appointed to the top law enforcement job in the country evidently knows so little about intelligence and federal investigation, that he thought he could lie and get away with it.

The immorality is topped only by the complete and utter stupidity.

Peachhead22

(1,078 posts)
10. Ohhh, another Felony
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:24 PM
May 2017

I believe the penalty for lying on a security clearance is up to 5 years. And "Oops, I forgot to mention that." Won't cut it as an excuse.

cstanleytech

(26,280 posts)
11. There is no way this was an accident on his part as an accident
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:26 PM
May 2017

is a casual dinner thats a one time thing where nothing happened but multiple encounters is a deliberate attempt to conceal.

bresue

(1,007 posts)
16. NEVER HIS FAULT....
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:34 PM
May 2017

FBIs who supposedly told hm wrong...what a joke! Ruplicans must live in a bubble...does he not realize we can check that fact?

Dopers_Greed

(2,640 posts)
17. Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up!
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:36 PM
May 2017

I'm sure he'll fit right in with the Aryan Brotherhood in prison.

captain queeg

(10,156 posts)
18. I wonder if Trump had to go thru the security clearance investigations like a government employee
Wed May 24, 2017, 06:37 PM
May 2017

My ex had to get a secret security clearance to work for the FBI. They had agents interviewing all her contacts, twice. I wonder if as an elected official Trump could skate on that. I don't see how he could pass a top secret, or whatever is above that, clearance investigation.

MedusaX

(1,129 posts)
23. Here are the SF-86 instructions that the US AG found so complicated...
Wed May 24, 2017, 07:12 PM
May 2017

Certainly, the US Attorney General should be able to navigate his way through a standard government background check / Security Clearance form....

J-Beau and the FBI employee he sought clarification from should both be fired for either:
A: conspiring to falsify a federal security clearance application
Or
B: Having a shared IQ no greater than that of a rock.

FFS....
the instructions provided at the beginning of each section are pretty damn clear...
so, unless J-Beau & Kislyak were only discussing how to renew a visa or cross the border... then all their little meetings should have been disclosed/ documented on the SF-86.....


Questions regarding all things related to foreign countries begin on
Pg 59 of the SF-86

>snip<
Section 19 - Foreign Contacts
A foreign national is defined as any person who is not a citizen or national of the U.S.

>snip<

Section 20B - Foreign Business, Professional Activities, and Foreign Government Contacts - (Continued)

For this question, 'Immediate Family' means your spouse, parents, step-parents, siblings, half and step-siblings, children, step-children, and cohabitant.

20B.6
Have you or any member of your immediate family in the past seven (7) years had any contact with a foreign government, its establishment (such as embassy, consulate, agency, military service, intelligence or security service, etc.) or its representatives, whether inside or outside the U.S.?

(Answer 'No' if the contact was for routine visa applications and border crossings related to either official U.S. Government travel or foreign travel on a U.S. passport.)
YES

Complete the following if you responded 'Yes' to you or any member of your immediate family having in the past seven (7) years had any contact with a foreign government, its establishment (such as embassy, consulate, agency, military service, intelligence or security service, etc.) or its representatives, whether inside or outside the U.S.
>snip<


https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86-non508.pdf

riversedge

(70,182 posts)
24. Seems like there is a disagreement within the DOJ as to whether or not he needed to iclude
Wed May 24, 2017, 07:15 PM
May 2017

the information. Seems to me Sessions should have given the information even if it duplication other forms.


............Sessions initially listed a year's worth of meetings with foreign officials on the security clearance form, according to Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores. But she says he and his staff were then told by an FBI employee who assisted in filling out the form, known as the SF-86, that he didn't need to list dozens of meetings with foreign ambassadors that happened in his capacity as a senator.

The FBI declined to comment for this story.

A legal expert who regularly assists officials in filling out the form disagrees with the Justice Department's explanation, suggesting that Sessions should have disclosed the meetings.


"My interpretation is that a member of Congress would still have to reveal the appropriate foreign government contacts notwithstanding it was on official business," said Mark Zaid, a Washington attorney who specializes in national security law.
Zaid added that in a similar circumstance he advised a member of Congress to list all foreign contacts -- including those made during official US government business.

To obtain a security clearance, a federal official is not required to list the meetings if they were part of a foreign conference he or she attended while conducting government business. Sessions' meetings, however, do not appear to be tied to foreign conferences.
.................

politicaljunkie41910

(3,335 posts)
28. Sessions is full of bull. The people who are responsible for providing assistance
Wed May 24, 2017, 08:52 PM
May 2017

in filling out these forms are professionals. They know what is required and are not guessing. Sessions is talking pure bullshit.

 

TheDebbieDee

(11,119 posts)
29. Didn't we know this the first week of February when Sen. Franken asked
Wed May 24, 2017, 08:52 PM
May 2017

the little elf about it during his confirmation hearing? It's the reason he recused himself from the Russian ties investigation...

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