Bush's ethics lawyer on Sessions talks with Russia ambassador: 'Good way to go to jail'

[babylonsister]

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/321936-ethics-lawyer-to-george-w-bush-on-sessions-talks-with-russa

Bush's ethics lawyer on Sessions talks with Russia ambassador: 'Good way to go to jail'
By Brooke Seipel - 03/01/17 10:34 PM EST


Richard Painter, the former White House ethics lawyer to President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2007, blasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions after it was reported that he spoke with the Russian ambassador while Trump was on the campaign trail.

When asked in the hypothetical during his confirmation hearing as Attorney General what he would do if he learned a member of Trump's campaign had communicated with the Russian government over the course of the 2016 campaign, Sessions responded: “I’m not aware of any of those activities ... I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians.”

But the Washington Post reported Wednesday night that Sessions had spoken to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice during 2016, once in a private conversation.

Officials said Sessions did not consider his conversations with Kislyak relevant to the lawmakers’ questions and did not remember their discussion in detail. And as a senior member of the committee, he regularly met foreign ambassadors, his spokeswoman said.

Painter blasted the statement on Twitter.

Link to tweet

"Misleading the Senate in sworn testimony about one own contacts with the Russians is a good way to go to jail," Painter tweeted.

Painter is now a professor of law at the University of Minnesota.

That September conversation between Sessions and Kislyak took place during the same time intelligence officials have said Russia was interfering with the U.S. presidential election through a hacking and influence campaign.

[Sherman A1]

1. We can only hope that is the eventual outcome

of what certainly appears to be a deliberate lie to the Senate Committee.

[Cosmocat]

7. He purged himself

Franken did not even ask if HE had any contact with Russia.

Sessions said it on his own.

He/45s administration/the GOP can weasel around it, but it is clear as day purgery.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. Yes we can hope he is "purged" from the administration in addition to having perjured.

You make a very good point that Sessions turned a general question into a specific question about himself.

He must have felt a very strong need to cover up his meetings with the Ambassador, otherwise why turn the question to point to himself?

[eppur_se_muova]

24. Eeeeew ... bad enough he perjured himself, but that too ? nt

[littlemissmartypants]

26. It's like ...

The friend of my enema is my enemy...

[sprinkleeninow]

30. Emenee. Old timey musical toy instruments. Horns that toot. 😝n/t

[littlemissmartypants]

32. Fantastic.

Learning new things is what makes DU so special to me.

[littlemissmartypants]

27. I hate autocorrect but sometimes it can be funny.

Happens to me ALL the time! I'm an unintentional joke writer sometimes, myself.

Great point made, Cosmocat.

Never lose your sense of humor. It's a lifesaver.

[DinahMoeHum]

2. "I did not have international relations with that country"

is Sessions' line of defense.

[Luciferous]

3. Lol

[Sophiegirl]

4. Wait!??

Bush had an ethics lawyer???

[bluecollar2]

8. You beat me to it...

[NewJeffCT]

10. They needed somebody

to tell them how to get around ethical requirements.

Team Trump just doesn't care about going around requirements - they just plow right through them and give the finger to everybody as they go...

[Sophiegirl]

13. So true. nt

[northoftheborder]

12. Heh!!!!!!

[nikibatts]

5. Someone who can't remember important meetings and details need not be AG.

[FailureToCommunicate]

14. Or who lies about the meeting when he could have just said 'Sure I did, so what'

[benfranklin1776]

29. Or President as that was the Raygun defense in Iran Contra

Also his Corrupt AG Meese should have been indicted for perjury.

[Demsrule86]

6. None of the others met with the Russians...Sessions...you and

Donnie are a disgrace and traitors to this country...helping the Russians destroy Europe and bringing back the cold war. The GOP want to destroy the only war they ever 'won'....assuming they did win it...I have my doubts.

[watoos]

11. I don't remember who said this but he said,

If you tell the truth, you don't have to worry about remembering what you said.

[Scarsdale]

15. Judge Judy

says that a lot. Jeffrey NO REGARD Sessions is a disgrace. I wonder if he is suffering from the initial stages of dementia, since his memory seems to be fading? Like any of tRump's appointees, he looks like a smug little prick.

[ananda]

16. Well.. that would be true in a country ..

.. that actually had a functioning justice system
and not a system of totally corrupt cronyism.

[malthaussen]

17. Yeah, we'll get the Attorney General on this at once. n/t

[Ligyron]

18. It's always the attempted cover-up that brings these clowns down.

Why lie? Maybe the Russian Ambassador just popped in to say "Hi". I can't imagine even the Kebler Elf not remembering such an event.

They're trying to pull something here and it won't work.

The GOP may actually have to agree with appointing an independent prosecutor now. Is Ken Starr still alive?

[mtngirl47]

19. At least we only had one day

to listen to the crap that the administration has pivoted and Trump is now "presidential."

Back to the intrigue and hopefully at this level it will trigger the special independent prosecutor.

[Buckeyeblue]

20. Russia was already in the news

He knew it was a hot topic. If he regularly had conversations with foreign ambassadors that he instantly forgot about, he should have had someone double check to refresh his memory.

And that's bullshit. One thing these politicans have in common is an excellent memory. They all have excellent recall. It's what makes them able to do what they do.

[azureblue]

21. and get disbarred, too

any attorney who lies under oath will lose their license to practice law. No gray area there at all.

[Dopers_Greed]

22. Lock him up!

[DK504]

23. This is an amazing deflection:

“I’m not aware of any of those activities ... I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians.”

Question was about a hypothectical situation, not a direct question about his potential scheme. That screams illegal activity to me.

[niyad]

25. and wasn't the other contact DURING the rnc?

[Worktodo]

28. Well it's very odd

Sessions wasn't the leader of the committee, and nobody else on the committee meets with ambassadors-- there is a committee where that's expected but it's not the committee Sessions was on.

That's just Sessions. I think we have to look at the whole group:

Tillerson received a medal from Putin himself.
Flynn and Jill Stein sat at a table with Putin at the RT gala.
Manafort worked with Yanakouvich (who I think is still wanted by INTERPOL and suspected to be hiding in Russia.)
Carter Page is another former advisor with purported ties to Russia.

So it's all just odd. Is there a fire? I don't know but it sure is smoky.

[Cha]

31. Well said.. speaking of "ethics"..

Link to tweet

[AgadorSparticus]

33. They have a mission to get rid of everything that gets in their way.

This says everything we already know about these treasonous crooks and liars.

[Cha]

34. We couldn't make up a more evil, vicious gang

of marauders and cutthroats.

I bet authors are thinking the same.

Ethics are for those with principles and who care about humanity.. They don't have time.. too busy lying, cheating, and stealing.

Agador

[AgadorSparticus]

35. Ethics is the enemy of dictators. So is the press.

All dictators lean hard on a free press. Ask all the dead journalists in russia. Smdh....

What is so frustrating is that it is clear as daylight what they are trying to do. I just can't believe there are THAT many stupid people in this country who are blinded whatever it is that motivates them to accept and support this nonsense.

Hi cha!!

[Cha]

37. I know.. we've seen what truimp has done to those in Michigan,

Ohio and Wisconsin who voted for him and everyone else. They''re bringing us all down

How Trump thanks Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin Great Lakes Voters

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8740097

Agador

[Yonnie3]

36. With these people it would have certainly been a waste of money. n/t