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The anti-LGBT -- and allegedly racist -- attorney general is in steaming hot water over his lies to the Senate regarding his Russian connections. Will he be gone by Monday?
During his confirmation hearings for attorney general last month, Jeff Sessions -- an Alabama senator at the time -- was asked by Minnesota Sen. Al Franken if he would investigate connections between Russian officials and the Donald Trump campaign, in which he was a key surrogate for the candidate.
During his confirmation process, Sessions also wrote a response to Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy where he denied having any contacts with Russian officials. Now an explosive Washington Post story rebuts Sessions's responses, saying he met twice with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. during the campaign -- in other words, the future attorney general lied to his Senate colleagues.
Now everyone -- including Republicans -- is calling for Sessions to recuse himself in the burgeoning investigations into the Trump's campaigns connections to Russia. UPDATE 4:30 p.m. Eastern: Sessions announced he will recuse himself from investigations and denied working with Russians to elect Trump. Officials from Russia, allegedly directed by President Vladimir Putin, worked to sway the election to Trump by spreading false and defamatory stories about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; the question is if the Trump campaign was directly involved in a smear campaign carried out by an adverserial foreign nation.
But many have gone further. Hours after the Post story broke, prominent Democratic senators and representatives called for Sessions to resign or face jail time. Here's a sampling:
\u201cWe need a Justice Department that will give us the facts about Russia\u2019s ties to the Trump campaign. Jeff Sessions should resign.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1488474928
\u201cAG Sessions is not fit to serve as the top law enforcement officer of our country and must resign. https://t.co/5r8KpGQSRT\u201d— Nancy Pelosi (@Nancy Pelosi) 1488427799
\u201cAnd we need Attorney General Jeff Sessions \u2013 who should have never been confirmed in the first place \u2013 to resign. We need it now.\u201d— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1488428711
\u201cJUST IN: Senate Minority Leader Schumer says Attorney General Sessions should resign https://t.co/rcnVbkycaN\u201d— MSNBC (@MSNBC) 1488468431
\u201cPerjury is a felony and may be punishable by prison for up to five years.\u201d— Keith Ellison (@Keith Ellison) 1488470055
\u201cJeff Sessions must go\u2014add your name if you agree: https://t.co/tAs7F6jZS3\u201d— Tom Perez (@Tom Perez) 1488467318
\u201cAG Sessions must publicly explain his misleading testimony to Judic Cmte. If his answers are not satisfactory, I'll call for his resignation\u201d— Tim Kaine (@Tim Kaine) 1488477898
\u201cJeff Sessions lied under oath about his contacts with a country that's actively trying to undermine our democracy. So yes, he should resign.\u201d— Mark Takano (@Mark Takano) 1488465780
\u201cLying about Russia supersedes recusal. AG Jeff Sessions must resign and the American people deserve an independent investigation.\u201d— Rep. Mark Pocan (@Rep. Mark Pocan) 1488466319
\u201c"Jeff #Sessions must resign immediately."\u201d— Jan Schakowsky (@Jan Schakowsky) 1488478814
\u201cThose of us who opposed Sessions from the beginning saw him for who he was -- a throwback and a liar. Sessions needs to resign, immediately.\u201d— Maxine Waters (@Maxine Waters) 1488467617
\u201cFor the good of the country, Jeff Sessions must resign as Attorney General.\u201d— Sen. Cory Booker (@Sen. Cory Booker) 1488479035
\u201cSessions, under oath, misled Congress about his conversations with Russia. He should resign.\u201d— Senator Jeff Merkley (@Senator Jeff Merkley) 1488470654
[RELATED: Didn't Take Long for Jeff Sessions to Become the Nightmare We Knew He'd Be]
