House Democrats say Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have violated his promise to recuse himself from investigations involving President Trump’s campaign, by recommending that Trump fire former FBI Director James Comey.
“If the facts now being reported are accurate, it appears that the Attorney General’s actions in recommending that President Trump fire Director Comey may have contradicted his sworn testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee at his confirmation hearing, breached the public recusal he made before the American people, and violated the law enacted by Congress to prevent conflicts of interest at the Department of Justice,” Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and John Conyers, D-Mich., wrote in a letter to the Justice Department.
Cummings is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, and Conyers is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.
Their letter was sent days after the Justice Department released a letter from Sessions calling on Trump to fire Comey. “I must recommend that you remove Director James B. Comey, Jr., and identify an experienced and qualified individual to lead the great men and women of the FBI,” he wrote.
Along the way to being confirmed by the Senate, Sessions recused himself from any matters that might involve the presidential campaigns of 2016. Because the FBI is investigating potential cooperation or collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russia, critics are now saying Sessions has “breached” his recusal by having some role in Trump’s decision to fire Comey.
Cummings and Conyers asked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to determine whether Sessions violated federal law, and the letter hinted that Sessions could possibly be removed because of his involvement.
“Since the Attorney General previously recused himself from these matters — and since he may not sit in judgment on his own failure to comply with the law — we request that you, as the Acting Attorney General in this matter, report to us on the steps that must now be followed to address this apparent abuse,” the letter said.
The letter also requested documents related to Sessions’ involvement in the Comey decision.
