WaPo Bombshell: Intercepts Reveal Kislyak Claimed ‘Campaign-Related’ Discussions with Jeff Sessions

A new report out from the Washington Post says that the Russian ambassador said he “discussed campaign-related matters, including policy issues important to Moscow” with Jeff Sessions during the 2016 campaign.

According to WaPo, the comments from Sergey Kislyak were picked up in U.S. intelligence intercepts.

When Attorney General Sessions announced his recusal from the Russia probe, he said, “I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign.”

The new report says both current and former U.S. officials are disputing that characterization:

One U.S. official said that Sessions — who testified that he has no recollection of the April encounter — has provided “misleading” statements that are “contradicted by other evidence.” A former official said that the intelligence indicates that Sessions and Kislyak had “substantive” discussions on matters including Trump’s positions on Russia-related issues and prospects for U.S.-Russia relations in a Trump administration.

A DOJ spokesperson told the Post, “Obviously I cannot comment on the reliability of what anonymous sources describe in a wholly uncorroborated intelligence intercept that the Washington Post has not seen and that has not been provided to me.”

This news comes days after President Trump went off on Sessions over his recusal to the New York Times, even saying, “If he was going to recuse himself he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else.”

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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