Graham on Sessions: If There’s Something There, ‘For Sure’ We Need Russia Special Prosecutor
Russia ended up being a fairly significant topic during the John McCain–Lindsey Graham CNN town hall tonight, mostly thanks to two reports that broke very early on in the hour.
The first was a New York Times report saying not only did Obama White House officials “rush” to preserve and spread intel about Russian election interference to make sure investigators got it all, but there’s reportedly information that American allies provided that information that described “meetings in European cities between Russian officials — and others close to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin — and associates of President-elect Trump.”
The second report says that Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke with Russia’s ambassador twice last year, according to DOJ officials, despite what he had previously claimed during his confirmation hearing.
CNN’s Dana Bash was able to ask both Graham and McCain about this during the town hall tonight. They couldn’t get too specific, seeing as how they hadn’t read the reports yet.
But Graham said that Trump clearly has a “blind spot” about Russia and “if there were contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials — they may be legitimate, they may be okay — I want to know what happened.”
He said that fellow Republicans should have “no joy in our heart that the Russian efforts hurt Hillary Clinton, even though they didn’t change the outcome.”
Graham assured there will be investigations into “everything Russia,” but Bash asked about Sessions specifically not disclosing his calls.
Graham said, “If there is something there and it goes up the chain of investigation, it is clear to me that Jeff Sessions, who is my dear friend, cannot make this decision about Trump.”
“If there’s something there,” he concluded, “then for sure you need a special prosecutor.”
Watch above, via CNN.
[image via screengrab]
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