After initially denying having any contact with Russians only to later admit that there were two meetings, Jeff Sessions seems to have forgotten another encounter which occurred early last year. Apparently, Sessions, along with Donald Trump and approximately two dozen guests, attended a VIP reception at Washington, D.C.'s Mayflower Hotel on April 27, 2016. Among the guests were four ambassadors, including Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The cocktail meet-and-greet was held in a private room prior to Trump delivering a foreign policy speech inside one of the hotel's ballrooms.
The then-GOP candidate called for improved U.S.-Russia relations with Kislyak seated in the front row.
Since it was a rather small event, it is not clear if Sessions and Kislyak had a meaningful conversation. The attorney general did not mention the Mayflower event during his confirmation nor did he add it to his amended testimony given to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kislyak had been invited by The Center for Natural Interest, the conservative foreign policy group who hosted the Mayflower affair.
Release of statement
The Center issued a statement Wednesday acknowledging that Sessions and Kislyak did indeed attend the reception, but they were not aware of any conversations taking place between the two men.
The statement also reads that it would be difficult for anyone to avoid drawing attention to themselves if they were engaged in a private conversation in such a small setting.
May I be excused, please?
Last week, Jeff Sessions recused himself from investigation involvements centering around alleged Trump campaign contacts with Russia and has admitted that he should have been more careful with his testimony.
Since 17 intelligence agencies have concluded that Kremlin intelligence agents had interfered with the U.S. election, there has been a steady stream of information flowing, all seemingly tied to questionable connections and dealings. This pattern of people in the Trump camp giving incomplete information is disturbing and is why many in politics and the media are determined to figure out why there are so many coincidences.
