Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Thursday morning that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should recuse himself from any investigation involving the Trump White House ties to Russia.
Chaffetz made the declaration on social media following the revelation that Sessions met twice with the Russian ambassador during the presidential campaign. Sessions denied under oath during his confirmation hearing that any such contact was made. Sessions now claims those meetings with the Russian official were in his capacity as a member of the Senate Arms Service committee.
AG Sessions should clarify his testimony and recuse himself
— Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) March 2, 2017
Chaffetz joined House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in the call for Sessions to step back from any investigation. From the Washington Post:
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) joined McCarthy’s call, tweeting that “AG Sessions should clarify his testimony and recuse himself.”
McCarthy and Chaffetz are the first prominent Republicans to call for Sessions to recuse himself. Some Democrats went further, calling on Sessions to resign, demanding an independent investigation and, in a few cases, accusing Sessions of lying under oath.
According to The Hill, Sessions says he would be willing to recuse himself from investigations into Russian involvement in the Trump campaign.
