As Sessions Recuses Himself From Campaign Investigation, Questions Remain Over Trump-Russia Ties

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from any investigation into last year's presidential campaign, following reports he met twice with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. at a time when he was serving as both a senator and a campaign surrogate for Donald Trump. The revelation directly contradicts Sessions' sworn testimony to Congress in January that he did not meet with any Russian officials in the run-up to November's election. On Thursday, Sessions called charges he lied under oath "totally false" and said he failed to mention the meetings with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak because the two did not discuss the campaign. Meanwhile on Thursday The New York Times revealed that Flynn and Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner held a meeting at Trump Tower with the Russian ambassador ahead of the presidential inauguration. "Do those relationships risk posing undue influence on him going forward, possibly, bribery or some kind of coercion on policy?" asks Marcy Wheeler, an independent journalist who covers national security and civil liberties at EmptyWheel.net.