May 17, 2017

Eleven Democratic Senators Call for Investigation of Jeff Sessions’ Role in Comey Firing

They want to know if the attorney general violated his recusal from the Russia investigation.

Evan Vucci/AP

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Eleven Democratic senators on Wednesday asked the Justice Department to investigate whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions violated his pledge to recuse himself from any investigations connected to the 2016 election when he took part in the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

In their letter, the senators urged the department’s inspector general, Michael Horowitz, to determine whether Sessions violated his recusal and the rules that govern it. They also requested a timeline of Sessions’ involvement in Comey’s dismissal and an assessment of whether that involvement compromised the ongoing FBI investigations overseen by Comey.

Last week, two senior House Democrats sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein demanding more information about Sessions’ recusal. The strongly worded letter made the case that Sessions had broken his pledge and suggested that his actions may have been illegal and could warrant punishment and possible removal from office.

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