02/03/2017 Outside Source

Hello, I'm Ros Atkins, welcome to Outside Source. Pressure mounting on

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Donald Trump was asked about his

position not long ago, this was the reply. Do you still have confidence

in your Attorney General? Total. The truth, the whole truth and nothing

but the truth, so help you guard. I do. This is the issue. That was Jeff

Sessions in January speaking under oath at a Senate hearing. I did not

have communications with the Russians. The problem is, he had met

the Russian ambassador twice. Mr Sessions is about to hold a press

conference in Washington, DC. The moment it begins at the Department

of Justice you'll see it here live an outside source. We report from

Brussels as $200 million is raised for family planning schemes in

developing countries to counter cuts introduced by Donald Trump. Marine

Le Pen could face charges relating to treating graphic images of

Islamic State atrocities. Emmanuel Macron has launched his manifesto

and Francois Fillon has had more bad news today, a property of his raided

by police. We'll have the latest on the French presidential election. If

you bought shares in the company that owned Snapchat you probably had

a good day, the stock jumping by more than 40% just since the company

floated. There were a few hours after Donald

Trump's speech to Congress where something resembling calm had

descended on Washington, DC. But it didn't last long. There is now huge

pressure on Mr Trump's Attorney General Jeff Sessions and what

relationship and connections he has had with the Russians. Mr Trump has

been talking about this in the last few hours, he says he has total

confidence in Jeff Sessions, that he thinks there's no need for the

Attorney General to recuse himself from an investigation into contact

between the Trump campaigner Russian officials during the election. He

told reporters he wasn't aware Mr Sessions had these two meetings with

the Russian ambassador in Washington. That is the President's

analysis. There are a significant number of people who do not agree

with it, that includes senior Republicans. For instance this is

the US House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. This is the main Senator

Susan Collins. Both say Mr Sessions should recuse himself from this

investigation. And this is why. In January Mr Sessions was being

questioned under oath by senators as part of the confirmation hearing

that led to him being approved Attorney General. This exchange took

place. Ivanovic any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump

campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of

this campaign, what will you do? I am not aware of any of those

activities. I have been called a celibate a time or two in that

campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians.

And I'm unable to comment. The problem was, he had had

communication with the Russians. This is the Washington post which

was the first to report he had met the Russian ambassador to America

doing a presidential campaign. After that story came out a spokesperson

for Mr Sessions confirmed that that was the case. But Jeff Sessions is

adamant he's done nothing wrong. Have a look at this exchange on US

television. Well, I have not met with any Russians at any time to

discuss any political campaign. And no remarks -- those remarks are

unbelievable to me and false. I don't have anything else to say

about that. What about reducing yourself from your agency... I've

said whenever is appropriate I will recuse myself, there is no doubt

about that. Remember in all the best that it was communications with the

Russian ambassador that led to the firing of the national security

adviser Michael Flynn, surrounding how he reported those conversations

with the ambassador to the vice president. Also remember in his

capacity as Attorney General, Jeff Sessions ultimately overseas that

investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the US

elections. Now, end of the Democrats. Nancy Pelosi is one of

the most senior Democrats, she says...

Building on those points, here is the Democratic leader in the Senate.

Did the president know about the meetings between then Senator

Sessions and the Russian ambassador? Were these the only two meetings

between the now Attorney General and the Russian ambassador? Or other

Russian officials? Did the Attorney General disclose these meetings

during the FBI background check for his nomination? There has been a

revelation after revelation. Mistruths after mistruths. Stories

shifting like quicksand. If they is truly no there there, why weren't

they tell the truth? As ever in Washington there are two narratives.

This is the speaker of the house Paul Ryan, a senior Republican, this

is his take. First I will refer to the Senate Judiciary Committee. I

checked the transcript on all of that, so I can't speak to what the

Judiciary Committee transcriptase, frankly I haven't read it. Should he

recuse himself, I think he answered that question this morning. Which is

if he himself is subject of an investigation, of course he could,

but if he's not I don't see any purpose or reason of doing this.

Let's bring in Anthony Zurcher as we always do. From Washington, DC. So

many elements to this story, what is your reading of it? As you said,

pressure is mounting on Jeff Sessions to recuse himself. The

ground underneath him as far as staying involved in this

investigation in his capacity as Attorney General overseeing the FBI

is crumbling, with leaders of the Republican party in Congress, Kevin

McCarthy, the second-in-command in the House of Representatives, arming

out and saying he needed to recuse himself. It has allowed Democrats to

go step further and start calling for his resignation. We got a couple

of stories out of Sessions own press secretary about that meeting in

September. First it was an in-person meeting, then over the phone, then

in person. If it was over the phone with the Russian ambassador, Michael

Flynn's phone conversations with the Russian ambassador were recorded by

US intelligence agencies so I wouldn't be surprised if a phone

conversation with Jeff Sessions also had a transcript that also leaked.

It'll be interesting to see where the story goes from here. A tweet

from Michael Floyd says one was put up ahead of the US national

security- Michael Flynn- the other is head of the department

responsible for masticating domestic espionage. The point is that these

stories an incredibly damaging so early in Mr Trump's presidency.

Absolutely, Michael Flynn, like Sessions, is a close adviser to

Donald Trump during the campaign. Jeff Sessions was one of the first

prominent politicians to endorse Donald Trump early in the campaign

before he became a front runner when he was more of a sideshow in the

Republican primary process, he helped devise Donald Trump's

immigration strategy, much of his foreign policy. It was clear he

would have a key role in the Administration and Attorney General

is the top law enforcement official in the US government. There are ties

between these two and the fact they had contacts with Russia oil

officials during the campaign and after the election lends a view that

there may be more here, that they went direct about it, didn't ask --

Hansa questions directly when they could have, it raises suspicions and

casts doubt that there could be a bigger story behind us. We're told

Jeff Sessions is imminent at the Department of Justice. While we wait

for the press conference to begin, let's remind you while these

elements we've already discussed have played out, a cross-party

congressional committee whose website you can find online, I'll

post this because Jeff Sessions is stepping out. Let's bring the live

feed. Thank you for being with me. My

chief of staff. Jodie has been almost 20 years in the Department of

Justice. Let me share a few thoughts. First, about the comments

that I made to the committee that have been said to be incorrect and

false. Let me be clear, I never had meetings with Russian operatives or

Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign. And the idea that I

was part of a" continuing exchange of information" during the campaign

between Tromso gets and intermediaries for the Russian

government is totally false. That is the question Senator Frank and asked

me at the hearing and that's what got my attention, as he noted, it

was the first... Breaking news. It got my attention. And that is the

question I responded to. I did not respond by referring to the two

meetings, one very brief after a speech, and one with two of my

senior staffers, professional staffers, with the Russian

ambassador in Washington. Where no such things were discussed. In my

reply to the question of Senator Frank and, it was honest and correct

as I understood it at the time. I appreciate that some have taken the

view that this was a false comment, that is not my intent, that is not

correct. I will write the Judiciary Committee soon, today or tomorrow,

to explain this testimony for the record. Secondly, at my confirmation

hearing, I promised that I would do this... Is a specific matter arose

where I believed my impartiality might reasonably be questioned, I

would consult with the Department ethics officials regarding the most

appropriate way to proceed. That's what I told them at the confirmation

hearing. I've been here just three weeks today. A lot has been

happening in this three week period. I wish I'd had more of my staff on

board, but we're still waiting for now. Much has been done, much needs

to be done, but idea down and have done as I promised. I have met with

senior officials, shortly after arriving here, we evaluated the

rules of ethics and recusal. I've considered the issues at stake. In

fact, on Monday, of this week, we set a meeting for a final decision

on this question and on Monday we set that meeting today. So this was

the day that we planned to have a final discussion. I asked for their

candid and honest opinion about what I should do about investigation,

certain investigations. My staff recommended recusal, they said that

since I had involvement with the campaign I should not be involved in

any campaign investigation. I have studied the rules and considered

their comments, and evaluation. I believe those recommendations are

right and just. Therefore, I have recuse myself in the matters that

deal with the Trump campaign. The exact language of that recusal is in

the press release that we will give to you. I have said this "I have now

decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of

any matter relating in any way to the campaign for president of the

United States. Rose group I went on to say, this announcement should not

be interpreted as confirmation of the existence of any investigation

or suggestive of the scope of any such investigation. Because we in

the Department of Justice resist confirming or denying the very

existence of the investigation. So, in the end, I have followed the

right procedure, just as I promised the committee I would. Just as I

believe any good Attorney General should do. And a proper decision, I

believe, has been reached. So I thank you for the opportunity to

make those comments, and would be pleased to take a few questions. OK.

To clear up any confusion over this, could you just explain a little bit

about the September eight meeting, who in your staff was there, and

what was discussed with the Russian ambassador? The Russian ambassador

apparently sent a staffer to my office, I did not see him, and asked

for a meeting, as so many of the ambassadors were doing. We set up a

time, as we did, as we normally did. And we met with him. Two of my

senior staffers were there. Maybe a younger staffer, too. And they both

were retired ani kernels, not politicians, and we listened to the

ambassador, and what his concerns might be. Well, it was just normal

things, such as I started off by saying, I don't remember a lot of

it, but I do remember saying I had gone to Russia with a church group

in 1991. He said he was not a believer himself, but he was glad to

have church people come there. Indeed, I thought he was pretty much

of an old-style of Soviet type ambassador. So we talked a little

bit about terrorism. Somehow the subject of Ukraine came up, I'd had

the Ukrainian ambassador in my office the day before. To listen to

him. Nothing... Russia had done nothing that was wrong in any area,

and everybody else was wrong with regard to the Ukraine. It got to be

a little bit of a testy conversation at that point, it wrapped up, he

said something about inviting me to have lunch. I did not accept that.

That never occurred. INAUDIBLE I don't recall but most of these

ambassadors are pretty gossipy. And they like... This was in campaign

season. But I don't recall any specific political discussions. Do

you recall meeting with ambassador any other time? It is possible. I'm

on the armed services committee and things happen but I don't recall

having met him before. Did he consider you a representative of the

Trump campaign? They think ambassadors are always out trying to

find out things and advance their agenda. Most of the ambassadors out

there would lay out the case for Ukraine, lay out his case, Poland

laid out his case, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Japan, Canada,

Australia, I met with all of those ambassadors over the year. So I

think that's why... Did you consult with the White House about your

decision was too much and to follow on the last question, with hindsight

do you believe it is a coincidence the Russians ask you for a meeting

or do you believe you were targeted because it came at the height of

Russia's interference? And Trump was giving an interview to say he didn't

think there was anything to the report. I don't recall and have a

sense of any connection whatsoever about that. I'm not sure I even

knew, when we set up the meeting, what was going to be going on in the

world at the time. I can't speak for what the Russian ambassador had in

his mind. Have you met with any Russian officials or folk associated

with the Russian government since you endorsed President Trump? I

don't think so. We meet a lot of people, so... From those two

meetings you discussed with the ambassador... I don't believe so.

The White House press secretary and President Bush said today they think

you should not recuse yourself from these investigations. INAUDIBLE

Idea to share with White House counsel and my staff that I intend

to recuse myself this afternoon. But I feel like because they don't know

the rules, the ethics rules, most people don't bother but when you

evaluate the rules I feel like I should not be involved investigating

a campaign I had a role in. One more question and we wrap this up. Ferri

two questioned if I may. You were already considering recusal before

today, is that correct? And when you've answered Senator Frank and's

question were you just not thinking of the meeting with the Russian

ambassador or did you not consider it relevant?

I was taken back a little bit about this new information, this

allegation that surrogates, and I have been called a surrogate for

Donald Trump, had been meeting continuously with Russian officials.

And that's what struck me very hard and what I focused my answer on. In

retrospect, I should have slowed down and said, but I did meet one

Russian official a couple of times. That would be the ambassador. Thank

you all, take care. There goes the Attorney General of America, Jeff

Sessions. Let's immediately turn to Anthony Zurcher, who has been

watching it. A number of important lines, let's go through them, what

would you pick out? Interesting he said he decided to recuse himself

after consulting with Justice Department officials and they said

he should do that based on his ties to the Trump campaign. If you take

him at his word, he was going to recuse himself anyway regardless of

the story that came out last night about his specific contacts with the

Russian ambassador. That is a little different. He said in a written

statement during his confirmation process that he didn't talk with

Russian officials about elections matters. When he was asked, you

heard him say, he couldn't recall whether politics and elections ever

came up, but that the Russian buzzard tends to be a gossip,

ambassadors in general tend to be gossipy. -- the Russian ambassador

tends to be a gossip. The person taking over the investigation is the

acting deputy Attorney General. He was the acting Attorney General last

month after Sally Yates was fired after she wouldn't enforce his

immigration ban. Dame Ben Te'o defended it in court. He served as

acting Attorney General. Said his answer was honest and correct as he

understood the answer at the time. Is it good enough? When it when it

comes to allegations of perjury, for perjury charges to be brought up you

have to have intent to deceive. For him to say he did everything he

could to be honest and open, did not intend to deceive or mislead the

investigators Bourdy interrogating senators, I think it is a very

carefully chosen word to picture he doesn't open himself up to any

allegations of perjury. I'll let you continue on the story, maybe we'll

talk later. Anthony Zurcher live from Washington, DC. To remind you

where we are with the story, the US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has

finished a press conference in Washington, DC in which he's paying

he's going to recuse himself from any investigations there may be into

the relationship between Russia and Donald Trump's campaign. -- Jeff

Sessions saying. He understands the recommendation that he would recuse

himself from any such investigation. Whether it's enough to keep him in

the job we shall have to see. Donald Trump has said earlier, before

speaking, before giving a speech to the Navy, he has full support

directed towards Jeff Sessions. We shall see if it proves to be enough.

At the moment he's not leaving his job but is recuse in himself. We'll

keep you up-to-date on that. In the meantime let's turn from American

politics to French politics because we have three important stories from

the French presidential election campaign. Emmanuel Macron unveiled

his manifesto and turning his centrist policies. Lorraine the pen

is leading in the polls. She leads the National front party. She's lost

immunity from prosecution for treating graphic images of

atrocities committed by the Islamic State group. Those images involve

pictures of James Foley being beheaded by the Islamic State group.

She could face criminal enquiry if that was the case. This offence

carries a penalty of three years in prison. We're a long way away from

anything like that. The decision remove her immunity was taken by the

European Parliament. Let me show you what Emmanuel Macron said as he

delivered this new manifesto. We in our project have chosen first of all

to look to the future. The transformation of the world of work,

the transformation of our productive model. The digital transition. These

are risks. But they are also brilliant opportunities. And so, at

the heart of this project, there is the refusal to acknowledge defeat. I

will not say in this project that we have already lost the battle over

the nature of work. No, work is going to change, and we will be part

of that change. We will go with it, and we will transform the balance of

forces. Emmanuel Macron. We talked about Marina pen, leader of the

front Nationale. They are the main candidates. Francois Fillon is in a

lot of trouble with his campaign because of allegations he created

fake jobs for relatives, in particular his wife and two of his

children. The Socialists are struggling in the polls. Francois

Fillon continues to have problems, all relating to whether his support

stays firm going into the first round of the presidential election.

Some states to tell you. Which Microsoft updates. Police raided the

home of Francois Fillon as part of a probe into allegations of a fake

Parliamentary job given to his wife. According to several sources. This

from the Spectator index Twitter feed Saint Emmanuel Macron leaves

Marina pen by 26% in the second round. The way the French system

works if there is a first round and the top two candidates go into a

second round and it is whoever wins that who becomes president. An

interesting first half-hour of Outside Source, see you in a couple

of minutes.