The anger behind Donald Trump&#39;s firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday had been building for months, but a turning point came when Comey refused to preview for top Trump aides his planned testimony to a Senate panel, White House officials said.

Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had wanted a heads-up from Comey about what he would say at a May 3 hearing about his handling of an investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton&#39;s use of a private email server.

When Comey refused, Trump and his aides considered that an act of insubordination and it was one of the catalysts to Trump&rsquo;s decision this week to fire the FBI director, the officials said.

&quot;It gave the impression that he was no longer capable of carrying out his duties,&quot; one official said. Previews of congressional testimony to superiors are generally considered courteous.

Comey, who testified for four hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it made him feel &quot;mildly nauseous&quot; that his decision to make public his reopening of a probe into Clinton&#39;s handling of classified information might have affected the outcome of the November 8 presidential election. But he said he had no regrets and would make the same decision again.

Trump&#39;s sudden firing of Comey shocked Washington and plunged Trump deeper into a controversy over his campaign&#39;s alleged ties with Russia that has dogged the early days of his presidency.

Democrats accused the Republican president of firing Comey to try to undermine the FBI&#39;s probe into Russia&#39;s alleged efforts to meddle in the 2016 election and possible collusion with members of the Trump campaign, and demanded an independent investigation. Some of Trump&#39;s fellow Republicans called his dismissal of Comey troubling.

The Trump administration said on Tuesday Comey was fired because of his handling of the Clinton email probe.

Before he axed Comey, Trump had publicly expressed frustration with the FBI and congressional probes into the Russia matter. Moscow has denied meddling in the election and the Trump administration denies allegations of collusion with Russia.

A former Trump adviser said Trump was also angry because Comey had never offered a public exoneration of Trump in the FBI probe into contacts between the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Sergei Kislyak, and Trump campaign advisers last year.

According to this former adviser, Comey&#39;s Senate testimony on the Clinton emails likely reinforced in Trump&#39;s mind that &quot;Comey was against him.&quot;

&quot;He regretted what he did to Hillary but not what he did to Trump,&quot; the former Trump adviser said of Comey.

Clinton has said that the Comey decision to announce the renewed inquiry days before the election was a likely factor in her loss to Trump.

Aides said Trump moved quickly after receiving a recommendation on Monday to terminate Comey from Rosenstein, who began reviewing the situation at the FBI shortly after taking office two weeks ago.

Trump&#39;s move was so sudden that his White House staff, accustomed to his impromptu style, was caught off guard. Stunned aides scrambled to put together a plan to explain what happened.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer ended up briefing reporters about the move in the dark on Tuesday night near a patch of bushes steps away from the West Wing.

Comey, who was in Los Angeles meeting with FBI employees on Tuesday and returned later to Washington, has made no public comment on his firing.

Fig Leaf

Many questions remained about what caused Trump to move so quickly.

Two former senior Justice Department officials said it made little sense to fire Comey while the Justice Department Inspector General was still doing a review of the FBI&rsquo;s handling of the Clinton email investigation.

&ldquo;I take Rod (Rosenstein) at his word that be believed everything in that memo but he must know that it&rsquo;s going to be used as a fig leaf to fire Comey,&rdquo; one former official said.

US&nbsp;Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters it was her &ldquo;understanding&rdquo; Comey had been seeking more resources for his investigation into the tangled Russia controversy.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had pondered dumping Comey as soon as he took office on January 20, but decided to stick with him.

Trump shrugged off the political firestorm he created with Comey&#39;s dismissal as he met with former US&nbsp;Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

Asked by reporters why he fired Comey, Trump said, &quot;He wasn&#39;t doing a good job, very simply. He wasn&#39;t doing a good job.&quot;

(Reuters)

Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had wanted a heads-up from Comey about what he would say at a May 3 hearing about his handling of an investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server

The anger behind Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday had been building for months, but a turning point came when Comey refused to preview for top Trump aides his planned testimony to a Senate panel, White House officials said. Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had wanted a heads-up from Comey about what he would say at a May 3 hearing about his handling of an investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. When Comey refused, Trump and his aides considered that an act of insubordination and it was one of the catalysts to Trump’s decision this week to fire the FBI director, the officials said. "It gave the impression that he was no longer capable of carrying out his duties," one official said. Previews of congressional testimony to superiors are generally considered courteous. Comey, who testified for four hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it made him feel "mildly nauseous" that his decision to make public his reopening of a probe into Clinton's handling of classified information might have affected the outcome of the November 8 presidential election. But he said he had no regrets and would make the same decision again. Trump's sudden firing of Comey shocked Washington and plunged Trump deeper into a controversy over his campaign's alleged ties with Russia that has dogged the early days of his presidency. Democrats accused the Republican president of firing Comey to try to undermine the FBI's probe into Russia's alleged efforts to meddle in the 2016 election and possible collusion with members of the Trump campaign, and demanded an independent investigation. Some of Trump's fellow Republicans called his dismissal of Comey troubling. The Trump administration said on Tuesday Comey was fired because of his handling of the Clinton email probe. Before he axed Comey, Trump had publicly expressed frustration with the FBI and congressional probes into the Russia matter. Moscow has denied meddling in the election and the Trump administration denies allegations of collusion with Russia. A former Trump adviser said Trump was also angry because Comey had never offered a public exoneration of Trump in the FBI probe into contacts between the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Sergei Kislyak, and Trump campaign advisers last year. According to this former adviser, Comey's Senate testimony on the Clinton emails likely reinforced in Trump's mind that "Comey was against him." "He regretted what he did to Hillary but not what he did to Trump," the former Trump adviser said of Comey. Clinton has said that the Comey decision to announce the renewed inquiry days before the election was a likely factor in her loss to Trump. Aides said Trump moved quickly after receiving a recommendation on Monday to terminate Comey from Rosenstein, who began reviewing the situation at the FBI shortly after taking office two weeks ago. Trump's move was so sudden that his White House staff, accustomed to his impromptu style, was caught off guard. Stunned aides scrambled to put together a plan to explain what happened. White House spokesman Sean Spicer ended up briefing reporters about the move in the dark on Tuesday night near a patch of bushes steps away from the West Wing. Comey, who was in Los Angeles meeting with FBI employees on Tuesday and returned later to Washington, has made no public comment on his firing. Fig Leaf Many questions remained about what caused Trump to move so quickly. Two former senior Justice Department officials said it made little sense to fire Comey while the Justice Department Inspector General was still doing a review of the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email investigation. “I take Rod (Rosenstein) at his word that be believed everything in that memo but he must know that it’s going to be used as a fig leaf to fire Comey,” one former official said. US Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters it was her “understanding” Comey had been seeking more resources for his investigation into the tangled Russia controversy. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had pondered dumping Comey as soon as he took office on January 20, but decided to stick with him. Trump shrugged off the political firestorm he created with Comey's dismissal as he met with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office on Wednesday. Asked by reporters why he fired Comey, Trump said, "He wasn't doing a good job, very simply. He wasn't doing a good job." (Reuters)

Comey's refusal to preview details of Senate testimony on Clinton probe made Trump furious

Levels of trust between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated since US&nbsp;President Donald Trump took office, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

Asked about relations since Trump became president, Putin said, according to a transcript of the interview released by the Kremlin: &quot;One could say that the level of trust on a working level, especially on the military level, has not improved, but rather has deteriorated.&quot;

Asked about accusations that Syria&#39;s government launched a chemical weapons attack in Idlib province, Putin said that Damascus had given up its chemical weapons stocks, Reuters reports.

He said he believed there were two main explanations for the incident in Idlib province: that Syrian government air strikes had hit rebel chemical weapons stocks, releasing poisonous gas, or that the incident was a set-up designed to discredit the Syrian government.

&nbsp;

Downplaying Russia-US connection?

Putin&#39;s claim that Moscow&#39;s relations have worsened since Trump has taken office comes as the FBI is investigating Russian interference in the US election designed to benefit Trump, and whether or not anyone in the Trump campaign actively worked with Russian agents.

It also comes a day after Eric Trump, the US President&#39;s son, also distanced Washington from Moscow.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph published yesterday, referring to America&#39;s strike last week against a Syrian airbase on April 4,&nbsp;US President Donald Trump&#39;s son Eric Trump asserted:&nbsp;&quot;If there was anything that Syria did, it was to validate the fact that there is no Russia tie.&quot;

Yesterday, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/fbi-obtained-court-order-to-monitor-ex-trump-adviser-in-russia-probe-washington-post-14431" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>&nbsp;reported that last summer&nbsp;the FBI convinced a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that there was probably cause to believe that former Trump&nbsp;adviser Carter Page, who worked with the campaign during the 2016 federal election, was a Russian agent.

Just over two weeks ago it was reported that Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner, himself a top White House adviser, met with Russian bank officials officially under Western&nbsp;sanctions.&nbsp;

Days ago it was reported that he failed to disclose dozens of such meetings&nbsp;on US security clearance forms. Failure to make such a&nbsp;disclosure&nbsp;could be a felony.

<a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/327753-kushner-didnt-disclose-meetings-with-russians-on-security-clearance" target="_blank">The Hill</a> reports that Kushners laws claim the omissions were an error, and that top White House aide&#39;s notified the FBI the following day with additional information. More, his aides claim&nbsp;he is only using a temporary security clearance now.

Trump&#39;s pick for National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had to resign after it came to light that he misled the administration about his concversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak.

Trump&#39;s pick for Attorney General Jeff Sessions&nbsp;recused himself from the investigation into Trump-Russia after it emerged that he also lied under oath about meeting Ambassador Kislyak.

(WION)

The claim comes just after Trump's son also distanced Washington from Moscow, amid an FBI investigation into the connection between the two

Levels of trust between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated since US President Donald Trump took office, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Asked about relations since Trump became president, Putin said, according to a transcript of the interview released by the Kremlin: "One could say that the level of trust on a working level, especially on the military level, has not improved, but rather has deteriorated." Asked about accusations that Syria's government launched a chemical weapons attack in Idlib province, Putin said that Damascus had given up its chemical weapons stocks, Reuters reports. He said he believed there were two main explanations for the incident in Idlib province: that Syrian government air strikes had hit rebel chemical weapons stocks, releasing poisonous gas, or that the incident was a set-up designed to discredit the Syrian government. Downplaying Russia-US connection? Putin's claim that Moscow's relations have worsened since Trump has taken office comes as the FBI is investigating Russian interference in the US election designed to benefit Trump, and whether or not anyone in the Trump campaign actively worked with Russian agents. It also comes a day after Eric Trump, the US President's son, also distanced Washington from Moscow. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph published yesterday, referring to America's strike last week against a Syrian airbase on April 4, US President Donald Trump's son Eric Trump asserted: "If there was anything that Syria did, it was to validate the fact that there is no Russia tie." Yesterday, The Washington Post reported that last summer the FBI convinced a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that there was probably cause to believe that former Trump adviser Carter Page, who worked with the campaign during the 2016 federal election, was a Russian agent. Just over two weeks ago it was reported that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, himself a top White House adviser, met with Russian bank officials officially under Western sanctions. Days ago it was reported that he failed to disclose dozens of such meetings on US security clearance forms. Failure to make such a disclosure could be a felony. The Hill reports that Kushners laws claim the omissions were an error, and that top White House aide's notified the FBI the following day with additional information. More, his aides claim he is only using a temporary security clearance now. Trump's pick for National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had to resign after it came to light that he misled the administration about his concversation with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. Trump's pick for Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation into Trump-Russia after it emerged that he also lied under oath about meeting Ambassador Kislyak. (WION)

Putin says US-Russia ties worse since Trump took office

Donald Trump&#39;s attorney general warned US cities that turning a blind eye to illegal migrants could jeopardise billions in federal funding, as the administration doubled down on tough immigration policies Monday.

Jeff Sessions demanded so-called &quot;sanctuary cities&quot; -- from Boston to Chicago to Los Angeles -- do more to turn illegal immigrants over to the federal authorities for deportation.

&quot;The Department of Justice has a duty to enforce our nation&#39;s laws, including our immigration laws,&quot; he said from the White House. &quot;Unfortunately, some states and cities have adopted policies designed to frustrate this enforcement of immigration laws.&quot;

The Justice Department would work to claw back grants worth around $4.1 billion a year, he warned.

The 70-year-old former senator zeroed in on the issue of illegal immigrants who have been convicted or detained on suspicion of serious crimes.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has a long voting record&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ontheissues.org/Domestic/Jeff_Sessions_Civil_Rights.htm" target="_blank">opposing </a>civil rights. Yesterday he walked away from a question posed to him by a black reporter about the white supremacist&nbsp;who confessed to murdering a black man to &quot;send a message&quot; in New York City.&nbsp;

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AG Sessions ran out as black reporter asked about White Supremacist who killed black man in NYC: &quot;Is that a hate crime, sir?&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PressBriefing?src=hash">#PressBriefing</a> <a href="https://t.co/MISjILlFpD">pic.twitter.com/MISjILlFpD</a>
&mdash; Deep South Daily (@DeepSouthDaily) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeepSouthDaily/status/846421426605297668">March 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Trump&#39;s backers in the far right-wing media often feature stories about Hispanic immigrants who have committed violent crimes while in the country illegally. Jeff Sessions echoed this.

He cited examples of those involved in &quot;drug trafficking, hit and run, rape, sex offenses against a child and even murder&quot;.

&quot;Assaults, burglaries, drug crimes, gang rapes, crimes against children and murderers,&quot; Sessions said.

&quot;Countless Americans would be alive today and countless loved ones would not be grieving today if these policies of sanctuary cities were ended.&quot; &quot;These policies endanger lives of every American,&quot; he added.

The Trump administration is trying to force local police to keep immigrants detained until the immigration authorities -- with their more limited resources -- can show up.

However, the administration&#39;s critics accuses it of creating a climate of fear, and falsely associating immigrants with criminality.&nbsp;They point to multiple studies that show immigrants commit crime at lower rates than native-born citizens.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&#39;Police state&#39;

The Lawyers&#39; Committee for Civil Rights accused Sessions of trying to &quot;create a police state&quot; where local law enforcement &quot;are acting at the behest of the federal government to round up immigrants in communities across the country&quot;.

Some local law enforcement officials in cities with large migrant populations warn that such a policy would poison community relations.

In January, police chiefs from major cities stressed they wanted to tackle crime, whoever carries it out.

&quot;Cities that aim to build trusting and supportive relations with immigrant communities should not be punished because this is essential to reducing crime and helping victims,&quot; the group said in a joint statement with mayors.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti gave an equally strident response, accusing Sessions of trying to push local authorities into unconstitutional actions.

&quot;LA&#39;s values are not for sale,&quot; he said. &quot;There are constitutional protections against the kind of punitive, counterproductive actions proposed today by the attorney general.&quot;

&quot;Slashing funds for first responders, for our port and airport, for counterterrorism, crime fighting and community building serves no one -- not this city, not the federal government, not the American people.&quot;

San Francisco insisted that &quot;sanctuary cities are safer cities&quot;.

&quot;When immigrants can enrol their children in school, access health care for vaccinations, and report crimes, our city and county is safer,&quot; said Deirdre Hussey, spokeswoman for San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.

&quot;It is shocking that the US attorney general, the nation&#39;s top law enforcement official, does not agree with this basic principle of public safety.&quot;

The debate is unlikely to be resolved soon, with many legal issues expected to be taken up in the courts.

Legal experts question whether immigration offenses should be treated as criminal acts or whether so-called detainer orders from the federal authorities provide legal grounds for local detention.

(AFP)

Jeff Sessions, like far-right media, focused on aggressive crimes committed by immigrants even though reports say this link is unfounded

Donald Trump's attorney general warned US cities that turning a blind eye to illegal migrants could jeopardise billions in federal funding, as the administration doubled down on tough immigration policies Monday. Jeff Sessions demanded so-called "sanctuary cities" -- from Boston to Chicago to Los Angeles -- do more to turn illegal immigrants over to the federal authorities for deportation. "The Department of Justice has a duty to enforce our nation's laws, including our immigration laws," he said from the White House. "Unfortunately, some states and cities have adopted policies designed to frustrate this enforcement of immigration laws." The Justice Department would work to claw back grants worth around $4.1 billion a year, he warned. The 70-year-old former senator zeroed in on the issue of illegal immigrants who have been convicted or detained on suspicion of serious crimes. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has a long voting record opposing civil rights. Yesterday he walked away from a question posed to him by a black reporter about the white supremacist who confessed to murdering a black man to "send a message" in New York City. AG Sessions ran out as black reporter asked about White Supremacist who killed black man in NYC: "Is that a hate crime, sir?" #PressBriefing pic.twitter.com/MISjILlFpD — Deep South Daily (@DeepSouthDaily) March 27, 2017 × Trump's backers in the far right-wing media often feature stories about Hispanic immigrants who have committed violent crimes while in the country illegally. Jeff Sessions echoed this. He cited examples of those involved in "drug trafficking, hit and run, rape, sex offenses against a child and even murder". "Assaults, burglaries, drug crimes, gang rapes, crimes against children and murderers," Sessions said. "Countless Americans would be alive today and countless loved ones would not be grieving today if these policies of sanctuary cities were ended." "These policies endanger lives of every American," he added. The Trump administration is trying to force local police to keep immigrants detained until the immigration authorities -- with their more limited resources -- can show up. However, the administration's critics accuses it of creating a climate of fear, and falsely associating immigrants with criminality. They point to multiple studies that show immigrants commit crime at lower rates than native-born citizens. 'Police state' The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights accused Sessions of trying to "create a police state" where local law enforcement "are acting at the behest of the federal government to round up immigrants in communities across the country". Some local law enforcement officials in cities with large migrant populations warn that such a policy would poison community relations. In January, police chiefs from major cities stressed they wanted to tackle crime, whoever carries it out. "Cities that aim to build trusting and supportive relations with immigrant communities should not be punished because this is essential to reducing crime and helping victims," the group said in a joint statement with mayors. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti gave an equally strident response, accusing Sessions of trying to push local authorities into unconstitutional actions. "LA's values are not for sale," he said. "There are constitutional protections against the kind of punitive, counterproductive actions proposed today by the attorney general." "Slashing funds for first responders, for our port and airport, for counterterrorism, crime fighting and community building serves no one -- not this city, not the federal government, not the American people." San Francisco insisted that "sanctuary cities are safer cities". "When immigrants can enrol their children in school, access health care for vaccinations, and report crimes, our city and county is safer," said Deirdre Hussey, spokeswoman for San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. "It is shocking that the US attorney general, the nation's top law enforcement official, does not agree with this basic principle of public safety." The debate is unlikely to be resolved soon, with many legal issues expected to be taken up in the courts. Legal experts question whether immigration offenses should be treated as criminal acts or whether so-called detainer orders from the federal authorities provide legal grounds for local detention. (AFP)

US attorney general threatens to make city funding conditional on kicking out illegal immigrants

FBI Director James Comey confirmed for the first time Monday that the agency is investigating Russian interference in last year&#39;s presidential election and notably Moscow&#39;s possible collusion with President Donald Trump&#39;s campaign.

The FBI &quot;is investigating the Russian government&#39;s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election,&quot; Comey told a hearing by the House Intelligence Committee.

&quot;And that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia&#39;s efforts,&quot; he said.

Watch&nbsp;FBI Director Comey describe&nbsp;his agency&#39;s assessment of the Russian motive behind hacking the Democrats.

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Comey: Russia&#39;s goals in 2016 were to hurt U.S. democracy, hurt Hillary Clinton and help Trump <a href="https://t.co/IF9lRnsNN1">pic.twitter.com/IF9lRnsNN1</a>
&mdash; Axios (@axios) <a href="https://twitter.com/axios/status/843855998179840001">March 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Background

Several members of Trump&#39;s team during the election, and official members of his administration once taking office, have lied about their contact with Russian officials.&nbsp;

Notably, National Securtity Adviser<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-national-security-adviser-michael-flynn-resigns-12377" target="_blank"> Michael Flynn</a>, who had to resign after misleading US Vice President Mike Pence about his contact with Russian ambassador to the United States,&nbsp;Sergey Kislyak.&nbsp;Flynn had promised Pence he had not discussed US&nbsp;sanctions with the Russians, but transcripts of intercepted communications, described by US&nbsp;officials, showed that the subject had come up in conversations between him and Kislyak.

Also, Attorney General <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-russia-sessions-may-be-blackmailed-by-kremlin-says-former-white-house-chief-ethics-officer-12984" target="_blank">Jeff Sessions</a>, who had to recuse himself from any investigation into Trump&#39;s alleged Russian connections after it came to light that he lied under oath about not having contact with any Russian officials, when actually he had also met at least twice with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

When asked in February of 2016&nbsp;if anyone from his staff had communicated with Russia during his election campaign, Mr&nbsp;Trump said: &ldquo;Nobody that I know of&rdquo;.&nbsp;

During the campaign, Roger Stone was a top Trump adviser for a time. He has since <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-ally-says-he-worked-with-assange-pre-election-to-spread-clinton-emails-in-abusive-twitter-tirade-13089" target="_blank">admitted </a>to having a &quot;perfectly legal back channel&quot; to Julian Assange, whose website WikiLeaks published hacked emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, which Trump repeatedly&nbsp;used during the campaign to cudgel Clinton.

It has also since come to light that Stone also had private contact with Guccifer 2.0, the identity of the person&nbsp;who hacked the Democrats. US intelligence says Guccifer 2.0 is&nbsp;really GRU, or Russian military intelligence. Thus, an official member of Trump&#39;s election campaign admitted to having communication with both WikiLeaks and the Russian hacker who hacked the Democrats.&nbsp;

Roger Stone has denied&nbsp;any wrongdoing.

Other members of Trump&#39;s team who lied about contact with Russian&nbsp;officials before the November 8, 2016 US election&nbsp;include: Paul Manafort, Carter Page, JD Gordon, and even Donald Trump himself.

Trump&#39;s son-in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner also met&nbsp;with Russian ambassador Segey Kislyak, but after the election.

Trump took to Twitter early in the morning before the&nbsp;House Intelligence Committee hearing to denounce the ongoing story between his election campaign and Russia, calling it &quot;FAKE NEWS&quot;. &nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

The agency is investigating Russia's interference in the US election, but also whether or not Trump's team actively worked with them

FBI Director James Comey confirmed for the first time Monday that the agency is investigating Russian interference in last year's presidential election and notably Moscow's possible collusion with President Donald Trump's campaign. The FBI "is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election," Comey told a hearing by the House Intelligence Committee. "And that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts," he said. Watch FBI Director Comey describe his agency's assessment of the Russian motive behind hacking the Democrats. Comey: Russia's goals in 2016 were to hurt U.S. democracy, hurt Hillary Clinton and help Trump pic.twitter.com/IF9lRnsNN1 — Axios (@axios) March 20, 2017 × Background Several members of Trump's team during the election, and official members of his administration once taking office, have lied about their contact with Russian officials. Notably, National Securtity Adviser Michael Flynn, who had to resign after misleading US Vice President Mike Pence about his contact with Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. Flynn had promised Pence he had not discussed US sanctions with the Russians, but transcripts of intercepted communications, described by US officials, showed that the subject had come up in conversations between him and Kislyak. Also, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had to recuse himself from any investigation into Trump's alleged Russian connections after it came to light that he lied under oath about not having contact with any Russian officials, when actually he had also met at least twice with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak. When asked in February of 2016 if anyone from his staff had communicated with Russia during his election campaign, Mr Trump said: “Nobody that I know of”. During the campaign, Roger Stone was a top Trump adviser for a time. He has since admitted to having a "perfectly legal back channel" to Julian Assange, whose website WikiLeaks published hacked emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, which Trump repeatedly used during the campaign to cudgel Clinton. It has also since come to light that Stone also had private contact with Guccifer 2.0, the identity of the person who hacked the Democrats. US intelligence says Guccifer 2.0 is really GRU, or Russian military intelligence. Thus, an official member of Trump's election campaign admitted to having communication with both WikiLeaks and the Russian hacker who hacked the Democrats. Roger Stone has denied any wrongdoing. Other members of Trump's team who lied about contact with Russian officials before the November 8, 2016 US election include: Paul Manafort, Carter Page, JD Gordon, and even Donald Trump himself. Trump's son-in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner also met with Russian ambassador Segey Kislyak, but after the election. Trump took to Twitter early in the morning before the House Intelligence Committee hearing to denounce the ongoing story between his election campaign and Russia, calling it "FAKE NEWS". (WION with inputs from AFP)

FBI director confirms agency is probing Russian links to Trump campaign

&nbsp;

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A day after Washington Post revealed that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had spoken to russian ambassador on two separate occasions. Sessions says he would recuse himself from the federal (WION)
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Richard Painter, President George W Bush&#39;s top ethics lawyer, told&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bush-ethics-lawyer-painter-jeff-sessions-perjury-resign-2017-3" target="_blank">Business Insider</a>&nbsp;that he believes US Attorney General Jeff Sessions must resign.

While Painter said it was &quot;debateable&quot; whether or not Sessions perjured himself during his senate confirmation hearing, there is a real possibility that Russia has enough material over him for blackmail, and while &quot;we have no way of knowing if we&#39;re in that situation,&nbsp;he said the possibility was&nbsp;&quot;just way too high a risk&quot;.

Painter said: &quot;The thing with Sessions is that the Russians almost certainly have a recording of these conversations or detailed notes about the conversations...And so, they&#39;ve got something over Sessions. Sessions will be asked what was said in these conversations. And if that doesn&#39;t match what the Russians have in their records...then they&#39;ve got him, and they have this over him for the rest of his term. We have no way of knowing if we&#39;re in that situation, but it&#39;s just way to high a risk.&quot;

&nbsp;

During his confirmation hearing, Sessions told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had no contact with Russian officials during the campaign. He was asked by Al Franken, the Democratic Senator, what he would do if he learned that someone from the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of the campaign.

Sessions responded, &quot;Senator Franken, I&#39;m not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians, and I&#39;m unable to comment on it.&quot;

After the&nbsp;Washington Post responded that actually Sessions&nbsp;had two conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in September 2016--while the then-senator was&nbsp;advising&nbsp;Donald Trump&#39;s presidential campaign and at the height of what&nbsp;US intelligence agencies are <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/02/sessions-s-contact-the-russian-ambassador-a-spy-or-not-a-spy.html" target="_blank">united </a>in saying was a concerted Russian cyber espionage campaign&nbsp;to influence the outcome of the US election--pressure mounted for Sessions to recuse himself from any&nbsp;investigation into Trump&#39;s connection with Russia, and even to resign.

Sessions has since announced that he will <a href="http://US Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday recused himself from any investigations into the alleged Russian interference in 2016 US presidential elections." target="_blank">recuse </a>himself from any such investigation.&nbsp;The investigation into Russia&#39;s connection seeks to determine just how Russia influenced the 2016 presidential election, and Donald Trump&#39;s ties to Russia in general.&nbsp;

Democrats and even some Republicans had called for an indepedent investigator, rather than Sessions.

Trump dismissed the increasing pressure against Sessions, calling it a &quot;witch hunt&quot;.

&nbsp;

So far <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-connection-to-russia-doesnt-end-with-flynn-12478" target="_blank">three&nbsp;people</a> from Trump&#39;s camp have resigned or have been fired once their connection to Russia came to light,&nbsp;including&nbsp;former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former adviser Carter Page, and Trump&#39;s choice to lead national security Michael Flynn.

Donald Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/758071952498159616" target="_blank">tweeted </a>in July 26, 2016: &quot;For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia.&quot;

President Trump&#39;s son, Donald Jr,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2017/01/eric-trump-organization-deals-russia-233360" target="_blank">told </a>a real estate conference in 2008:&nbsp;&quot;Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets...We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.&quot;

Here is then-Trump adviser Paul&nbsp;Manafort in July of 2016, denying that Trump has any financial connections to Russia:

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MUST WATCH: Paul Manafort doesn&#39;t sound very convincing here. 
 
Interview was July 27, 2016 <a href="https://t.co/N46Y2DOAJX">pic.twitter.com/N46Y2DOAJX</a>
&mdash; Yashar (@yashar) <a href="https://twitter.com/yashar/status/837184121600356352">March 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/02/politics/russia-kislyak-spy-claim-sessions/" target="_blank">CNN </a>reported that US intelligence believes that the Russian ambassador Sergey Kisylak--who met several people associated with&nbsp;Trump&#39;s camp including:&nbsp;Michael&nbsp;Flynn and&nbsp;Jeff Sessions, and also&nbsp;former&nbsp;adviser <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/carter-page-russian-ambassador-meeting-235626" target="_blank">Carter Page </a>and <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-jared-kushner-met-with-russian-1488499538-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jarred Kushner</a>-- is considered to be one of Russia&#39;s top spies and spy-recruiters in Washington. Russia has denied this is true.

Meanwhile, The Indepedent reports that&nbsp;Christopher Steele, the former British MI6 spy who compiled the infamous dossier alleging&nbsp;Russia has blackmail material over Donald Trump, has been approached about testifying in front of the US Senate Intelligence Commitee&#39;s investigation into Trump&#39;s alleged links with Russia.

Trump has dismissed Steele&#39;s allegations, and called him a &quot;failed spy&quot;.

In the past Donald Trump has&nbsp;denied having any connection to&nbsp;Vladimir Putin repeatedly, but&nbsp;has also bragged about his personal relationship with the Russian President.

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Does Donald Trump have a relationship with Vladimir Putin? Allow him to tell you. 
 
Watch this, via <a href="https://twitter.com/MSNBC">@MSNBC</a>. <a href="https://t.co/FN9ZIHRbi3">pic.twitter.com/FN9ZIHRbi3</a>
&mdash; Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) <a href="https://twitter.com/BraddJaffy/status/837141504451837952">March 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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(WION)

President Bush's ethics officer said Sessions must step down. While unsure if he's been blackmailed, he said it's 'way too big a risk'

A day after Washington Post revealed that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had spoken to russian ambassador on two separate occasions. Sessions says he would recuse himself from the federal (WION) × Richard Painter, President George W Bush's top ethics lawyer, told Business Insider that he believes US Attorney General Jeff Sessions must resign. While Painter said it was "debateable" whether or not Sessions perjured himself during his senate confirmation hearing, there is a real possibility that Russia has enough material over him for blackmail, and while "we have no way of knowing if we're in that situation, he said the possibility was "just way too high a risk". Painter said: "The thing with Sessions is that the Russians almost certainly have a recording of these conversations or detailed notes about the conversations...And so, they've got something over Sessions. Sessions will be asked what was said in these conversations. And if that doesn't match what the Russians have in their records...then they've got him, and they have this over him for the rest of his term. We have no way of knowing if we're in that situation, but it's just way to high a risk." During his confirmation hearing, Sessions told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had no contact with Russian officials during the campaign. He was asked by Al Franken, the Democratic Senator, what he would do if he learned that someone from the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of the campaign. Sessions responded, "Senator Franken, I'm not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on it." After the Washington Post responded that actually Sessions had two conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in September 2016--while the then-senator was advising Donald Trump's presidential campaign and at the height of what US intelligence agencies are united in saying was a concerted Russian cyber espionage campaign to influence the outcome of the US election--pressure mounted for Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation into Trump's connection with Russia, and even to resign. Sessions has since announced that he will recuse himself from any such investigation. The investigation into Russia's connection seeks to determine just how Russia influenced the 2016 presidential election, and Donald Trump's ties to Russia in general. Democrats and even some Republicans had called for an indepedent investigator, rather than Sessions. Trump dismissed the increasing pressure against Sessions, calling it a "witch hunt". So far three people from Trump's camp have resigned or have been fired once their connection to Russia came to light, including former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former adviser Carter Page, and Trump's choice to lead national security Michael Flynn. Donald Trump tweeted in July 26, 2016: "For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia." President Trump's son, Donald Jr, told a real estate conference in 2008: "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets...We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia." Here is then-Trump adviser Paul Manafort in July of 2016, denying that Trump has any financial connections to Russia: MUST WATCH: Paul Manafort doesn't sound very convincing here. Interview was July 27, 2016 pic.twitter.com/N46Y2DOAJX — Yashar (@yashar) March 2, 2017 × CNN reported that US intelligence believes that the Russian ambassador Sergey Kisylak--who met several people associated with Trump's camp including: Michael Flynn and Jeff Sessions, and also former adviser Carter Page and Trump's son-in-law Jarred Kushner-- is considered to be one of Russia's top spies and spy-recruiters in Washington. Russia has denied this is true. Meanwhile, The Indepedent reports that Christopher Steele, the former British MI6 spy who compiled the infamous dossier alleging Russia has blackmail material over Donald Trump, has been approached about testifying in front of the US Senate Intelligence Commitee's investigation into Trump's alleged links with Russia. Trump has dismissed Steele's allegations, and called him a "failed spy". In the past Donald Trump has denied having any connection to Vladimir Putin repeatedly, but has also bragged about his personal relationship with the Russian President. Does Donald Trump have a relationship with Vladimir Putin? Allow him to tell you. Watch this, via @MSNBC. pic.twitter.com/FN9ZIHRbi3 — Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 2, 2017 (WION)

Trump-Russia: Sessions may be blackmailed by Kremlin, says former White House chief ethics officer

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions came under fire late Wednesday after the Washington Post reported he met twice last year with Russia&#39;s ambassador to Washington, seemingly contradicting statements he made in Senate confirmation hearings in January.

The revelation cast a fresh cloud over President Donald Trump&#39;s administration -- which has repeatedly denied any suspected ties between members of his election team and Russia -- which US intelligence says interfered in the 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton.

The White House quickly labelled the report an attack by partisan Democrats, confirming the meetings but arguing Sessions did nothing wrong.

In a statement, Sessions said: &quot;I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false.&quot;

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<h5>The White House admits the meetings happened but claims Sessions did nothing wrong</h5>
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But with US intelligence agencies, the Department of Justice, and four Congressional committees examining the Russia scandal, Democrats demanded that Sessions -- the Trump administration&#39;s top law enforcement official -- recuse himself from investigations, and for Congress to name an independent special investigator to oversee a broad probe.

&quot;Given AG Sessions&#39; false statements about contacts with Russian officials, we need a special counsel to investigate Trump associates&#39; ties to Russia,&quot; said Democrat Senator Ron Wyden, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The Washington Post reported late Wednesday that Sessions -- formerly a senator who advised Trump&#39;s campaign on foreign policy and other issues -- met Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in July and September, just as accusations of Russian interference in the election were mounting.&nbsp;

Sessions, however, told his confirmation hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 10 that he did not know of contacts between Trump campaign members and Russia.&nbsp;

&quot;I did not have communications with the Russians,&quot; he said under oath.

&nbsp;

Calls to resign

Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the Senate, called for Sessions to step down. &quot;After lying under oath to Congress about his own communications with the Russian, the attorney general must resign,&quot; she said.

Democrat Elijah Cummings of the House of Representative&#39;s Oversight Committee echoed that call in a statement. &quot;When Senator Sessions testified under oath that &#39;I did not have communications with the Russians,&#39; his statement was demonstrably false, yet he let it stand for weeks,&quot; Cummings said. &quot;Attorney General Sessions should resign immediately, and there is no longer any question that we need a truly independent commission to investigate this issue.&quot;

A White House official dubbed the latest report an &quot;attack&quot;.

&quot;This is the latest attack against the Trump administration by partisan Democrats,&quot; the official said.

&quot;Sessions met with the ambassador in an official capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is entirely consistent with his testimony.&quot;

Sessions was confirmed as attorney general on February 8, moving in place to oversee Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation probes into the alleged communications between Trump campaign officials and Moscow.

&nbsp;

Interference

The New York Times reported two weeks ago, citing US intelligence sources, that three campaign staff -- including campaign chief Paul Manafort -- had communicated with Russian intelligence officers.

The White House also labeled that report &quot;false&quot; and has accused Democrats, the media and the intelligence community of a political effort to undermine the Trump administration.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-connection-to-russia-doesnt-end-with-flynn-12478">Three people</a> have resigned from Trump&#39;s administration, also including&nbsp;his election campaign, amid revelations of their connections to&nbsp;Russia. The most recent was Michael&nbsp;Flynn, Trump&#39;s pick to head&nbsp;national security, who resigned after it became public knowledge that he spoke to the Russian ambassador about US sanctions against Russia, then lied about it. During the 2016 election, Manafort resigned, as mentioned above. And so did another Trump aide, <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/the-mystery-of-trumps-man-in-moscow-214283" target="_blank">Carter Page</a>, after his connections to Russia came to light.

The Washington Post report emerged as Democrats had begun warning the White House and Republican lawmakers against trying to shut down any investigations of alleged Russian interference.

The warnings came after Trump&#39;s staff sought to enlist the FBI, reportedly the CIA and two Republicans who head committees leading the Russia investigations, to knock down media reports on the alleged links.

US intelligence chiefs announced in December that they had concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind a hacking and misinformation campaign to hurt Clinton and boost Trump&#39;s chances to win the November 8 presidential election.

But they have not made their evidence public, and the Kremlin denies it.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

The Washington Post reported that the Attorney General met with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in July & September

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions came under fire late Wednesday after the Washington Post reported he met twice last year with Russia's ambassador to Washington, seemingly contradicting statements he made in Senate confirmation hearings in January. The revelation cast a fresh cloud over President Donald Trump's administration -- which has repeatedly denied any suspected ties between members of his election team and Russia -- which US intelligence says interfered in the 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton. The White House quickly labelled the report an attack by partisan Democrats, confirming the meetings but arguing Sessions did nothing wrong. In a statement, Sessions said: "I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false." The White House admits the meetings happened but claims Sessions did nothing wrong × But with US intelligence agencies, the Department of Justice, and four Congressional committees examining the Russia scandal, Democrats demanded that Sessions -- the Trump administration's top law enforcement official -- recuse himself from investigations, and for Congress to name an independent special investigator to oversee a broad probe. "Given AG Sessions' false statements about contacts with Russian officials, we need a special counsel to investigate Trump associates' ties to Russia," said Democrat Senator Ron Wyden, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The Washington Post reported late Wednesday that Sessions -- formerly a senator who advised Trump's campaign on foreign policy and other issues -- met Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in July and September, just as accusations of Russian interference in the election were mounting. Sessions, however, told his confirmation hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 10 that he did not know of contacts between Trump campaign members and Russia. "I did not have communications with the Russians," he said under oath. Calls to resign Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the Senate, called for Sessions to step down. "After lying under oath to Congress about his own communications with the Russian, the attorney general must resign," she said. Democrat Elijah Cummings of the House of Representative's Oversight Committee echoed that call in a statement. "When Senator Sessions testified under oath that 'I did not have communications with the Russians,' his statement was demonstrably false, yet he let it stand for weeks," Cummings said. "Attorney General Sessions should resign immediately, and there is no longer any question that we need a truly independent commission to investigate this issue." A White House official dubbed the latest report an "attack". "This is the latest attack against the Trump administration by partisan Democrats," the official said. "Sessions met with the ambassador in an official capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is entirely consistent with his testimony." Sessions was confirmed as attorney general on February 8, moving in place to oversee Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation probes into the alleged communications between Trump campaign officials and Moscow. Interference The New York Times reported two weeks ago, citing US intelligence sources, that three campaign staff -- including campaign chief Paul Manafort -- had communicated with Russian intelligence officers. The White House also labeled that report "false" and has accused Democrats, the media and the intelligence community of a political effort to undermine the Trump administration. Three people have resigned from Trump's administration, also including his election campaign, amid revelations of their connections to Russia. The most recent was Michael Flynn, Trump's pick to head national security, who resigned after it became public knowledge that he spoke to the Russian ambassador about US sanctions against Russia, then lied about it. During the 2016 election, Manafort resigned, as mentioned above. And so did another Trump aide, Carter Page, after his connections to Russia came to light. The Washington Post report emerged as Democrats had begun warning the White House and Republican lawmakers against trying to shut down any investigations of alleged Russian interference. The warnings came after Trump's staff sought to enlist the FBI, reportedly the CIA and two Republicans who head committees leading the Russia investigations, to knock down media reports on the alleged links. US intelligence chiefs announced in December that they had concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind a hacking and misinformation campaign to hurt Clinton and boost Trump's chances to win the November 8 presidential election. But they have not made their evidence public, and the Kremlin denies it. (WION with inputs from AFP)

US: Jeff Sessions under fire after report he too met with Russian ambassador

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday recused himself from&nbsp;any investigations into the alleged Russian interference in&nbsp;2016 US presidential elections.&nbsp;

His move follows&nbsp;political pressure for his recusal after The Washington Post reported that he met with Russia&#39;s ambassador to Washington twice last year,&nbsp;seemingly contradicting statements he made in Senate confirmation hearings in January.

&quot;I have decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States,&quot; Sessions told reporters.

&quot;This announcement should not be interpreted as confirmation of the existence of any investigation or suggestive of the scope of any such investigation,&quot; he added.

Read his full statement.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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Jeff Session&#39;s full statement. (Image source: US Department of Justice) (Others)
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&nbsp;

Sessions said he had been weighing recusal -- ruling himself out from any role in the investigations -- even before the latest twist to the controversy over ties between Trump associates and Russia that has dogged the early days of his presidency.

US&nbsp;intelligence agencies concluded last year that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the election campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Trump&#39;s favour. The Kremlin has denied the allegations.

During his Senate confirmation hearing in January, Sessions responded to a question from Democratic Senator Al Franken that he did not &quot;have communications with the Russians&quot; during the presidential campaign.

But on Wednesday night, the Washington Post revealed that Sessions, who was a senior campaign aide of Trump&#39;s, received Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in his Senate office in September.

The other encounter was in July at a Heritage Foundation event that was attended by about 50 ambassadors, during the Republican National Convention, the Post said.

Sessions said he was &quot;honest and correct&quot; in his answer to Franken, drawing a distinction between his role as a senator and his role as a campaign aide.

Before the news conference, Trump said he had &quot;total&quot; confidence in Sessions. Asked whether Sessions should step aside from the investigations, Trump told reporters, &quot;I don&#39;t think so&quot;.

Trump called frequently during his campaign for improved relations with Russia, drawing criticism from Democrats and some Republicans. Ties with Russia have been deeply strained in recent years over Moscow&#39;s military interference in Ukraine, military support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and President Vladimir Putin&#39;s intolerance of political dissent.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

But he said he did nothing wrong when he did not disclose during Senate testimony that he had met last year with Russia's ambassador

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday recused himself from any investigations into the alleged Russian interference in 2016 US presidential elections. His move follows political pressure for his recusal after The Washington Post reported that he met with Russia's ambassador to Washington twice last year, seemingly contradicting statements he made in Senate confirmation hearings in January. "I have decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States," Sessions told reporters. "This announcement should not be interpreted as confirmation of the existence of any investigation or suggestive of the scope of any such investigation," he added. Read his full statement. Jeff Session's full statement. (Image source: US Department of Justice) (Others) × Sessions said he had been weighing recusal -- ruling himself out from any role in the investigations -- even before the latest twist to the controversy over ties between Trump associates and Russia that has dogged the early days of his presidency. US intelligence agencies concluded last year that Russia hacked and leaked Democratic emails during the election campaign as part of an effort to tilt the vote in Trump's favour. The Kremlin has denied the allegations. During his Senate confirmation hearing in January, Sessions responded to a question from Democratic Senator Al Franken that he did not "have communications with the Russians" during the presidential campaign. But on Wednesday night, the Washington Post revealed that Sessions, who was a senior campaign aide of Trump's, received Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in his Senate office in September. The other encounter was in July at a Heritage Foundation event that was attended by about 50 ambassadors, during the Republican National Convention, the Post said. Sessions said he was "honest and correct" in his answer to Franken, drawing a distinction between his role as a senator and his role as a campaign aide. Before the news conference, Trump said he had "total" confidence in Sessions. Asked whether Sessions should step aside from the investigations, Trump told reporters, "I don't think so". Trump called frequently during his campaign for improved relations with Russia, drawing criticism from Democrats and some Republicans. Ties with Russia have been deeply strained in recent years over Moscow's military interference in Ukraine, military support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and President Vladimir Putin's intolerance of political dissent. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions steps aside from Russia investigations

The US Senate confirmed&nbsp;Jeff Sessions as attorney general Wednesday, despite vitriolic debate over his civil rights record and whether he can serve as the nation&#39;s top law enforcement officer independent from President Donald Trump.

Lawmakers greenlighted Senator Sessions as the 84th US attorney general on a mostly party-line vote of 52 to 47, with just one Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia&nbsp;joining the Republican majority. Sessions voted present, and when the tally was announced many senators broke into extended applause for their colleague.

Manchin&#39;s daughter is the CEO of <a href="http://time.com/4475626/epipen-price-pharmaceutical-crisis/" target="_blank">Mylan</a>, the pharmaceutical company being investigated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for&nbsp;creating legislation that expanded the availability of their product,&nbsp;EpiPens, or epinephrine injectors. Manchin was the lone Democrat to approve&nbsp;Sessions, and now Sessions will control the Justice Department investigating his daughter.

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Joe Manchin daughter is being investigated by the justice department.. ???? Jeff Sessions will make it go bye-bye. 
 
Anymore more questions?? <a href="https://t.co/LTg7jey6CN">pic.twitter.com/LTg7jey6CN</a>
&mdash; ???&zwj;??D.C.Rob ???&zwj;?? (@DCRobMan) <a href="https://twitter.com/DCRobMan/status/829504542442127362">February 9, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Sessions was a US attorney for the southern district of Alabama from 1981 to 1993, before serving two years as the state&#39;s attorney general. He won a seat in the US Senate in 1996. But in 1986 his career was almost derailed when a US Senate panel rejected his nomination for a judgeship amid concerns over past comments he made about blacks, and over remarks that appeared sympathetic to the Ku Klux Klan.

There were <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-ag-nominee-sessions-questioned-by-senate-committee-as-protesters-shout-wear-kkk-hoods-11125" target="_blank">major protests </a>across America over the appointment of Sessions. On Tuesday&nbsp;senators broke into fiercely personal debate, which saw the Democrat Elizabeth Warren barred from speaking after she was deemed to have broken chamber rules on decorum. Warren had tried to read a 1986 letter by Coretta Scott King, the widow&nbsp;of civil rights hero Martin Luther King,&nbsp;denouncing the civil rights record of Jeff Sessions when he was .&nbsp;

Trump has harangued Democrats for slow-walking his nominees, blasting their obstruction as a &quot;disgrace&quot;.

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Congratulations to our new Attorney General, <a href="https://twitter.com/SenatorSessions">@SenatorSessions</a>! <a href="https://t.co/e0buP1K83z">pic.twitter.com/e0buP1K83z</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/829496507841789952">February 9, 2017</a></blockquote>
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He appeared particularly angered by the delay on Sessions, who as attorney general would wield enormous power regarding the administration of justice, including on the issue of voting rights.

Sessions, widely seen as an inspiration for Trump&#39;s anti-immigration policies, is just the sixth of 15 cabinet members to be confirmed, in addition to the cabinet-rank positions of CIA director and US ambassador to the United Nations.

Sessions will take charge of the Justice Department and its 113,000 employees, including the 93 US attorneys throughout the country.

He steps in amid a swirling legal debate over Trump&#39;s most controversial White House action to date, an executive order temporarily blocking all refugee arrivals and immigration from seven mainly Muslim countries. Sessions, 70, a staunch Trump supporter became a pivotal figure in his campaign and transition team. &nbsp;

The notorious white supremacist David Duke applauded Trump&#39;s decision to appoint Jeff Sessions.

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Bannon, Flynn, Sessions -- Great! Senate must demand that Sessions as AG stop the massive institutional race discrimination against whites!
&mdash; David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrDavidDuke/status/799624219831058432">November 18, 2016</a></blockquote>
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(AFP)

Republicans voted for Sessions 52 to 47, with just one Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia?breaking ranks and voting for him

The US Senate confirmed Jeff Sessions as attorney general Wednesday, despite vitriolic debate over his civil rights record and whether he can serve as the nation's top law enforcement officer independent from President Donald Trump. Lawmakers greenlighted Senator Sessions as the 84th US attorney general on a mostly party-line vote of 52 to 47, with just one Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia joining the Republican majority. Sessions voted present, and when the tally was announced many senators broke into extended applause for their colleague. Manchin's daughter is the CEO of Mylan, the pharmaceutical company being investigated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for creating legislation that expanded the availability of their product, EpiPens, or epinephrine injectors. Manchin was the lone Democrat to approve Sessions, and now Sessions will control the Justice Department investigating his daughter. Joe Manchin daughter is being investigated by the justice department.. ???? Jeff Sessions will make it go bye-bye. Anymore more questions?? pic.twitter.com/LTg7jey6CN — ???‍??D.C.Rob ???‍?? (@DCRobMan) February 9, 2017 × Sessions was a US attorney for the southern district of Alabama from 1981 to 1993, before serving two years as the state's attorney general. He won a seat in the US Senate in 1996. But in 1986 his career was almost derailed when a US Senate panel rejected his nomination for a judgeship amid concerns over past comments he made about blacks, and over remarks that appeared sympathetic to the Ku Klux Klan. There were major protests across America over the appointment of Sessions. On Tuesday senators broke into fiercely personal debate, which saw the Democrat Elizabeth Warren barred from speaking after she was deemed to have broken chamber rules on decorum. Warren had tried to read a 1986 letter by Coretta Scott King, the widow of civil rights hero Martin Luther King, denouncing the civil rights record of Jeff Sessions when he was . Trump has harangued Democrats for slow-walking his nominees, blasting their obstruction as a "disgrace". Congratulations to our new Attorney General, @SenatorSessions! pic.twitter.com/e0buP1K83z — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2017 × He appeared particularly angered by the delay on Sessions, who as attorney general would wield enormous power regarding the administration of justice, including on the issue of voting rights. Sessions, widely seen as an inspiration for Trump's anti-immigration policies, is just the sixth of 15 cabinet members to be confirmed, in addition to the cabinet-rank positions of CIA director and US ambassador to the United Nations. Sessions will take charge of the Justice Department and its 113,000 employees, including the 93 US attorneys throughout the country. He steps in amid a swirling legal debate over Trump's most controversial White House action to date, an executive order temporarily blocking all refugee arrivals and immigration from seven mainly Muslim countries. Sessions, 70, a staunch Trump supporter became a pivotal figure in his campaign and transition team. The notorious white supremacist David Duke applauded Trump's decision to appoint Jeff Sessions. Bannon, Flynn, Sessions -- Great! Senate must demand that Sessions as AG stop the massive institutional race discrimination against whites! — David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) November 18, 2016 × (AFP)

US Senate confirms Sessions as attorney general

US President-elect Donald Trump&#39;s nominee for the post of attorney general has assured lawmakers of taking steps towards pushing legislative measures to curb misuse of H-1B and L1 work visas significantly used by Indian IT professionals and allegedly replace American workers.

&quot;It&#39;s simply wrong to think that we&#39;re in a totally open world and that any American with a job can be replaced if somebody in the world is willing to take a job for less pay,&quot; Senator Jeff Sessions told members of Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing for the position of US attorney general.

&quot;We have borders. We have a commitment to our citizens and you have been a champion of that. I&#39;ve been honoured to work with you on it,&quot; Sessions said in response to a question from Senator Charles Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. 
In the past both Sessions and Grassley have worked together to bring legislations on H-1B visas that badly hit Indian IT companies.

Sessions is a staunch conservative&nbsp;with a controversial history.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-ag-nominee-sessions-questioned-by-senate-committee-as-protesters-shout-wear-kkk-hoods-11125">Yesterday, Sessions</a> said in a senate hear that allegations that he harboured sympathies toward the Ku Klux Klan, a violent white supremacist organisation, were false. &quot;I abhor the Klan and what it represents and its hateful ideology,&quot; Sessions said in his opening remarks. Protesters, some wearing Ku Klux Klan hoods, disrupted the hearing, shouting that Sessions was a racist and a bigot.

Former KKK leader David Duke has openly praised the appointment of Jeff Sessions as attorney general.

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Bannon, Flynn, Sessions -- Great! Senate must demand that Sessions as AG stop the massive institutional race discrimination against whites!
&mdash; David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrDavidDuke/status/799624219831058432">November 18, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Border attitudes

The Office of Special Counsel for immigration related unfair employment practices is an office within the Justice Department which would be headed by Sessions if he is confirmed by the US Senate. The Office enforces the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

&quot;While the office is designed to protect foreign nationals with employment visas from discrimination, it is also charged with ensuring that American workers are not discriminated against in the workplace. Many US workers advocate that the layoff of American workers and the replacement by cheaper, foreign, H-1B workers constitutes de facto nationality based discrimination against American workers,&quot; Grassley said.

&quot;The Obama administration has failed to protect American workers here. Will you, this is my question, will you be more aggressive in investigating the abuses of these visa programmes?&quot; he asked. &quot;I believe this has been an abuse. And I have been pleased to support your legislation and some others too, that others have produced that I believe could be helpful. It needs to be addressed,&quot; Sessions said.

Describing Sessions as a vocal champion for American workers, Grassley said many American workers are being laid off and replaced by cheaper foreign labour imported through some of the US visa programmes.

Sessions, Grassley and Senator Dick Durbin in the past had co-sponsored a bill that would reform H-1B visa programmes by ensuring that qualified American workers are considered for high skilled job opportunities before those jobs can be offered to foreign nationals.

&quot;It also prohibit a company from hiring H-1B employees if they employ more than 50 people and more than 50 per cent of their employees are H-1B or L-1 visa holders,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

(PTI)

Jeff Sessions characterised the Visa program that many Indians use to work in the US as an 'abuse', and pledged to aggressively investigate

US President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for the post of attorney general has assured lawmakers of taking steps towards pushing legislative measures to curb misuse of H-1B and L1 work visas significantly used by Indian IT professionals and allegedly replace American workers. "It's simply wrong to think that we're in a totally open world and that any American with a job can be replaced if somebody in the world is willing to take a job for less pay," Senator Jeff Sessions told members of Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing for the position of US attorney general. "We have borders. We have a commitment to our citizens and you have been a champion of that. I've been honoured to work with you on it," Sessions said in response to a question from Senator Charles Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In the past both Sessions and Grassley have worked together to bring legislations on H-1B visas that badly hit Indian IT companies. Sessions is a staunch conservative with a controversial history. Yesterday, Sessions said in a senate hear that allegations that he harboured sympathies toward the Ku Klux Klan, a violent white supremacist organisation, were false. "I abhor the Klan and what it represents and its hateful ideology," Sessions said in his opening remarks. Protesters, some wearing Ku Klux Klan hoods, disrupted the hearing, shouting that Sessions was a racist and a bigot. Former KKK leader David Duke has openly praised the appointment of Jeff Sessions as attorney general. Bannon, Flynn, Sessions -- Great! Senate must demand that Sessions as AG stop the massive institutional race discrimination against whites! — David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) November 18, 2016 × Border attitudes The Office of Special Counsel for immigration related unfair employment practices is an office within the Justice Department which would be headed by Sessions if he is confirmed by the US Senate. The Office enforces the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. "While the office is designed to protect foreign nationals with employment visas from discrimination, it is also charged with ensuring that American workers are not discriminated against in the workplace. Many US workers advocate that the layoff of American workers and the replacement by cheaper, foreign, H-1B workers constitutes de facto nationality based discrimination against American workers," Grassley said. "The Obama administration has failed to protect American workers here. Will you, this is my question, will you be more aggressive in investigating the abuses of these visa programmes?" he asked. "I believe this has been an abuse. And I have been pleased to support your legislation and some others too, that others have produced that I believe could be helpful. It needs to be addressed," Sessions said. Describing Sessions as a vocal champion for American workers, Grassley said many American workers are being laid off and replaced by cheaper foreign labour imported through some of the US visa programmes. Sessions, Grassley and Senator Dick Durbin in the past had co-sponsored a bill that would reform H-1B visa programmes by ensuring that qualified American workers are considered for high skilled job opportunities before those jobs can be offered to foreign nationals. "It also prohibit a company from hiring H-1B employees if they employ more than 50 people and more than 50 per cent of their employees are H-1B or L-1 visa holders," he said. (PTI)

Trump's controversial attorney general nominee promises curbs on H-1B visas

Modern-day musical &#39;La La Land&#39; swept the 74th Golden Globes Awards&nbsp;2017, winning &nbsp;prizes in seven categories including best motion picture - musical or comedy, best actor and best actress.

The film won every award it was nominated for with its stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling winning in the acting categories. The Golden Globe Awards are the first major Hollywood film award event of 2017.

&quot;Moonlight&quot;&nbsp;was named the&nbsp;best drama film, while &quot;Zootopia&quot;&nbsp;was named the&nbsp;best animated feature film.

Casey Affleck and Isabelle Huppert won other acting prizes for their roles in &quot;Manchester By The Sea&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;Elle.&quot;&nbsp;

Huppert came as a surprise winner by beating contenders including Natalie Portman, who had been considered the favourite for playing Jackie Kennedy in &quot;Jackie.&quot;

Viola Davis grabbed best supporting actress for &quot;Fences,&quot;&nbsp;the screen adaptation of August Wilson&#39;s play.

Accepting the award, Davis said, &quot;It&#39;s not every day that Hollywood thinks of translating a play to screen &mdash;&nbsp;it doesn&#39;t scream &#39;moneymaker&#39;. But it does scream art, and it does scream heart.&quot;

In a surprise win, British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson was named best supporting actor for his role in &quot;Nocturnal Animals&quot;&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;a prize that was expected to go to Mahershala Ali for &quot;Moonlight.&quot;

Jimmy Fallon hosted the ceremony and joked that the Golden Globes was &quot;one of the few places left where America still honours the popular vote&quot; &mdash; a reference to Donald Trump beating Hillary Clinton in the recent US election despite getting fewer votes overall.

He also described emotional drama &quot;Manchester By The Sea&quot;&nbsp;as &quot;the only thing more depressing than 2016.&quot;

The ceremony featured several references to US President- elect Donald Trump.

Meryl Streep launched an attack on Trump while accepting the Cecil B Demille award for outstanding contribution to entertainment.

Streep referred to Trump&#39;s mocking of a disabled reporter and said, &quot;Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. And when the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose.&quot;

There were several British wins in the television categories, including awards for Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman for &quot;The Night Manager.&quot;

Claire Foy also won the&nbsp;best actress in a television series for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix&#39;s &quot;The Crown.&quot;

For the first time, the arrival of Hollywood&#39;s A-listers on the red carpet was live-streamed on Twitter.

The Golden Globe Awards, which are run by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, honour the best in TV and film from the past year.

The Sikh body sought answers from Jeff Sessions through the members of Senate committee on issue of violence against Sikh Americans

Modern-day musical 'La La Land' swept the 74th Golden Globes Awards 2017, winning prizes in seven categories including best motion picture - musical or comedy, best actor and best actress. The film won every award it was nominated for with its stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling winning in the acting categories. The Golden Globe Awards are the first major Hollywood film award event of 2017. "Moonlight" was named the best drama film, while "Zootopia" was named the best animated feature film. Casey Affleck and Isabelle Huppert won other acting prizes for their roles in "Manchester By The Sea" and "Elle." Huppert came as a surprise winner by beating contenders including Natalie Portman, who had been considered the favourite for playing Jackie Kennedy in "Jackie." Viola Davis grabbed best supporting actress for "Fences," the screen adaptation of August Wilson's play. Accepting the award, Davis said, "It's not every day that Hollywood thinks of translating a play to screen — it doesn't scream 'moneymaker'. But it does scream art, and it does scream heart." In a surprise win, British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson was named best supporting actor for his role in "Nocturnal Animals" — a prize that was expected to go to Mahershala Ali for "Moonlight." Jimmy Fallon hosted the ceremony and joked that the Golden Globes was "one of the few places left where America still honours the popular vote" — a reference to Donald Trump beating Hillary Clinton in the recent US election despite getting fewer votes overall. He also described emotional drama "Manchester By The Sea" as "the only thing more depressing than 2016." The ceremony featured several references to US President- elect Donald Trump. Meryl Streep launched an attack on Trump while accepting the Cecil B Demille award for outstanding contribution to entertainment. Streep referred to Trump's mocking of a disabled reporter and said, "Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. And when the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose." There were several British wins in the television categories, including awards for Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman for "The Night Manager." Claire Foy also won the best actress in a television series for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix's "The Crown." For the first time, the arrival of Hollywood's A-listers on the red carpet was live-streamed on Twitter. The Golden Globe Awards, which are run by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, honour the best in TV and film from the past year.

Sikh body to US senators: Ensure prosecution of hate crimes during Trump presidency

President-elect Donald Trump has picked three hardliners to be in-charge of some of the topmost national security and judicial posts of the country.

Senator Jeff Sessions has been nominated to be the attorney general; Mike Pompeo will head the CIA; and, Michael Flynn will be Trump&#39;s national security advisor.

The selection was predictably lauded by the Republicans and assailed by the Democrats for being too hawkish.

&ldquo;The president-elect is a man of action, and we&rsquo;ve got a great number of men and women with great qualifications who look forward to serving in this administration,&rdquo; Vice President-elect Mike Pence told reporters in New York, Washington Post reported.

&quot;I enthusiastically embrace President-elect Trump&#39;s vision for &#39;one America&#39;,&nbsp;and his commitment to equal justice under law,&quot; said Sessions, a 20-year veteran of Congress.

Trump described Sessions&nbsp;as having a &quot;world-class legal mind&quot;.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Jeff is greatly admired by legal scholars and virtually everyone who knows him,&rdquo; Trump said.

Anti-immigration Senator Sessions&#39; nomination underscores and calcifies Trump&#39;s hard stance against illegal immigrants on the country.

Sessions has in the past made comments that can be construed as racist.

Back in 1986, Sessions said that a prominent white lawyer was a &quot;disgrace to his race&quot; for defending African-Americans.

He also reportedly joked about the Ku Klux Klan, saying he had thought its members were &quot;OK, until I found out they smoked pot.&quot;

Sessions has also been a fiery opponent to immigration, waging war on efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform through Congress in 2007 and 2013.

Congressman Mike Pompeo said he was honoured to have got the post.

Pompeo has been&nbsp;a critic of the Iran nuclear deal, which has been viewed by political analysts on the left to be one of outgoing President Barack Obama&#39;s top achievement during his second tenure. &nbsp;

Deeper controversy surrounds Trump&#39;s national security adviser Flynn, 57, who is set to play an influential role in shaping policy for a president with no experience in government or diplomacy, including how to contend with an increasingly aggressive Russia. Flynn raised eyebrows when he traveled to Moscow and dined alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin.

And he has refused to rule out enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding, which have been described as torture and which Trump repeatedly condoned while campaigning.

Flynn&#39;s hardline stance on Islamic extremism has rankled many. In February, he tweeted that &quot;fear of Muslims is rational&quot;.

He is highly respected as a decorated military intelligence officer who helped combat insurgent networks. But President Barack Obama fired him as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014 following complaints about his leadership style.

Flynn&#39;s appointment does not need approval from the Senate.

But that of Sessions as attorney general does.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

&nbsp;

Jeff Sessions has been nominated as the attorney general, Pompeo will head the CIA and Flynn will be the next national security advisor

President-elect Donald Trump has picked three hardliners to be in-charge of some of the topmost national security and judicial posts of the country. Senator Jeff Sessions has been nominated to be the attorney general; Mike Pompeo will head the CIA; and, Michael Flynn will be Trump's national security advisor. The selection was predictably lauded by the Republicans and assailed by the Democrats for being too hawkish. “The president-elect is a man of action, and we’ve got a great number of men and women with great qualifications who look forward to serving in this administration,” Vice President-elect Mike Pence told reporters in New York, Washington Post reported. "I enthusiastically embrace President-elect Trump's vision for 'one America', and his commitment to equal justice under law," said Sessions, a 20-year veteran of Congress. Trump described Sessions as having a "world-class legal mind". “Jeff is greatly admired by legal scholars and virtually everyone who knows him,” Trump said. Anti-immigration Senator Sessions' nomination underscores and calcifies Trump's hard stance against illegal immigrants on the country. Sessions has in the past made comments that can be construed as racist. Back in 1986, Sessions said that a prominent white lawyer was a "disgrace to his race" for defending African-Americans. He also reportedly joked about the Ku Klux Klan, saying he had thought its members were "OK, until I found out they smoked pot." Sessions has also been a fiery opponent to immigration, waging war on efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform through Congress in 2007 and 2013. Congressman Mike Pompeo said he was honoured to have got the post. Pompeo has been a critic of the Iran nuclear deal, which has been viewed by political analysts on the left to be one of outgoing President Barack Obama's top achievement during his second tenure. Deeper controversy surrounds Trump's national security adviser Flynn, 57, who is set to play an influential role in shaping policy for a president with no experience in government or diplomacy, including how to contend with an increasingly aggressive Russia. Flynn raised eyebrows when he traveled to Moscow and dined alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin. And he has refused to rule out enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding, which have been described as torture and which Trump repeatedly condoned while campaigning. Flynn's hardline stance on Islamic extremism has rankled many. In February, he tweeted that "fear of Muslims is rational". He is highly respected as a decorated military intelligence officer who helped combat insurgent networks. But President Barack Obama fired him as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014 following complaints about his leadership style. Flynn's appointment does not need approval from the Senate. But that of Sessions as attorney general does. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Trump picks hardliners for key national security and judicial posts

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