Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions insists his recusal from any investigation into Russian collusion in last year’s election was simple: It’s the law.
In an opening statement before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday,
Sessions cited a Department of Justice regulation that he said mandated him stepping aside.
The regulation, 28 CFR 45.2, notes that a Justice Department employee shall not participate in a “criminal investigation or prosecution if he has a personal or political relationship with … an elected official, a candidate (whether or not successful) for elective, public office, a political party, or a campaign organization.”
“I recused myself not because of any asserted wrongdoing on my part during the campaign,” Sessions said. “But because a Department of Justice regulation, 28 CFR 45.2, required it.”
“That regulation states, in effect, that department employees should not participate in investigations of a campaign if they have served as a campaign advisor,” said Sessions.
Throughout much of the 2016 election, Sessions served as a senior advisor to Trump’s campaign.