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DONALD TRUMP SAID he regretted his choice for attorney general as he sought to protect himself from the growing firestorm over Russia’s alleged election meddling which is engulfing his presidency.
On the eve of the six-month mark of Trump’s inauguration, it also emerged that senators will next week grill three of the pivotal players in the Trump campaign – including his eldest son – over swirling allegations of the presidential campaign’s collusion with Russia.
The announcements came as the Trump administration and the Kremlin tried to quell an uproar about a previously undisclosed meeting between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during this month’s G20 summit.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions was one of the first senior Republican politicians to endorse Trump before last November’s election and was rewarded by being appointed America’s top law enforcement officer.
But he stood aside in March from overseeing an FBI-led probe into whether members of the Trump team colluded with Moscow during the election campaign after it emerged that Sessions had not disclosed during his Senate confirmation hearing that he met twice with the Russian ambassador to Washington.
In an interview with the New York Times, Trump said Sessions had acted unfairly in taking the job in the first place if he had felt in any way compromised.
How do you take a job and then recuse yourself? If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, ‘Thanks, Jeff, but I’m not going to take you.’
“It’s extremely unfair – and that’s a mild word – to the president.”
Trump also criticised Sessions’ performance at the Senate confirmation hearing in January, in which he denied meeting with any Russians when he had in fact met with the Russian ambassador.
‘Bad answers’
“Jeff Sessions gave some bad answers,” the president said in his interview with the Times.
He gave some answers that were simple questions and should have been simple answers, but they weren’t.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is now due to grill the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is one of the most powerful figures in the Trump White House, in a closed-door session next Monday, his lawyer told CNN.
And two days later, the Senate Judiciary Committee will question Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, and former campaign manager Paul Manafort about Russia’s role, congressional officials announced yesterday.
All three men attended a controversial meeting with a Russian lawyer last year, in which they were expecting to receive dirt from Moscow on Trump’s election rival Hillary Clinton.
Trump Jr sent shockwaves through Washington last week by releasing a series of emails that detailed how he had attended the meeting after being promised “very high level and sensitive information” that was “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr Trump”.
Both Trump Jr and Manafort were told in letters from the panel’s senior members to “preserve all relevant documents in your possession… related to Russian interference in the 2016 election, including documents related to your or the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russian government officials, associates or representatives”.
The senators said they would issue subpoenas if the witnesses did not produce the required documents.
With Washington reeling from the stream of revelations, Trump has rushed to his son’s defence, and lambasted what he calls a political “witch hunt”.
But last night, a senior official made clear that the administration was cooperating with the investigation being conducted by a special counsel, former FBI director Robert Mueller, who is probing the Russia connection independently of the Senate panels.
“I’m part of the Trump administration, and the special counsel is reporting to me, and the answer to that is certainly yes,” deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein told Fox News.
We are providing appropriate cooperation to make sure the investigation is done properly.
‘Russia fever’
Some critics have seized on the additional, previously undisclosed meeting between the US president and his Russian counterpart as more evidence that the Trump team are reluctant to come clean on anything involving Russia.
The White House confirmed the politically sensitive sit-down over dinner on the final night of the G20 summit in Germany only after it was leaked, but has denied that it amounted to anything untoward.
At a briefing yesterday White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said:
Once again, the Russia fever has caught up with the media and everybody ran out and tried to create a story that simply didn’t exist.
That message was echoed by her Kremlin counterpart Dmitry Peskov.
“The use of the terms ‘secret’ or ‘confidential’ for this meeting provokes absolute surprise and incomprehension.”
The meeting had been “officially accepted” by diplomatic channels, he added in comments reported by the Russia’s TASS news agency.
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Move along now folks. Nothing to see here…
@Dave.: What’s known as an anti-climax!
The file, always the file…
@John Flood: due process has to be followed and be seen to be followed
@John Flood: this is what happens in rural Ireland all the time. You get yourself in trouble ,ring your old drinking buddy.
@John Flood: Allegedly a senior Garda spokes person said… the situation will be reviewed in six months time…after they misplace the file…
@John Kelly: and due process should be a suspension pending an investigation. Had that happened?
@Renton Burke: It’s right there in the article!
@Renton Burke: they were only arrested 2 days ago and released last night, they will be suspended but hide hrm a chance!
Operation coverup has begun.
@Windom Earle: operation due process .. exactly what all citizens of the state are entitled to
@Windom Earle: Now if the new commissioner can snare one of the many dodgy politicians we will have serious progress, but a part of me sees that he might be tactically taken out by the corrupt powers that run this country now that he is rocking the boat.
@Windom Earle: how did you work that out they are being treated the same as any other criminal. Up to the dpp to bring charges now
@Peter Hughes: who are the corrupt powers and dodgy politicians.. unless proven in a court of law ..
@John Kelly: Our country gets wiped out by bankers and we see them all riding off into the sunset with money made because the law was made so they can avoid been held responsible for their make money whatever the cost actions knowing full well that it would all come crashing down and they would have made their money while we picked up what is left. This is in your face corruption, in Iceland they banged up loads of bankers after they wiped the country out because they have a justice system that is not rotten to the core.
@John Kelly: the dogs on the street know that its all nod and wink politics. Corruption of the highest level robbing the taxpayers to fund their mates . Large building forms being awarded huge contracts with overruns of millions and millions. Wake up and smell the coffee.
@Tony Murphy: you mean the likes of Wallace?
Now the darling of the tin foil brigade here?
@Peter Hughes: we fecked up the country ourselves.. stop blaming the bankers . Most people partied and sold houses to each other
Hmmmm
Doesn’t surprise me. You can pretty much buy a guard in this country for a leg of lamb or 60 quid. (I’ll probably be arrested for that later today) True story: A mate of mine used to run a pub in rural Kerry. The local guard would call after hours and clear the place then sit down and have a pint. If 60 quid didn’t cross the counter you’d get prosecuted if it did he’d leave you alone for a month.
@Adolf Galland: when?
@Adolf Galland: back in the 20s ….and the publican was happy to assist..
@John Kelly: The 1920s?? Really?
@Adolf Galland: and where does the leg of lamb come into it? What if the Garda doesn’t like lamb? Would a side of beef be okay instead? Or what if the Garda is a veggie or, even worse, a vegan?
@Adolf Galland: your mate ran a pub in the 1920′s? What age is he. What age are you?
@Adolf Galland: 20′s
@Cian: Ryan’s daughter time ..
@Adolf Galland: why 60 quid…surely 50 or 100.
@Adolf Galland: I’ll take things that didn’t happen for 800 please Bob!!
@Karen Wellington: What do you mean when? Like do you want dates and times?
@Jumperoo: OK again this happened in Kerry. The local drunk was pulled by the guards driving home, now he didn’t have any money cos he’d drunk it all that day but he did have a side of ham/lamb whatever, on the back seat so he threw that at them and drove off. The cops didn’t pursue him because his wife works as a civilian in the local nick. Now I’m giving away a few too many details here so I’d better stop lol.
@SFNutters: I think the fine was 300 for serving after hours. So it wasn’t too much or too little
@Adolf Galland: a decade would suffice.
@Adolf Galland: when are Adolf’s tales being released in paperback?
With the wages that the average guard is on now the temptation to accept bribes or coerce money from others is undoubtedly going to be on the increase. Nobody can buy a home and raise a family on the current salary.
@2thFairy: Bullcrap justification.. the garda be alright .. retire at 50 on full pension ..
@2thFairy: only one is a Garda, the inspector and supt would be on more money
@2thFairy: @2thFairy: Bull !!! Gardai get very well paid !! Not to mention all the overtime payed out on top – there is no justification for dishonesty – many people in this country are on very low wages and that does not mean they will comit crimes because of this. Look at all the scandals 2 Million fake breathtests, 50 accounts Templemore, quashing of penalty points, tearing out pages of custody record books in Cork murder case, 8,000 Juveniles cases never dealt with – the list goes on and on – while lots of overtime is being made – so please don’t keep playing that poor mouth card – there are no excuses for corruption.
@2thFairy:
A Superintendent at the top of the scale after 7 years is in €90,000 E
and an Inspector at the top of the scale is on €65,000 – fact – and then all the overtime that is claimed in top of that – so no excuses whatsoever for corruption at this level- or any level !! What about the famous Code of Ethics ???
@Rita Gleeson: I didn’t mention anything about the guards involved in this. If you read what I posted properly you will see that I’ve made a general comment on what salary guards receive now.
@Rita Gleeson: officers aren’t entitled to overtime
Just because they were released doesn’t mean they won’t be charged. The Gardai have to gather all their evidence, send it to the dpp who makes the decision. If they arrested a Superintendent you can be sure they already have some strong evidence.
The headline makes it sound as if we only have 3 gardai in the whole country
Am surprised the journal allowed comments to be made on this story today when comments were closed yesterday
AC12 will get it sorted….
@windbag: THE OCG will get their comeuppance
That a Garda can be promoted whilst being under investigation for a serious offense. Demonstrates perfectly why the Gardaí should not be permitted to investigate themselves.
@Ger O’Reilly: eh, except this case is Gardai investigating and the dpp will decide charges.
Gardai are police, the best people to investigate crime. Gsoc are journalists, solicitors and a judge with no no police training or experience.
@2thFairy: @2thFairy: Bull !!! Gardai get very well paid !! Not to mention all the overtime payed out on top – there is no justification for dishonesty – many people in this country are on very low wages and that does not mean they will comit crimes because of this. Look at all the scandals 2 Million fake breathtests, 50 accounts Templemore, quashing of penalty points, tearing out pages of custody record books in Cork murder case, 8,000 Juveniles cases never dealt with – the list goes on and on – while lots of overtime is being made – so please don’t keep playing that poor mouth card – there are no excuses for corruption.
@Rita Gleeson: you are confusing deliberate corruption with procedural errors.
The breath tests didn’t benefit anyone, they weren’t being bribed to make up numbers.
The 50 accounts is under investigation, let the dpp make a decision.
The juvenile referrals was a mess up by one senior officer changing a working system to a broken system but again, wasn’t corrupt.
There were no pages ripped from a custody record in Cork that I know of.
Tickets, I still don’t get the big deal. People had tickets cancelled for parking, etc or got warnings instead. It’s gone now and instead everyone gets tickets all the time and the Gardai get called ‘revenue collectors’ here as a result. Is the world a better place for it?
No surprise there.. Corrupt law covering up corrupt employees
@Patti o furniture: what corrupt law .. nobody found guilty ..
May the force be with you
Mother of God
Resignations to follow shortly…..#pension
@Declan Leonard: if you are fired tomorrow and are at retirement age, you keep your pension because your made payments into it. Why would Gardai be different?
A Superintendent at the top of the scale after 7 years is on €90,000 and an Inspector at the top of the scale is on €65,000 – fact – and then all the overtime that is claimed on top of that – so no excuses whatsoever for corruption at this level- or any level !! What about the famous Code of Ethics ???
@Rita Gleeson: again, supers don’t get overtime. Officers are on an annual salary not an hourly rate.
Hi
Due process……bah!
Could they not have flogged them or something, very unsatisfying.
@Will: not in this democracy.. sounds good though ..
A number of commenters here tried, convicted and sentenced them in the past week
@WreckDefier: not to mention took away their paid in pensions and fired them!
You can be guaranteed the same people would be up in arms if the roles were reversed
The headline makes it sound as if we only have 3 gardai in the whole country
Traditionally,the publicans used to make a few quid and have always been a target to be squeezed for money
have your say