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US Attorney General Jeff Sessions holds a news conference in which he recused himself from any current or future investigations into Russia ties to the Trump campaign, at the Justice Department in Washington, DC, USA, 02 March 2017. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions holds a news conference in which he recused himself from any current or future investigations into Russia ties to the Trump campaign, at the Justice Department in Washington, DC, USA, 02 March 2017. EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

Can Trump's attorney general Jeff Sessions survive?

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday recused himself from any current or future investigation of possible Russian interference in the 2016…

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions has decided to recuse himself from investigations into his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the US during the 2016 campaign.

On Wednesday, The Washington Post revealed that he held two meetings with the Russian ambassador that he failed to disclose to the Senate during his confirmation hearing.

President Donald Trump has called the revelations about his attorney general’s connection “a total witch hunt”, as Democrats continue to demand his resignation.

In a press conference on Thursday, Sessions announced he would not participate in any investigations “related in any way to the campaign of the United States” and that he “would recuse himself from any investigation involving a campaign he had a role in."

Democrats insist that the attorney general mislead senators during his confirmation and that he lied under oath about his connections with Russian ambassador to the U.S. According to the information revealed by the Washington Post, Sessions met twice with ambassador Sergey Kislyak during Trump’s campaign.

The first meeting happened during an event in the Republican National Convention in July, in which Kislyak attend together with a group of ambassadors. The second one happened in September. It was a private meeting in Session’s former senator’s office.

The alleged connections of Sessions with the Kremlin are of critical importance in the middle of the ongoing FBI investigation into Russia’s interference in the electoral process in order to help Trump.

The director of the FBI, Jim Comey, is leading the inquiry, and had been reported to Sessions, leading to a potential conflict of interests. Less than a month ago. Michael Flynn, Trump’s second pick for national security adviser, was fired when it was revealed that he mislead the vice-president about conversations with Kislyak.

After bipartisan calls for Mr Sessions to recuse himself from oversight of the FBI's Russia investigation, the attorney general underlined that his decision was due to his involvement with the Trump campaign and not because of the recent revelations.

 “The Democrats are overplaying their hand. They lost the election and now they have lost their grip on reality.  The real story is all of the illegal leaks of classified and another information. It is a total witch hunt!,” Trump said in a statement later in the day.

Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, demanded Session’s resignation. “Recusal is not good enough. Attorney General Jess Sessions must resign now, and a special prosecutor must be appointed immediately.”

Given the attorney general's close relationship with the president, a resignation seems unlikely. Then again, the same could be said for Mr Flynn, and he was ultimately shown the door, reported the BBC.

What should be of particular concern to Republicans is that the Sessions revelations fit a growing pattern of obfuscation and evasion on the part of the president's inner circle when it comes to contact with the Russian government.

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