Snared in Washington’s Russo-hysteria sweeping the Capitol, 70-year-old Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions is the latest victim of Democrats’ last gasps before acquiescing to the presidency of 70-year-old real estate mogul Donald Trump. Speaking to a joint session of Congress Feb. 28, Democrats got their worst nightmare, President Trump delivering one of the great State-of-the-Union-like addresses in U.S. history. Trump held the joint session of Congress mesmerized, establishing himself as the president with Democrats and skeptical members of his own party. Today’s big to-do about Sessions speaking with Russian Amb. Sergey Kislyak prompted calls from House Minority Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for his resignation. Democrats are trying to do to Sessions what they did to former National Security Advisor Gen. Michael Flynn Feb. 13.
Instead of keeping Flynn in his place for admitting to speaking to Kislyak the day former President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats Dec. 28 for alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential race, Trump agreed to fire Flynn for not telling Vice President Mike Pence about speaking with Kislyak about Obama’s sanctions. Had Flynn not intervened, Russian President Vladimir Putin might have expelled an equal number of U.S. diplomats in Moscow. Putin said he’d hold off on any retaliatory measures until Trump took office Jan. 20. Firing Flynn for talking to Kislyak for whatever reason set up the White House for Democrats’ unrelenting attacks, pushing former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta’s phony claim that Russian meddling in the 2016 race won Trump the election. Whatever Putin did, it didn’t change the results.
All the Russo-hysteria surrounding the election made it a federal crime to talk with anyone from Russia or in the Russian government. Since when is talking to anyone in Russia a criminal or unethical act? Pushing for a Special Prosecutor, formerly known as an Independent Counsel, Democrats insist that Session must step down or at least recuse himself in any Justice Department investigation. Democrats insist that Sessions didn’t disclose in his Jan. 10 confirmation hearing that he had contact with anyone from Russia. Sessions, at the time of his hearing, was a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, required, per his duty, to speak with various foreign diplomats and government officials. “Last night when I read the revelations regarding Atty. Gen. Sessions’ contact with the Russian ambassador and his decision to mislead Congress,” said Schumer, hyping the brouhaha.
Neither Schumer nor Pelosi ask Sen. John McCain (R-Az.), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, or Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, how many times they talked to Kislyak or any other foreign leaders during the 2016 campaign. Schumer only wants to hype Podesta’s narrative that Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered the U.S. election to Trump. No Democrat leader pushing this nonsense can account for how Hillary won nearly 3 million more popular votes than Trump. Schumer and Pelosi want voters to believe that Putin influenced voters only in Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. “I worry about the future of our country with foreign influence in our elections. It goes to the very wellspring of our democracy,” said Schumer, obfuscating the real issue of Democrats’ deliberate effort to attack Trump.
White House officials need to push back against outrageous claims that Russia influenced the 2016 election. But even if Putin hacked the Democratic National Committee and Podesta’s emails exposing embarrassing corruption, elected officials and private U.S. citizens have every right to contact Russian officials or any other foreign leaders. House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said Feb. 27 there’s zero evidence from the FBI or any intel source linking the Trump campaign to the Russian government. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) confirmed today he has not seen any evidence making that connection, despite Democrats’ attempts continue the Podesta narrative about Putin winning Trump the election. Whatever conversations Flynn or now Sessions had with Kislyak before-or-after Nov. 8, 2016, they had no bearing the outcome of the 2016 election.
Democrats need to explain to the public why it’s illegal or unethical for U.S. citizens, elected officials or members the Trump campaign or administration to speak with Russia government officials. Schumer and Pelosi want to convict Trump officials in the court of public opinion of colluding with Putin to win Trump the election. Even if Putin orchestrated a brilliant covert campaign to get Trump elected, it still isn’t interference in a U.S. election, any more than the kind of systematic propaganda and disinformation coming out of both Democrat and Republican campaigns. Whatever Putin did, Hillary won nearly 3 million more votes than Trump, proving, by Democrats own logic, that he helped Hillary more than Trump. Suggesting that Putin targeted Rust Belt swing states goes beyond preposterous. What’s even more outrageous is that talking with foreign government officials is illegal or unethical.
