House Republican spreads fake news to discredit damaging report on Jeff Sessions

[applegrove]

by Aaron Rupar at Think Progress

https://thinkprogress.org/jeff-duncan-sessions-security-clearance-cnn-trump-russia-33f2299766b9

SNIP...................



But CNN hasn’t retracted the story. It’s still up online, and was discussed on TV today.

Subsequent tweets posted by Duncan made clear he’s basing his claim about CNN backtracking on comments made by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) on Thursday. During a CNN interview, Speier said that if Sessions met with Kislyak in his role as a senator, then he didn’t need to disclose those meetings on his security clearance application. Before becoming attorney general, Sessions represented Alabama in the Senate as a Republican.

.......

But it’s far from clear that Sessions was acting as a senator when he met with Kislyak. As the Wall Street Journal reported, one of Sessions’ meetings with the Russian ambassador happened at the Republican National Convention — an event Sessions traveled to and from using campaign funds. What’s more, a person who was at the RNC told the Journal that Sessions and Kislyak discussed the Trump campaign.

CNN addresses this in its story. The piece quotes Mark Zaid, a Washington attorney who specializes in national security law, as saying, “My interpretation is that a member of Congress would still have to reveal the appropriate foreign government contacts notwithstanding it was on official business.”

....................SNIP

[applegrove]

1. GOP is desperate to find any false report. I am sure they are developing

leakers as we speak to Dan Rather the MSM Trump Russia inquiries.

[MedusaX]

2. Apparently Jackie Speier has no clue ... as Sessions absolutely was required to disclose his meeting

/meetings w/Kislyak no matter what role he was acting as... senator or campaign...


The SF-86 instructions are quite clear...



Questions regarding all things related to foreign countries begin on
Pg 59 of the SF-86

Section 19 - Foreign Contacts
A foreign national is defined as any person who is not a citizen or national of the U.S.

Section 20B - Foreign Business, Professional Activities, and Foreign Government Contacts - (Continued)
For this question, 'Immediate Family' means your spouse, parents, step-parents, siblings, half and step-siblings, children, step-children, and cohabitant.

20B.6
Have you or any member of your immediate family in the past seven (7) years had any contact with a foreign government, its establishment (such as embassy, consulate, agency, military service, intelligence or security service, etc.) or its representatives, whether inside or outside the U.S.?
(Answer 'No' if the contact was for routine visa applications and border crossings related to either official U.S. Government travel or foreign travel on a U.S. passport.)
YES

Complete the following if you responded 'Yes' to you or any member of your immediate family having in the past seven (7) years had any contact with a foreign government, its establishment (such as embassy, consulate, agency, military service, intelligence or security service, etc.) or its representatives, whether inside or outside the U.S.

https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86-non508.pdf