'Perjury is a very difficult charge to prove': Sessions probably didn't perjure himself when he denied Russia contacts at his confirmation hearing

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March 3, 2017 12:08 AM

Did Jeff Sessions perjure himself at his confirmation hearing when he denied contact with Russia? It's complicated.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions holds his first meeting with heads of federal law enforcement components at the Justice Department. in Washington U.S., February 9, 2017.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has come under fire for what critics say was misleading the Senate about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the US while he was a prominent surrogate for President Donald Trump's campaign.

Sessions recused himself Thursday from any investigations pertaining top Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, have called for Sessions to step down from his post at the Justice Department. Pelosi has charged that Sessions perjured himself in front of Congress.

But experts say that while Sessions' may have misled the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearings, his comments likely don't amount to perjury

While Franken contended Thursday that Sessions' comments were "extremely misleading," he stopped short of invoking "perjury." It's much more difficult to prove that Sessions, a trained attorney, actually lied with intent.

In order to obtain a perjury conviction, the prosecution must make explicitly clear what each specific term in Franken's question means, including what was meant by "affiliated," Stan Brand, senior counsel at Akin Gump and an expert on congressional investigations, told Business Insider.

Sessions met with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, in his Senate office on September 8, at the height of the presidential campaign, and at a Heritage Foundation event in July during the Republican National Convention.

Sessions, for his part, said at a press conference Thursday that his response to Franken's question was accurate.

There are grounds for perjury only if it can be proven that Sessions made a false statement, said Levenson, the former federal prosecutor and Loyola Law School professor.

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