Did Sessions Just Commit Perjury?

Many, many legal experts think he did. Cenk Uygur and John Iadarola, hosts of The Young Turks, discuss. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

"During his confirmation hearing, Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified, under oath, that “I did not have communications with the Russians.” We now know, thanks to the Washington Post, that this is false: Sessions met with the Russian ambassador to the US twice in the past year, when he was serving as both a Trump adviser and a US senator.

The million-dollar questions: Did Sessions break the law? And, if so, could he lose his job — or even be charged with perjury like someone who lied in court? To find out, we reached out to several legal experts who study relevant topics. The general sense was that if Sessions didn’t commit outright perjury, he came uncomfortably close.

“I think a jury presented with evidence that he did have meetings with the Russians during the relevant time period could conclude that he perjured himself in front of the Senate committee,” Stuart Green, a law professor at Rutgers who studies the law of lying, wrote via email.

It’s very unlikely that Sessions will be prosecuted under laws criminalizing perjury, owing both to laws protecting sitting Congress members (which he was at the time of testimony) and due to the difficulty of proving a lie. But there already have been consequences for him: on Thursday afternoon, Sessions announced that he would be recusing himself from any future investigations into the Trump campaign and Russia. That might just be the beginning: a special prosecutor could be appointed, or, even worse, the Senate could begin something called “contempt of Congress” proceedings.

And the consequences could extend beyond Sessions — potentially landing any Trump administration officials who helped him prepare his testimony in legal trouble.”*

Read more here

Hosts: Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola

Cast: Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola

***

The Largest Online News Show in the World. Hosted by Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian. LIVE STREAMING weekdays 68pm ET.

Young Turk (n), 1. Young progressive or insurgent member of an institution, movement, or political party. 2. Young person who rebels against authority or societal expectations. (American Heritage Dictionary)

Download audio and video of the full two hour show ondemand + the membersonly post game show by becoming a member at Your membership supports the day to day operations and is vital for our continued success and growth.

Get The Young Turks Mobile App Today!

Download the iOS version here

Download the Android version here