US AG omits Russian details in security clearance form: Media

Washington, May 25 (IANS) US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who lied during his confirmation about his alleged Russian ties, also omitted the meetings with Ambassador Sergei Kislyak from the Justice Department documents upon taking office, media reports said.

Both CNN and ABC on Wednesday disclosed that Sessions did not mention his meetings with Kislyak in the security clearance form that he had to fill out upon taking office in the Justice Department.

The official document required him to list "any contact" he or his family had with foreign governments or their representatives in the past seven years, Efe news reported.

Sessions had met Kislyak in July and September 2016, only a few months before the White House elections on November 8, when he was a senator and advisor to Republican candidate Donald Trump and his campaign.

The meetings were later revealed by The Washington Post in March.

Democrat senators then raised questions about his communications with the Kremlin, during the investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia.

"If there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign, what will you do?" asked Senator Al Franken.

To which, Sessions had replied: "I am not aware of any of those activities". He also said that he did not have "communications with the Russians".

After the meetings were revealed by The Washington Post, Sessions was forced to refrain from engaging "in any existing or future investigation" of the Justice Department over possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential polls.

At the time, it was still unknown that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was investigating the alleged Russian interference, including possible links between Russian officials and the Trump campaign.

The Justice Department on Wednesday responded to the CNN reporting that Sessions did not require to list "every" meeting he held as a senator.

"As a US Senator, the Attorney General met hundreds -- if not thousands -- of foreign dignitaries and their staff," the Department said.

"In filling out the SF-86 form, the Attorney General's staff consulted with those familiar with the process, as well as the FBI investigator handling the background check, and was instructed not to list meetings with foreign dignitaries and their staff connected with his Senate activities," the Department added.

Despite his recusal from the Russian interference investigation, Sessions, two weeks ago, also took part in Trump's decision to dismiss FBI Director James Comey, who was leading the investigations into the matter.