US intel intercepts details of what the Russian envoy told his superiors; Trump tweets anger against 'illegal leaks'
Jeff Sessions. Pic/AFP
Embattled US Attorney General Jeff Sessions discussed campaign-related issues with the Russian ambassador to Washington during the presidential race — something Sessions has insisted he did not do, The Washington Post has reported.
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The paper quoted current and former administration officials who cited US intelligence intercepts of Ambassador Sergey Kislyak's accounts to his bosses in Moscow of two encounters he had with Sessions, then an adviser to Trump, during the campaign.
"I never had meetings with Russian operatives or Russian intermediaries about the Trump campaign," Sessions said at the time.
However, Kislyak, in briefing his superiors on the meetings, said he and Sessions discussed campaign-related matters including policy issues important to Moscow, the Post said.
It quoted one former official as saying the intercepts suggest Sessions and Kislyak had "substantive" talks on issues including Trump's positions on Russia-related subjects.