Senate Intel Committee holds last minute meeting with NSA before Jeff Sessions testimony
It’s not clear what Attorney General Jeff Sessions is prepared to admit during his public testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. But it does appear the committee is getting its hands on some more of the answers in advance, so it knows precisely what to hit Sessions on when it comes to his involvement in several aspects of Donald Trump’s Russia scandal.
The Senate Intel Committee scheduled a last minute after-hours meeting with NSA Director Mike Rogers on Monday evening, according to NBC News (link). The details of the meeting haven’t been revealed, and some of them won’t be, as it’s a closed session in a secure classified room. The committee’s website only lists it as “Closed Briefing: Intelligence Matters” without even acknowledging the NSA’s participation. But it’s not that difficult to guess what’s likely being discussed.
Jeff Sessions has admitted to multiple secret meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the course of the election, which he had initially lied about during his confirmation hearings. But there have since been multiple reports of an additional meeting between Sessions and Kislyak, which he failed disclose even when he amended his testimony. The Senate Intel Committee is expected to grill Sessions on that additional meeting during his testimony tomorrow.
So this last minute after-hours meeting with the NSA suggests that the U.S. intelligence community may have additional classified evidence about Jeff Sessions’ phantom Russia meeting that it’s been able to share with the committee. If so, Sessions will go into his testimony on Tuesday afternoon without knowing what all the committee knows about his Russia meetings. If he tries to lie about it, the committee may be in a position to call him out for it on the spot, while the whole thing plays out on live national television. If you’re a regular reader, feel free to support Palmer Report.
