Ted Cruz: Sessions Meeting With Russian Ambassador A "Nothing Burger," What Senators Do Every Day

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, discusses Jeff Sessions' meetings with a Russian ambassador, why calls for his recusal are political theater and why he says AG Sessions is a man of integrity.





SCARBOROUGH: Great to have you here. You are an attorney and certainly can read testimony. I was saying this morning that the Leahy question and answer wasn't as troubling because, of course, it was about the campaign.



Are you concerned, though, about the Al Franken questioning and answering, where Sessions seemed to volunteer that he had never spoken with any Russian officials?



CRUZ: You know, Joe, I’m not concerned about that. I think what we are seeing is a lot of political theater.



Could Jeff have been more clear in what he said?



Yes. I think it -- that was unfortunate. But I think context matters a lot. Jeff was being asked about the Trump campaign communicating with the Russians. I think he understood that he was answering in that capacity. And that is perfectly understandable.



And the reason I say it's political theater is the underlying meeting, you know, this morning, everyone is in high dungeon about the meeting. The underlying meeting is a nothing burger. It's what senators do every day, meeting with foreign ambassadors; that's part of the job.



And Jeff is a -- was a very hard-working senator; he will be a hard-working attorney general. And so I think everyone is getting all worked up because it's a chance to beat up the attorney general and beat up the president. But I think the underlying meeting is simply doing his job...



And, by the way, Jeff has been a serious critic of Russia. He's not been shy calling out Putin. So the notion that there was something somehow wrong with a senior senator on the Armed Services Committee meeting with a foreign ambassador, I think that's a nothing burger.



And the testimony Jeff should have been more clear. I think he said that he wished he was more clear. But, at the end of the day, I don’t think that there's any there there.



GEIST: So do you -- you've said repeatedly now that the meeting that Senator Sessions had with the Russian ambassador is a, quote, "nothing burger."



Do you have information, Senator, about what they talked about in that meeting?



How do you know it's a nothing burger?



CRUZ: I know that meeting with a foreign ambassador is part of the routine responsibilities of serving in the Senate. I have no idea what was talked about in that meeting or any other meeting that -- you know, my understanding is Jeff met with 25 different ambassadors last year. And I don’t know what was discussed in those meetings.