Ryan defers to Sessions on need for recusal in Russia investigation

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that he accepts Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ promise to recuse himself if necessary from any federal probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

“I think he answered that question this morning which is, if he himself is the subject of an investigation, of course he would,” Ryan said at a Capitol Hill press conference. His remarks come a day after news reports indicated Sessions met twice with the Russian ambassador in 2016, despite comments to the contrary he made under oath during his confirmation hearing.


Ryan also echoed House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, who has cast doubt on reports that President Donald Trump’s campaign aides were in contact with Russian officials while Moscow was engaged in a hacking and misinformation campaign to influence the presidential election. Congress has “seen no evidence … that anybody in the Trump campaign or the Trump team was involved in this,” Ryan said.

Ryan insisted that Congress would pursue all avenues of investigation into Russian interference in the election but dismissed the increasingly urgent rhetoric from Democrats about the probe.

“I think Democrats are lighting their hair on fire to try and get you to keep repeating the same story,” Ryan said. He added that meetings with ambassadors are common for members of Congress, noting that he met with the Indian ambassador on Wednesday.



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