Petition to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions:
During your confirmation hearings, you were asked under oath if you had any contacts with the Russian government, and you said "no."
But new reports show you spoke with the Russian Ambassador twice, including in a private meeting in September, at the height of a cyber warfare campaign intelligence officials say the Russian government undertook to influence the US presidential election.
This was an egregious breach of the public trust, one that was already tenuous given your history of opposing civil rights, refusing to protect women against sexual assault, and favoritism towards corporate interests. It is clear you are no longer able to perform your job with the confidence of the American people that you will carry out justice fairly, transparently, and without prejudice.
Please resign your position as United States Attorney General.
It's time for Jeff Sessions to resign as United States Attorney General.
Demand Progress has said from the moment he was nominated that Sessions' long history of racist bigotry, misogyny, and favoritism towards corporate interests make him unfit to be our nation's top law enforcement officer.
A man who says "I don't characterize" grabbing women by the genitals "as sexual assault," should never have been confirmed.1
A man who called black subordinates "boy," "joked" about supporting the KKK, and was deemed too racist for a federal judgeship in 1986 should never have been confirmed.2
A man who thinks the NAACP and the ACLU are "un-American" should never have been confirmed.3
The latest news — that Sessions lied about communications with Russian officials — is not the foundation of a case for his resignation, it is the capstone of one already made.
Jeff Sessions is unfit to be Attorney General. Tell him to resign today.
On March 1, the Washington Post reported that Jeff Sessions lied under oath at his confirmation hearing.
He said, "I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and I did not have communications with the Russians."4
But a new report shows he spoke with the Russian Ambassador twice, but did not disclose those contacts at his confirmation hearing.5
Tell Jeff Sessions: Resign as Attorney General
This is a big deal.
Already Republicans like John McCain and Lindsay Graham are breaking ranks with their party and saying Sessions should recuse himself from inquiries into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with the Russian government, as well as Russia's influence on the election.6
But recusing himself doesn't go far enough. He blatantly lied to his Senate colleagues and the American people.
The case against Jeff Sessions has already been made. His actions over a period of more than 30 years show he is not interested in creating and enforcing equal justice for all Americans.
This latest news is the final nail in the coffin of an appointment that never should have been made.
Tell Jeff Sessions: Resign as Attorney General today.
Sources:
1. The Weekly Standard, "Jeff Sessions: Behavior Described by Trump in 'Grab Them by the P---y' Tape Isn't Sexual Assault," October 10, 2016.
2. CNN Politics, "Sessions dogged by old allegations of racism," November 18, 2016.
3. Ibid.
4. Washington Post, "Sessions met with Russian envoy twice last year, encounters he later did not disclose," March 1, 2017.
5. Washington Post, "Jeff Sessions’s denials of contact with Russians are falling apart quickly," March 2, 2017.
6. CNN Politics, "Graham, McCain want answers on Sessions-Russia report," March 2, 2017.