franken: right. that's what you've said. i'm not a lawyer but i've been on this committee for about eight years and i've paid some attention. so i know that what you're talking about here is the plain meaning rule. here's what the rule means. plain meaning of a statute is clear on its face when its meaning is obvious -- face, when its meaning is obvious, the court has no business looking beyond the meaning to the statute's purpose. and that's what you used. right? mr. gorsuch: that's what was argued to us by both sides, senator. mr. franken: that's what you -- that's what you used. mr. gorsuch: both sides argued that the plain meaning supported there -- mr. franken: and you used it to come to your conclusion. mr. gorsuch: both sides. mr. franken: the plain meaning rule has an exception. when using the plain meaning rule -- [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] >> this hea

and it is very clear that senator franken is asking about campaign contact with russian officials and it's not senator sessions at the time talking to the russian ambassador as part of the armed service committee job he has and you'd also have to demonstrate that his system was willful and regarding material fact which, you know, based on that standard i think it would be impossible for any prosecutor to bring a case based on these facts. >> do you share that. >> good morning, allison, thanks for having me. >> i do not share that opinion. the attorney general said i did not have communications with russia. it was a categorical statement and we know now that he did have communication with russia twice. his spokesperson came out yesterday and took the same position as mr. whitaker. he said it and now we know that the trip on which he met the russian ambassador, one of these occasions was paid for by political funds. >> campaign funds. >> so does that mean that you think he will face perjury charges? >> i think he can face perjury charges. i think there's sample -- when you watch that vi

>> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities. have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and i did not have communications with the russians and i'm unable to comment on it. >> very well. >> was jeff sessions' response to you perjury? >> it is hard for me to draw any other conclusion given the letter that he wrote. we asked him, the democrats on the committee, asked him why he didn't in the seven weeks after he misled us there, why he didn't correct it. and the response is absurd. he said, having considered my answer responsive and no one having suggested otherwise, there was no need for a supplemental answer. we, of course, didn't know he was giving us misinformation, so of course we wouldn't have asked for a supplemental response. look, this is very, very serious stuff. he's the second administration official who has lied about contact with the russians, and this all goes to the fact that the russians interfered with our elections. and the question here is did the trump campaign and their people collude wit

>> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and i did not have communications with the russians, i'm unable to comment on it. >> jeffrey, did he tell the truth? >> no. he didn't tell the truth. that's quite clear. i think as legal matter, what we need to determine or what the authorities need to determine is whether he didn't tell the truth because he made a mistake, or because he lied. and legally there's a world of difference between the two. but you know, based on what the "washington post" said, and evan's reporting, we know there were at least two meetings, one a group meeting with the russian ambassador and other a meeting in sessions' office which is unusual for a senator to meet with an ambassador in those circumstances. it's not unprecedented but unusual thing. for him then to say i did not have communications with the russians is simply false. explanation that's being put out by the justice department is that he met with the ambassador as a member of th

this is hinky. >> on that note, senator al franken.ery much. >> the two words we learned this morning from senator franken -- >> zealless and hinky. >> with that, sir, you have done your job. >> there's more reaction coming in. >> jason chavitz said sessions needs to step forward. >> clarify his testimony. >> clarify the testimony, recuse himself. >> recusal -- >> by the way, you have kevin mccarthy, the majority leader in the house, the conservative house and jason chavitz saying that. >> recusal believes to a series of questions, a special prosecutor, career justice officials take over. who decides? senator franken says this decision should not be tied to anyone with donald trump. when he gets to that point, it's a series of questions. >> understands the law, right? >> now a significant portion of the portfolio is, he can't touch it. it's problematic this attorney general is so embattled three, four weeks into the administration. people are already calling for his head. >> his meetings were being investigated, doesn't say by whom. is

>> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate at a time or two during that campaign and i did not have communications with the russians and i'm unable to comment on it. >> so critically, during his confirmation hearing, you just heard then-senator, now attorney general say he did not have contact with the russians. that is at the crux of one of two major stories that dropped tonight on our watch. a brief note to our viewers. at the top of this hour, the two-hour program we aired and had planned to be on the subject of u.s.-russia, putin-trump is going the air, so you will see organically what happened to us on our shift tonight when the two stories came in and became our operating thesis and our discussion topic. andrea mitchell, the question is just based on that exchange alone, just based on what al franken's going to want to say tomorrow, what elizabeth warren is going to want to say, how does this unspool in washington? >> you have two sides, two armed camps, armed with words and press releases

i think senator franken asked a very clear question.sions gave an accurate answer. so i asked a very, very specific question. i think, you know -- >> we have it. we'll pull it up. >> but what i said, in it i said, asking him about it, remember, now, these answers are under oath, under oath, and i said, did you have any contact either before or after election day. i thought my question was very clear. his answer is very clear. he said "no." well, that's not what happened. >> you asked him, senator, just to be clear, you asked him if he had contact before or after the election about the 2016 election. to that he answered no. does that give him wiggle room? >> no. >> because he could say he met -- >> it doesn't. because one of those was at the republican national convention when he met with the russians. do you think they were saying, the food is really great here? come on, we're all grownups here. >> ambassadors always go to convention. >> this was a big gathering. they met on the grounds, a heritage foundation event, doesn't necessarily

a lot of people asking did franken know something?hould have said i had these meetings. >> maybe we'll find out if franken knew something at 8:20 a.m. >>> later on this morning we'll let you all know that senator al franken who questioned jeff sessions on his ties to the trump campaign and if i can correct myself obviously he met with the republican convention not the democrats in philadelphia. >>> the obama white house spent its final hours archiving information on its investigation into the russian campaign in the election. they preserved their findings for fear that intelligence could be covered up or destroyed by the incoming trump administration. citing more than a half dozen current and former anonymous officials it says officials asked specific questions at intelligence briefings to archive answers. processed raw intelligence as much as it could into analysis across the government and even to some european allies, this to ensure a wide leadership and that they spread some reports and other sensitive materials beyond the executi

and that was the exchange with senator al franken. flat-out says he didn't have communications with the russians. you're saying that's not true? >> that's not true. and aside from spoken words in the hearing, he had to answer questions in writing, including one from senator leahy asked did you have contacts with russians in the campaign, answer a single word, no. whether -- how to characterize what he's saying and extent to which it is at odds with our understanding of his meeting, his spokesperson is arguing that he was meeting with this russian ambassador in capacity as senator and therefore his answer in the confirmation hearing was not being misleading. i think that's a difficult point of view to sell. >> but he was asked generally if he had any contact with russians during the entire event. but let's put this up. spokesperson saying. absolutely nothing misleading about his answer. had over 25 conversations with foreign ambassadors as senior member of the armed service committee, asked about trump campaign meetings not as senator

>> al franken didn't ask him if you had contact. he asked what would do you if someone in the campaign did. i don't know why jeff segs chose to answer it that way. i think people at home would say that michael flynn might have had valid reasons to talk to the rigs. jeff sessions may have had reason. what's with the coverup? that's what becomes the thing that -- the coverup is always the case -- i covered business for 25 years. it's always the case that the coverups worse than the crime. the crime of jeff sessions knowing a social raerk ambassador, i don't know that a lot of people would have a big problem with that ychlt did he say what he said to al franken. >> i don't mean to express astonishment that there's gambling going on but tonight's combined output of the newspaper industries presents an even more hyper partisan pib. it presents a picture of the waning days of the obama administration -- more that that, those people with security clearance and are thus kind of bound to treat it right and it also shows an assumption across

i apologize, but senator franken's comments i think make it important for me to make this point, that is that i want to make sure i didn't misspeak earlier asked about whether or not i would announce an investigation was ending regarding russia. i want to make sure you're all clear on this, i do not know if there is an investigation. i don't know anything but what i read in the newspapers at this point. >> i actually find it very disturbing that you did not read the declassified report on russia's activities. i find that very, i have disturbing. . >> i read the newspaper story and i was sorry to hear that, senator. >> i would like to comment on what senator franken just said and i don't expect senator franken to act like i would towards our witnesses, but as i remember senator franken asking his question of senator sessions, he referred to something that there had just been something come on cnn that obviously, and franken said that senator sessions wouldn't know what it was and he was going to take that into consideration that it would have been all right for you to ask your question

that is the question that senator franken asked me at the hearing and that's what got my attention is he noted it was the first, just breaking news. it got my attention and that is the question i responded to. i did not respond by referring to the two meet, one very brief after a speech, and one with two of my senior staff -- staffers, professional staffers with the russian ambassador in washington. where no such things were discussed. in my reply to the question -- my replay to the question of senator franken was honest and correct as i understood it at the time. i appreciate that some have taken the view that this was a false comment. that is not my intent. that is not correct.

>> senator franken, i am not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and i did not have communications with the russians. and i am unable to comment on it. >> very well. >> now here is the attorney general's defense of that answer just moments ago. >> my reply to the question of senator franken was honest and correct as i understood it at the time. i appreciate that some have taken the view that this was a false comment. that is not my intent. that is not correct. i will write the judiciary committee soon, today or tomorrow, to explain this testimony for the record. >> here is the political reality. let's put it up on the screen for you. you are looking at what appears to have forced sessions to step aside. this is the growing chorus of republicans who joined numerous democrats in calling for him to recuse himself from the investigation into russia. and as i mentioned earlier, a lot of democrats were calling for him to step down. the list goes on and on, so long, in fact, that we don't r

that is the question that senator franken asked me at the hearing and that's what got my attention is he noted it was the first, just breaking news. it got my attention and that is the question i responded to. i did not respond by referring to the two meet, one very brief after a speech, and one with two of my senior staff -- staffers, professional staffers with the russian ambassador in washington. where no such things were discussed. in my reply to the question -- my replay to the question of senator franken was honest and correct as i understood it at the time. i appreciate that some have taken the view that this was a false comment. that is not my intent. that is not correct. i will write the judiciary committee soon, today or tomorrow, to explain this testimony for the record. secondly. t my confirmation hearing, i promised that i would do this. if a specific matter arose where i believe my impartiality might reasonably be questioned, i would consult with the department ethics officials regarding the most appropriate way to proceed, close quote. that's what i told them at the con

thaebs what he said to senator franken. he's saying specifically that the context was driving his answer, it wasn't about the campaign. will that hold up. let's discuss with republican congressman tom cole of oklahoma. does that put it to bed for you, what you heard from jeff sessions? >> it absolutely does. i think the hysteria, the desperation on the part of democrats is almost laughable. the idea that somehow jeff sessions was conspiring with the russians to impact the election is simply an unbelievable fiction. so, yeah, i think it's pretty much a tempest in a teapot. >> let's not get ahead of the implications. sometimes that makes it easier to dismiss the shorter questions, which is, he was asked a question about whether he had any contact with russian officials and he said no twice. that's not true. that means nothing to you? >> no, it wasn't, frankly. i think he understood that question to be did you talk to somebody about the campaign. look, it's not unusual for a united states senator or even lowly congressmen to m

that is the question that senator franken asked me at the hearing, and that's what got my attention, as he noticed -- noted it was the first, just breaking news. and it got my attention, and that is the question i responded to. i did not respond by referring to the two meetings, one very brief after a speech, and one with two of my senior staffers, professional staffers, with the russian ambassador in washington where no such things were discussed. in my reply to the question -- my reply to the question of senator franken was honest and correct as i understood it at the time. i appreciate that some have taken the view that this was a false comment. that is not my intent. that is not correct. i will write the judiciary committee soon, today or tomorrow, to explain this testimony for the record. secondly, at my confirmation hearing, i promised that i would do this. if a specific matter arose where i believed my impartiality might reasonably be questioned, i would consult with the department ethics officials regarding the most appropriate way to proceed, close quote. that's what i told

his defense, of course, of his answer to senator franken during his confirmation hearings where franken had asked a rather direct question about surrogates. did he have any knowledge of a surrogate, anyone dealing with the russians. his answer was i have been called a surrogate a time or two in that campaign. i did not have communications with the russians and i'm not able to comment on it. he said as a surrogate i never spoke to the russians. here is the troubling part of what he said. he said he and three staffers met with the russian ambassador at the ambassador's request. he did so on september 8th. he also said just what he said now. i didn't know there was anything going on with the russians or the questions about the russians being involved in our campaign or not. then i am looking at these headlines here, brian. september 5th. three days before the meeting. "new york times" headline. hillary clinton accuses russia of interfering with u.s. election. september 5th. the same day. u.s. investigates potential covert russian plan to disrupt november elections. november 7th, the day be

al franken says, sir, i'm not an attorney.t he's not an attorney because his questions were horrible. the question wasn't exact. the question was answered. i think that at the time he answered that question, he answered in the best way he could. >> because he wasn't paying attention to the question. >> all right. we are going to leave it there. obviously a lot for everyone to think about. next, an undocumented immigrant deported to mexico. wait until you hear what he had to say about trump's immigration policy. it isn't what you think you are going to hear. >>> american farmers who back trump on election day worry the policies could hurt their business with special report. and now, i help people find discounts, like paperless, multi-car, and safe driver, that help them save on their car insurance. any questions? -yeah. -how do you go to the bathroom? great. any insurance-related questions? -mm-hmm. -do you have a girlfriend? uh, i'm actually focusing on my career right now, saving people nearly $600 when they switch, so... whe

>> to senator franken. >> the statement he gave to senator franken was misleading. is it fair to conclude from the contend of the question. the question was asking did you talk to the ambassador about the campaign. not that did you talk to the ambassador, question mark. >> neil: who cares under what guise? it's a big deal. >> it is a big deal. they prosecute for people lying under oath. or if he intentionally left something out -- >> neil: did he ever come back and clarify this? >> no. he's going to try to do that now. it will depend on in large measure how the members of the committee on which he's formerly a member of himself received that. >> neil: judge, thanks very much. i want to go to alabama republican senator. he replaced jeff sessions. senator, very good to have you. what do you make of this? >> thank you for having me. >> neil: do you think that omission of a meeting is the same as lying about that meeting? >> i think senator sessions did a great job in his press conference clarifying the situation that occurred and correcting the record. i've known jeff

wasn't just the exchange with franken.ten questionnaire roughly the same question by patrick leahy. several of the president-elect's nominees or senior advisers have russian ties. have you been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after election day? that's straightforward question. >> can i jump in, all the defenders keep saying he was only referring to himself as senator, not a surrogate. he's the one who said i was a surrogate, called a surrogate for the campaign and i never met with the russians. >> brought in as adviser in february. >> it wasn't franken who used word surrogate, sessions used it to describe himself and then said i never met the russians. i agree perjury is hard to prove. can't know -- but what he said was not true. trying to parse he thought only referring to senate meetings, not borne out by the transcript. >> the transcript -- >> paris i got to get to break. stand by. no, i'm good. come on, moe. i have to go. (vo) we always t

we did see a little bit of senator franken getting under his skin. i'm wondering if as this goes on later tonight, he might reveal a little bit more just under the pressure. >> jake if i can add one thing, i agree that he's done a good job. but even by the really rather pathetic standards of disclosure in these hearings, this has been very little disclosure. we really have not learned anything about judicial philosophy. he sort of said he was an originalist, but he sort of said everybody is an originalist. he did not discuss any cases at all. >> right. >> in terms of whether they were good law or bad law, even though the whole business of being an expert in constitutional law is to have opinions about which cases are good cases and which cases are bad cases. >> right. so, let me just bring in maggie for our final thought on this. he does seem to be handling the senator's questions rather well, although i do agree senator franken seems to have gotten under his skin a bit. >> i think that's right. i think you saw him be very candid where he said there

>> senator franken i'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign. and i didn't -- not have communications with the russians. >> i did not have communications with the russians. pete, some democrats say that sessions perjured him right there. what's the law on that? >> well, perjury is a general matter in the law says it's may going a statement under oath that you belief not to be true. in other words, it's intentionally lying or misleading. now, what senator sessions' people are saying is that he didn't do that. that he was thinking of the question in terms of contact between trump campaign surrogates and russian officials about the campaign. they say that the meeting that he had with the russian ambassador in september didn't even come into his mine at that point and that that's his explanation, that he wasn't trying to deny any meeting at all with russians. he was thinking in that context. the words are in black and white it's going to be up to members of the senate to decide what t

>> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and i did not have communications with the russians. >> so the meeting and disclosing or failing to disclose the meeting. the attorney general pushing back. sessions says this in a statement. i never met with any russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. i have no idea what this allegation is about. it is false. a spokesperson for sessions said there was nothing misleading. he was meeting as a member of the armed services committee. that distinction will be critical as we go forward. >> reaction overnight to the late breaking news was swift. the top democrat in the house calling for the attorney general to resign. house minority leader nancy pelosi issuing a statement. attorney general sessions has never had the credibility of the investigation over the ties with the russians. now after lying under oath about the communication was the russians. the attorney general must resign. another leading democrat, elizab

senator al franken is our exclusive guest next. how hard will democrats push for a special prosecutor? for resignations? coming right up. prosecutor? resignations? coming right up. hey ron! they're finally taking down that schwab billboard. oh, not so fast, carl. ♪ oh no. schwab, again? index investing for that low? that's three times less than fidelity... ...and four times less than vanguard. what's next, no minimums? ...no minimums. schwab has lowered the cost of investing again. introducing the lowest cost index funds in the industry with no minimums. i bet they're calling about the schwab news. schwab. a modern approach to wealth management. and my cold medicines' ugh, iwearing off.chtime i'm dragging. yeah, that stuff only lasts a few hours. or, take mucinex. one pill fights congestion for 12 hours. no thank you very much, she's gonna stick with the short-term stuff. 12 hours? guess i won't be seeing you for a while. is that a bisque? i just lost my appetite. why take medicines that only last 4 hours, when just one mucinex las

in my reply to the question -- my reply to the question of senator franken was honest and correct as i understood it at the time. i appreciate that some have taken the view that this was a false comment. that is not my intent. that is not correct. i will write the judiciary committee soon, today or tomorrow, to explain this testimony for the record. secondly, at my confirmation hearing, i promised that i would do this. if a specific matter arose where i believe my impartiality might reasonably be questioned, i would consult with the department ethics officials regarding the most appropriate way to proceed, close quote. that's what i told them at the confirmation hearing. i have been here just three weeks today. a lot has been happening in this three week period. i wish i'd had more of my staff on board, but we're still waiting for confirmation for them. much has been done, much needs to be done, and -- but i did and have done as i promised. i have met with senior officials shortly after arriving here. we evaluated the rules of ethics and recusal. i have considered the issues at stake

>> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities i have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and i did not have communications with the russians. and i'm unable to comment on it. lou: the senator had two meetings with the russian ambassador in july and september of last year, when the senator was a member of the armed services committee meeting with foreign ambassadors. that was all part of his job. the senator went onto say he did not have a political discussion with the ambassador during those meetings, but took the recommendation of his staff in deciding to recuse himself. >> i asked for the candid and honest opinion about what should i do about investigations. certain investigations. and my staff recommended recusal. they said that since i had involvement with the campaign, should i not be involved in any campaign investigation. i have studied the rules and considered their comments and evaluations. i believe those recommendations are right and just. therefore, i have recused myself in the matters that deal with the trump campaign. lou: the attorn

>> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate at a time or two during the campaign and i did not have communications with the russians. >> so despite failing to disclose the meeting, the attorney general and administration pushing back at the accusation he misled congress. sessions saying in the statement, i never met with any russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. i have no idea what this allegation is about. it is false. a spokesperson for sessions said there was absolutely misleading about his answer. he was meeting as a member of the armed services committee. not the trump campaign. that distinction will be critical. the white house is dismissing the story as a partisan attack intended to blunt momentum of the speech to congress. >> reaction was swift with the call for the attorney general to resign. nancy pelosi issued this statement. mr. sessions has never had credibility to oversee the investigation. now after lying under oath about his communication, the attorney general must r

>> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and i did not have communications with the russians. >> and to lay this out, ellen, he is the timeline. in february 2016 the senator, then senator, endorsed, donald tru trump. in july, he spoke with the russian ambassador at the rnc, that was a more informal meeting, in september he met with the russian ambassador for that formal conversation and then in 2017 he denied he ever had contact with the russians. you spoke with people saying these ambassador meetings are unusual. this morning we're hearing conflicting stories saying, no, i meet with ambassadors as part of my responsibilities. >> we did reach about 20 of the members of the senate armed services committee serving last year and all 20 said they had not had a meeting with the russian ambassador, while some may have had meetings in the past with the ambassador or others, none had any meetings with the ambassador last year, which was a campaign season. and the press

we will hear from the trucker and senator al franken. companysurd to say this is in its rights to fire him because he made the choice of possibly dying from freezing to death or causing other people to die possibly by driving an unsafe vehicle. that is absurd. amy: we will also look at neil gorsuch's views on citizens united and the $10 million spent in dark money to push his confirmation. then we speak to two victims of racial profiling in the nation's airports. when is a former nororth carolia police chief, the other is a lawyer suing the trump administratition over its targeting of sanctuary cities. both men were recently detained and questioned. we will find out what happened. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. supreme court nominee neil gorsuch is heading to capitol hill today for his third day of confirmation hearings. on tuesday, he was questioned for over 10 hours by members of the senate judiciary committee. gorsuch faced intense scrutiny over his

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>> senator franken, ie'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate in this that chain and i did not have communication with the russian and i'm unable to comment on it. >> just moment ago, nancy pelosi releasing a statement attorney general sessions are totally inadequate. his lies to the american people make him unfit to serve. he must resign immediately. we begin with nbc's hallie jackson at the white house. >> a couple of out lines today, one notable about the timing out this unfolded. earlier the president expressed total confidence in attorney general just as the stories in the attorney general was building just two and a half hours later when you heard attorney general come out, talking about how he would recuse himself despite the president saying just a couple hours prior, that he believed the attorney general did monot need to recuse himself. we heard from the white house that the attorney general had notified the white house council about his decision to recuse himself before the press conferences. there's not

al franken, senator al franken, d, minnesota in hollywood, what would you do if you found out members of the campaign staff were in communication with the russians? and jeff sessions, senator sessions, answered it correctly. i'm not aware of the activities and don't want to comment on a hypothetical. senator leahy sent a written comment have you had conversations with the russians about the 2016, he said no. he acknowledges he met twice with the ambassador but met as his role as the senate armed services member but not as a campaign member. trish: he was on the armed services committee, you would, as a member of the armed services committee meet with ambassadors from various countries at any given time. isn't that sort of what you got to do? >> well -- trish: they were talking about the campaign, and he's made it clear. no, they were in different capacity. >> looks, it doesn't happen a lot. you would anticipate having taken a high-profile role, it's a national security issue adviser to candidate trump that ambassadors would be trying to climb over the walls and get a meeting with him.

>> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate a time or two in the campaign and did not have communications with the russians. >> the meeting came on the sidelines of the republican convention and the second time perhaps more important was in september because this was in session's senate office. the attorney general today defending himself. >> well, i have not met with any russians at any time to discuss any political campaigns and those remarks are unbelievable to me and false and i don't have anything else to say about that, so thank you. >> what about -- to recuse yourself from -- >> well, i've said whenever it is appropriate i will recuse myself. there's no doubt about that. >> joining me now, manu raju, he's been very busy covering that getting reaction all day from capitol hill. and you got response investigating the alleged trump ties and campaign in russia. >> that's right. after a closed door session, part of the inquiry into russia. just got briefed by james comey, and adam schiff came ou

in my reply to the question, my reply to the question of senator franken was, honest and correct as i understood it at the time. i appreciate that some have taken the view that this was a false comment. that is not my intent. that is not correct. i will write the judiciary committee soon, today or tomorrow, and to explain this testimony for the record. secondly, at my confirmation hearing i promised that i would do this. if a specific matter arose where i believed my impartiality might reasonably be questioned i would consult with the department ethics officials regarding the most appropriate way to proceed, close quote. that is what i told them at the confirmation here. i have been here just three weeks today. a lot has been happening in this three-week period. i wish i had had more of my staff on board but we're still waiting for confirmation for them. much has been done. much needs to be done, and but i did and have done as i promised, i have met with senior officials shortly after arriving here. we evaluated the rules of ethics and recusal. i considered the issues at stake. in fac

>> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities. have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and i didn't have -- not have communications with the russians and i'm unable to comment on it. >> very well. in my mind jeff sessions should clarify some of this. as i said, this is now a contradictory -- these are contradictory statements. and i think that he should immediately recuse himself from any of this. i think that we should have a special prosecutor that is appointed by not only not by jeff sessions but not by anyone with any ties to the campaign. >> let me bring in adam entes, one of the "washington post" reporters who broke the story. let me get you to comment on the pushback that we are seeing from the white house. >> right. well i think the issue is, you know -- we obviously don't know what he actually discussed in the two encounters he had last year with the ambassador. they have not provided us with any information about that. i think the issue is less about them discussing the campaign, but actually disc

. >> reporter: senator franken still stewing after a.g. sessions told trump he was not aware of contacts with russia. >> i consider what senator franken asked sessions at that late moment that that story just came out as a gotcha question. >> it was not a gotcha question, sir. >> it was. from the standpoint -- >> he didn't know what you were asking about. >> rosenstein facing relentless questioning on whether he would appoint a special prosecutor. now that sessions has recused himself from the investigation into russia's meddling in the 2016 election, rosenstein would be the one in charge. >> so, i'm trying to figure out what your bottom line is. i interpret that as a no. is that fair? >> well, i don't know, senator. i think the answer is i'm simply not in position to answer the question because i don't know the information that they know, the folks who are in the position to make that decision. i view this as part of -- it's a political issue and it's a completely legitimate issue for you and i respect your right to consider it. but my vi

it's a bipartisan affair featuring all ten minnesota lawmakers which franken said is more crucial givenrged political atmosphere on capitol hill. >> after a very divisive election, this i think is the most important hot dish off ever. >> what this is all about is being neighbors. sharing food and i think every year it just gets more and more the presentations get more wonderful. and we don't cheat. >> reporter: the judges got down to business, chowing down on dishes with quirky names like little hot dish on the prairie. the criteria, one protein, vegetables and a starch, frequently tater tots. franken was part emcee and part connoisseur. >> is that key wa or couscous. >> reporter: and part t talker. his state is proud to be minnesota nice. >> we act passive aggressive toward cheaters. >> reporter: the minnesota lawmakers have all sorts of political views but he said the competition is a chance to put all of that aside. >> the minnesota delegation has certain issues that we all care about, but there actually does make a difference. we get together and have fun. and that makes the differe

they were criticizing senator franken and others for this. i am told they intend to dial that back a little bit and are no longer calling it partisan because so many republicans now are calling on jeff sessions to recuse himself. so we'll have to listen to see what the president says here in the next hour. but again as you said, they say they did not know about it until last night. >> republicans, at least some of them, saying he should at least recuse himself from this specific issue. a lot of democrats are saying he should simply resign and leave the justice department. jeff zeleny, we'll get back to you. we'll have live coverage of the presidents remarks there. >>> let's go to moscow. nic robertson is on the scene. what your hearing from russian officials about the attorney general's meetings with the russian ambassador in the united states? >> the position here is the russian ambassador isn't doing anything wrong. this is his job in washington to meet with politicians and meet with other diplomats. if he wasn't doing that there would be s

>> senator franken, i'm not aware of any of those activities. i have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and i did not have communications with the russians, and i'm unable to comment on it. >> reporter: tonight sessions defending his answer. >> i was taken aback a little bit about this brand-new information, this allegation that surrogates -- i have been called surrogate for donald trump, have been meeting continuously with russian officials and that's what i focused my answer on. in retrospect i should have slowed down and said, but i did meet one russian official a couple of times. >> reporter: last night, when news of the meetings with russia's ambassador said, justice officials first said sessions did not remember the details, then the spokesperson said sessions met with multiple foreign ambassadors. not as a trump campaign surrogate but a justice official also acknowledged superficial comments about the election did come up during those talks and then late last night in a written statement, sessions denied holding mee