Jeff Sessions discusses his communication with Russians.

By Steve Neavling

ticklethewire.com

Attorney General Jeff Sessions acknowledged today that he met with Russian officials at least twice during the Donald Trump campaign, but insisted the election was never discussed.

During a press conference at 4 p.m., Sessions also said he plans to recuse himself from future investigations into the Trump campaign after consulting with Justice Department staff.

“I have decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States,” Sessions said.

The attorney general insisted he didn’t commit perjury by denying he had communication with Russian officials during his confirmation hearing, saying the meetings were unrelated to the presidential campaign.

Reports that suggested he exchanged information with the Russians, Sessions said, are “totally false.”

Sessions said he was having trouble remembering details of the discussions with a Russian ambassador.

“I don’t remember a lot of it,” Sessions said.

Meanwhile, some Democrats are calling for Sessions to resign and want a special prosecutor appointed to investigated the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.

AG Jeff Sessions at his confirmation hearing.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Pressure is mounting on Republicans to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Russia’s role in the election after a bombshell revelation that Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke twice with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. during the election and lied about it during his confirmation hearing.

The Washington Post and New York Times reported that then-Sen. Sessions had a private conversation with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in September, which was the peak of what intelligence officials said was a Russia cyber campaign to disrupt the U.S. presidential race.

During the campaign, Sessions was a top surrogate for the Trump campaign.

Sessions followed up with a statement Wednesday night: “I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about.”

The latest revelation prompted Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to concede that if Sessions spoke with a Russian diplomat, “then for sure you need a special prosecutor.”

Constitutional law expert Laurence Tribe said on Twitter it appears Sessions committed perjury for lying to Congress.

“Looks like it to me: it was a knowing & deliberate falsehood made under oath on a clearly pertinent matter.”

Border fence along Mexico and the U.S.

By Editorial Board
Chicago Tribune

On immigration, there are two Donald Trumps.

The first Trump is a strident nationalist hell-bent on deporting all unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S., about 11 million people. Just last week, the Trump administration ordered ramped-up deportations.

The second Trump, a lifelong resident of cosmopolitan New York, hints that he just might know better. He occasionally gives a passing nod to the thought that these are human beings we’re talking about.

It was that second Trump who showed up at a meeting Tuesday with TV news anchors. The president actually said, contrary to his usual demonizing rhetoric, that he would like to find a way to give legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants who have not committed serious crimes. “The time is right for an immigration bill as long as there is compromise on both sides,” Trump reportedly said.

If Trump was listening to his better angels, it’s nice to know he has better angels.

Click here to read more.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Border Patrol agents rescued a 65-year-old man who was found along a treacherous stretch of the Rio Grande River.

Agents conducting a routine patrol on Feb. 27 discovered the man in severe pain on the Mexican bank of the river about 50 miles northwest of Del Rio, Texas, according to a press release.

Mexican officials were unable to reach the man, so a CBP Air and Marine Operations helicopter and Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue agents scooped up the man and transported him to Mexican authorities.

“Hazardous terrain can add great risk to the inherent dangers of traversing remote areas,” Acting Chief Patrol Agent Matthew J. Hudak said in a statement. “Thanks to the keen eye of our Del Rio Sector marine agents, and with the coordination and support of our foreign partners, this man’s story did not end in greater tragedy.” 

ICE agents, via ICE.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Since President Trump was elected, ICE agents have been conducting raids and detaining undocumented immigrants in Alabama at a rate higher than anywhere else in the Deep South, AL.com reports. 

Among those detained are undocumented immigrants with no criminal records.

During targeted raids, ICE agents are detaining anyone they encounter without documentation.

“It’s blown up over the past two weeks,” Baton Rouge, La., defense attorney Paul “Woody” Scott, said. “We can’t even attend our phones because so many people are calling with these kinds of detentions.”

ICE officials declined to give state-by-state breakdowns of detainments.

“ICE conducts targeted immigration enforcement in compliance with federal law and agency policy,” Thomas Byrd, a spokesman for ICE’s New Orleans field office, wrote. “ICE does not conduct sweeps or raids that target aliens indiscriminately.”

Former Secret Service Agent Lee Robert Moore.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

A former Secret Service agent accused of exchanging sexually explicit photos with minors pleaded guilty Wednesday.

Lee Robert Moore, a 38-year-old Maryland resident who once was assigned to the White House, pleaded guilty to one count of enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and one count of attempting to transfer obscene materials to a minor, the Miami Herald reports.

When Moore was arrested on Nov. 9, 2015, he was working in the Secret Service-Uniformed Division and assigned to the White House.

Prosecutors said Moore began a two-month online relationship with who he thought was a 14-year-old girl. The girl turned out to be Delaware State Police detectives.

Moore also admitted to having similar relationships with minors in Florida, Missouri and Texas.

The Secret Service fired Moore.

Other Stories of Interest

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• FBI Tracked Georgetown Kidnap Suspect to Seattle with Social Media
• Dead Body Found in Home Where FBI Served Search Warrant
• Border Patrol Agents Seize Half Ton of Pot in Mere Days
• Trump Candidate to Head Border Patrol Is Under FBI Investigation