Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) on Thursday told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that Donald Trump and his associates’ potential ties to Russian officials during the 2016 presidential election is “the most serious scandal since Watergate,” adding he doesn't “say that as any form of exaggeration or hyperbole.”
Boyle’s comment comes the day after a bombshell Washington Post report reveal Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Mislay twice in 2016, despite testifying to Congress that "did not have communications with the Russians.” Since the report, a growing number of Congressional leaders from both parties have called for Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation into Russian interference in the election, or even resign from his post as AG. The Trump administration has thus far stood behind Sessions, insisting he was acting in his capacity as a senator and calling the report “a false narrative for political purpose.”
Boyle said as a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, he meets regularly with ambassadors of all different countries, telling Blitzer there “wouldn’t be anything wrong” with meeting the Russian ambassador.
“What would be wrong is if I was asked if I’d met with the Russian ambassador and then lied about it under oath,” Boyle said. “That would clearly be a violation.”
“If it was innocuous, why didn’t he just say that?” Boyle later added. “I think Sessions lied—he either committed perjury or came dangerously close. Either way he shouldn’t be Attorney General of the United States.”
Asked by Blitzer if he wants Sessions to not only recuse himself, but to resign, Boyle replied, “I would want him to resign, but again, I wouldn’t want any sort of implication that this story is just about Jeff Sessions. That is one part of what is overall, again, the biggest scandal since Watergate."
Boyle then echoed calls for a special prosecutor into any connection between the former Trump campaign and the Russian government.
“We have right now, Wolf, what is the most serious scandal since Watergate, and I don’t say that as any form of exaggeration or hyperbole,” Boyle said. “We need to make sure that we have an independent prosecutor, that is not Jeff Sessions.”
Watch the full interview below, via CNN:
