Aaron Bernstein
Russia's ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, reportedly told his superiors in Moscow that he talked about campaign-related matters, including specific policies of import to Russia with now Attorney General Jeff Sessions during the 2016 presidential election, The Washington Post reported on Friday citing intelligence intercepts. Sessions initially failed to disclose that he had these conversations and subsequently said that the meetings were not about the Trump campaign. President Trump, in an interview this week with The New York Times, expressed frustration with Sessions and particularly his decision to recuse himself from the ongoing Russia probe. Officials emphasized to the Post that the information contradicting Sessions' previous statements about the content of the conversations comes from U.S. intelligence on Kislyak's communications with the Kremlin. They acknowledged that Kislyak could have potentially exaggerated the nature of these talks. Yet, they also said Kislyak has a reputation for accurately relaying information about his interactions like this.