Сешнс на вертеле

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Как и ожидалось, больше всего Сешнса выбили из равновесия вопросы Камалы Хэррис.

Интересный момент - признание о том, что в кампании Трампа обсуждалась необходимость налаживания "гармоничных" отношений с Россией.

HARRIS: Are you aware of any communications with any Trump officials or did you have any communications with any officials about Russia or Russian interests in the United States before January 20?
SESSIONS: No. I may have had some conversations, and I think I did, with the general strategic concept of the possibility of whether or not Russia and the United States could get on a more harmonious relationship and move off the hostility. The Soviet Union did in fact collapse. It's really a tragic strategic event that we're not able to get along better than we are today.

Интересно, что Сешнс рассуждает про "get along better than we are today" в то время, как его бывшие коллеги в Сенате готовятся голосовать о новых санкциях против России.

Вспоминается примечательное интервью Сешнса 31 июля 2016.

ACOSTA: Do you in your view is Vladimir Putin a good leader or a bad leader? Is he a good man or a bad man, in your view?
SESSIONS: What we need -- we have a lot of bad leaders around the world that operate in ways we would never tolerate in the United States. But the question is can we have a more peaceful, effective relationship with Russia. Utilizing interests that are similar in a realistic way to make this world a safer place and get off this dangerous hostility with Russia. I think it's possible...
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1607/31/sotu.01.html

В этот день активно обсуждалась история про изменение республиканской платформы, по случаю чего из Бориса Эпштейна вдруг полезла пропаганда: "Russia did not seize Crimea. We can talk about the conflict that happened between Ukraine and the Crimea… But there was no seizure by Russia."

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На пресс-конференции в марте Сешнс упомянул про разговор с Кисляком об Украине: "And, so, we talked about - a little bit about terrorism, as I recall, and somehow the subject of the Ukraine came up". Теперь про это "somehow" он рассказывает немного по-другому.

MCCAIN: Over the last few weeks the administration has characterized your previously undisclosed meetings with Russia ambassador Kislyac as meetings you took in your official capacity as a U.S. Senator and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. As chairman of the that committee, let me ask you a few questions about that. At these meetings did you raise concerns about Russia invasion of Ukraine or annexation of Crimea?
SESSIONS: I did, Senator McCain, and I would like to follow up a little bit on that. That's one of the meetings -- that's one of the issues that I recall explicitly. The day before my meeting with the Russian ambassador, I’d met with the Ukrainian ambassador, and I heard his concerns about Russia, and so I raised those with Mr. Kislyak, and he gave, as you can imagine, not one inch. Everything they did, the Russians had done, according to him was correct, and I remember pushing back on it, and it was a bit testy on that subject.

Репортажи о которых упомянул Маккейн в своих вопросах:

1. Возросшая шпионская активность России в США с попытками разведать систему телекоммуникаций:

It’s a trend that has led intelligence officials to conclude that the Kremlin is waging a quiet effort to map the United States’ telecommunications infrastructure, perhaps preparing for an opportunity to disrupt it.
“Half the time, they’re never confronted,” the official, who declined to be identified discussing intelligence matters, said of the incidents. “We assume they’re mapping our infrastructure.”
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/01/russia-spies-espionage-trump-239003

2. Разработка Россией кибероружия, призванного отключать электрическую сеть противника.

Hackers allied with the Russian government have devised a cyberweapon that has the potential to be the most disruptive yet against electric systems that Americans depend on for daily life, according to U.S. researchers.
The malware, which researchers have dubbed CrashOverride, is known to have disrupted only one energy system - in Ukraine in December. In that incident, the hackers briefly shut down one-fifth of the electric power generated in Kiev. <...>
And Russian government hackers have shown their interest in targeting U.S. energy and other utility systems, researchers said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/world/national-security/russia-has-developed-a-cyber-weapon-that-can-disrupt-power-grids-according-to-new-research/2017/06/11/b91b773e-4eed-11e7-91eb-9611861a988f_story.html

Сешнс заявил самоотвод по всем вопросам, связанным с избирательной кампанией 2016. В данном случае речь идёт не об избирательной кампании, а о вопросах национальной безопасности. Но в том, что касается России, и Сешнс, и Трамп готовы закрывать глаза на эти несущественные вопросы.