Jeffries then pointed to an interview Sessions gave on Fox News in which Sessions stated that an intentional failure to remember important details can be used as evidence to prosecute perjury charges.
“During an interview with Lou Dobbs, you criticized Hillary Clinton for saying, ‘I can’t remember’ approximately 35 times,” he said. “You also stated during that Lou Dobbs interview that the intentional failure to remember can constitute perjury. Mr. Attorney General, do you still believe that the intentional failure to remember can constitute a criminal act?”
“If it’s an act to deceive, yes,” Sessions admitted.
Jeffries then dropped the hammer by pointing to a 1999 speech that Sessions delivered in favor of impeaching former President Bill Clinton in which Sessions recalled prosecuting a police officer who lied during his deposition — despite the fact that, like Sessions has done this year, he corrected his previous false testimony.
“While serving as U.S. attorney, you once prosecuted a young police officer who lied in a deposition,” Jeffries said. “In that speech you decided to prosecute that young police officer even though he corrected his testimony. You testified under oath in January. You subsequently corrected that testimony in a March 6th written submission, and have been forced repeatedly to come back to the Senate and now the House to clarify… The Attorney General of the United States of America should not be held to a different standard than the young police officer whose life you ruined by prosecuting him for perjury.”
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“During an interview with Lou Dobbs, you criticized Hillary Clinton for saying, ‘I can’t remember’ approximately 35 times,” he said. “You also stated during that Lou Dobbs interview that the intentional failure to remember can constitute perjury. Mr. Attorney General, do you still believe that the intentional failure to remember can constitute a criminal act?”
“If it’s an act to deceive, yes,” Sessions admitted.
Jeffries then dropped the hammer by pointing to a 1999 speech that Sessions delivered in favor of impeaching former President Bill Clinton in which Sessions recalled prosecuting a police officer who lied during his deposition — despite the fact that, like Sessions has done this year, he corrected his previous false testimony.
“While serving as U.S. attorney, you once prosecuted a young police officer who lied in a deposition,” Jeffries said. “In that speech you decided to prosecute that young police officer even though he corrected his testimony. You testified under oath in January. You subsequently corrected that testimony in a March 6th written submission, and have been forced repeatedly to come back to the Senate and now the House to clarify… The Attorney General of the United States of America should not be held to a different standard than the young police officer whose life you ruined by prosecuting him for perjury.”
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